Let’s Visit the Home to Citrus and Flower Sea in the Mountainous Area in Taichung
Every November is the ripe season for citrus and the mountainous area in Taichung will turn into red; therefore, it is a good time for fruit picking. And the flower sea exhibition in Xinshe takes place about the same time so we will bring you to enjoy fruit picking in the citrus garden, go to the must-see scenic spots in Xinshe as well as a cultural tour in Shi-nong Granary. Let’s have a fruit trip in the central Taiwan to enjoy the fragrance of flowers and relish the citrus!
“Everyone can be an internet celebrity” A Must-photoshoot Spot in Flower Sea
Buckwheat Field was the must-photoshoot spot in Flower Sea 2017. The view with little white flowers blossom is comparable to the scene in Korean TV drama, Guardian: The Lonely and Great God. The flower field as if covered with fine snow was really romantic and the sword standing in the center of the field self exemplified the theme and therefore a must shoot of the year! Cosmos of all colors play a major role in the flower sea and they can easily take up the memory in the cameras or cell phones. The Cosmos cover a large area and have the bright colors that make it a good choice for photo shooting. When the wind comes, the flowers dance along and wave towards the visitors to give an impression of magnificent flower sea.
Broomcorn field was one of the most special scenes of the year. Still remember the scene in movie “Paradise in Service” when the leading actor and actress passing in the broom corn field is so romantic and fancy. Now we don’t have to go to Kimmen for broomcorns, they were available in the flower sea in Xinshe. The harvested broomcorns will be shipped to Kimmen to make alcohol, which means the materials of the broom corn liquor you taste in the future may come from here.
To make visitors know more crops, the organizer added edible plants asides from the flower sea, such as vegetable gardens and broomcorns. More over, the traffic flow was especially set for the visitors’ convenience to go shopping in the stores on main streets in Xinshe in order to boost local economy. Visitors collecting 2 stamps from the stores outside of flower sea area can get one succulent plant; please make good use of the information!
Travelling in the Mountainous City Enjoy the Citrus Picking Fun
The mountainous area in Taichung city include 9 administrative districts such as Dongshi, Xinshe, Fengyuan, etc. The population is large and each district has different cultural features and industries. There are the well known mushrooms, pears and persimmons. The citrus harvested in winter accounts for the major quality production in Taiwan--juicy and tasty. Since we are in the producing region, how can we miss the citrus picking!
If you never come into the fruit garden in person, it is hard to imagine how beautiful the yellowish citrus hanging all over the trees are. Only witnessing by yourself, you could relate to the shock. This time we come to “Lover’s Valley Fruit Garden” to pick citrus. The farm owner gave a professional introduction and taught the visitors the knowledge and skills of citrus picking so that everyone learned a lot. The most important thing in picking citrus is “No shaking the citrus on the trees.” because the shaked fruits can easily fall down and the fallen citruses are not tasty, let alone being harvested. Each and every fruit means a lot to the farmers, please make sure which fruit to pick to avoid waste.
How to choose tasty citrus: 1. Plump ones, the shorter and wider, the tastier. 2. Citrus growing on top of the trees have thicker peels and taste sweeter; the more juicy citruses are in lower places of the tree with finely textured rind. Though they are more juicy and taste sour, these citruses can be kept for a longer time.
For citrus picking, simply make a reservation with Mr.Chen. He is usually busy with taking care of the citrus garden in the morning, so we recommend to have the trip in the afternoon. By the end of December, there are mandarin oranges (ponkan) ; after the end of December, tankan and from December to end of February, murcott available for picking.
Retro Agricultural Culture the Japanese-Style granary in Shigang
How could an old Japanese-style granary built in 1935 survive Earthquake 921? And it avoided demolition and was proposed as a historical building. We are going to show you the heritage sites “off the radar” and tell you the background of the building and some information on local agriculture.
In early days, there were around 180 granaries all over Taiwan. But only a handful ones still exist now. This one in Shigang is one of those well preserved. Inside of the granary is still remained the same, and the cedar pillars for diagonal bracing as a precaution against the earthquakes can be seen, and there is also the antique rice husking machine in the Japanese occupied period. To understand the agricultural history in the central area, this granary is a spot worth visiting.
For solo travellers to visit the granary, just go ahead on weekdays or weekend. For group of more than 10 people, telephone reservation for a guided tour is recommended. There is also a 2-hour tour, including Shigang waterdam, 3D color painting and DIY activity.
