Strolling Fugui and Checking in There Seeing the Young Farmer’s Fresh Vegetables

More and more people drink coffee in Taiwan, as agricultural technology advances, coffee beans that are of high quality and unique flavors are grown recently. The altitude and climate in Guoxin Township, Nantou are good for coffee plantation and there is a group of local farmers who work quietly to grow Taiwan coffee plants. As coffee lovers, how can we miss Guoxin coffee that is said to have unique flavor?
Guoxin Township is an important production center of Taiwan coffee. The township office launched a coffee certification system so that only the coffee grown in Guoxing can have the geographic designation label so to create difference from other places of origin. Since the coffee growers work so hard, we have to go have a look!
Getting off the National Freeway No. 6 at the Guoxin Interchange, visitors will arrive at “Guoxin Road Station- Taiwan Guoxin Cafe” which is only 2 minutes away from the interchange and parking lot is available. It is very convenient for independent travelers or groups. The building of Guoxin Road Station built after Earthquake 921 is larger than we thought. It is said the building material for the exterior is rose wood imported from Russia. The interior is roomy with good lighting and therefore very comfortable. Sitting there and sipping coffee is so relaxing!

Paintings drawn by local elementary school pupils and signature products from every farmer’s association in Nantou as well as the travel information in Guoxin Township are available in the store. This place is apparently an information exchange center. We asked for direction and the staff was enthusiastic to show us. This is really a nice place to stop by and take a rest during the trip, and I personally hope this station to stay long in the business.

After drinking the tasty local coffee, we resumed our trip. Fugui is a quiet community with bewitching and small scenic spots, for example, the laundry pier that local women still use today is quietly hidden in the alleyways.

Coming to the Fairy Buddha Temple, which is by the mountain with plenty of green trees to protect people from the scorching sun, and our walking steps on the stone stairs was getting lighter. Temples are one of the important religious centers here and the garden and architecture of the temple are designed with ingenuity. We slowed our pace down and lowered our voice during the walk and that naturally calmed our minds down.

There is one more manmade view in Fugui that is rarely seen across Taiwan. The average height of the bridge piers of Guoxin interchange is 55 meters, near 20 stories high. Looking up and the staggering and high rise scene is quite intimidating. Many photographers come here to shoot the night view of the bridge. If you also like taking photography, come challenge yourself!

When we were watching the fruit trees chopped down in half and felt sorry for them on a path in Fugui, a young man by the paddies saw us and told us they were the harvested jujube trees. To have sweet jujubes, the trees must be cut down after harvest for them to re-grow and it only takes half a year for them to grow in full shape and get ready for next harvest.
We realized this young man is the owner of the orchard, a young local farmer! It’s a pity to find we were here one month late. If we came to Fugui in March, we would have fresh and sweet jujubes to savor!

The young farmer invited us to his greenhouse and showed us the vegetables grown by natural farming techniques. He said confidently that his vegetables are of good quality and shipped to the salad bars of restaurants in greater Taichung or delivered directly to consumers.
Vegetables grown in the greenhouse are big and beautiful. There is a sense of beauty in the rows of vegetables. I felt excited and thought this might be natural body reaction to delicacy. These are vegetables to eat raw so there is no need to cook, so we just rinsed them before putting them into our mouths.

The young farmer is native to Nantou, and currently he works with a partner to run the agricultural business. In his talks, he shows great love for and pride of his vegetables. I was impressed that he adopts natural farming in the greenhouse. He doesn’t use pesticides in order to take good care of the earth. He is young but his determination is strong, which really touches my heart!

Fugui is close to Greater Taichung Metropolitan area and there are some trails for visitors to watch the birds or go hiking, so it is a good getaway choice on weekend. Strolling around in the small community or going to a different café each time here is also fun!

Tel: 0972-158585
Add: No. 127, Sec. 1 Zhong zheng Rd., Guoxin Township, Nantou County

Tel: 0937-215816, Mr. Liang
Add: No. 53-1, Changshou Alley, Fugui Village, Guoxin Township, Nantou County
Activity: Harvesting lettuces (Open for group reservation)