The Alishan Flower Festival Kicks Off in Romance: Six Must-Visit Cherry Blossom Spots You Can’t Miss

By Jun, ScenicSpot.com, compiled and reported
 
As spring blooms with a riot of flowers, the popular annual Alishan Flower Festival kicks off on March 10 and runs for one month. Each week also features the outdoor “Dialogue Between Cherry Blossoms and Music” concert to enrich your visual and auditory experience. If you’ve been cooped up due to the pandemic, take this opportunity to get out into nature under the boundless spring sunshine. In the Alishan Forest, the rich phytoncides can help boost your immunity.

Alishan Work Station, Xianglin Service Area, a small bridge and cherry blossoms (Alishan Poetry Path leading to Sisters Ponds
The Alishan Recreation Area spans a vast area with a total of 31 varieties and nearly 3,000 cherry blossom trees. Currently, varieties such as the mountain cherry, Ryukyu mountain cherry, turtle cherry, and Hamanako cherry are nearly 90% in bloom, while the “Little Cherry King”—the Tangshi cherry—and the Mushiro cherry have reached about 70% bloom.

Alishan Hotel, Alishan Police Station, and the cherry-lined railway at Zhapin Station
The best spot for cherry blossom viewing right now is undoubtedly the Alishan Work Station. On the opening day of the flower festival, you can see the fully bloomed Tangshi cherry, and the nearby “Cherry King”—the Somei Yoshino cherry—is about 50% in bloom, heralding the upcoming peak bloom of the area’s most numerous Somei Yoshino trees.

In addition, other trees throughout the park—such as magnolia, weeping crabapple, Yunnan yellow bell, Sargent’s cherry, Hirado cherry, and Taiwan pleione—are gradually joining the floral spectacle. By the end of April, the bloom of the multi-flowered wisteria will spark another wave of flower-viewing enthusiasm. It’s recommended that visitors come multiple times to fully enjoy the vibrant energy of springtime Alishan.