Shocking News: Taipei W Hotel’s “Urban Beekeeping Project” Houses 250,000 Bees on Its Rooftop

▲ Taipei W Hotel recently started raising 250,000 bees on its rooftop. (Photo / Provided by the hotel)

Reported by Chen Zi-Yin, Taipei

Keeping bees in the city may seem unbelievable, but today (28th), the Taipei W Hotel, together with the Eden Social Welfare Foundation, held a press conference to unveil its “Urban Beekeeping Project.” The hotel announced that it has already started raising 250,000 bees on its rooftop, aiming to help save the bee ecosystem, which is facing extinction, and to support disadvantaged groups through the honey produced from the beekeeping.

Isn’t it dangerous to keep bees in a city hotel? Won’t it risk bee stings for nearby residents or guests?In response, Cary M Gary, General Manager of Taipei W Hotel, stated that bees and humans have coexisted for thousands of years. Urban beekeeping has been popular in the U.S. for many years, and the Taipei W Hotel hopes its initiative will encourage more companies and organizations to join such projects. He said, “Learning how to coexist with nature is one of the important issues for modern humanity.”


▲ Cary M Gary, General Manager of Taipei W Hotel. (Photo / Taken by reporter Chen Zi-Yin)

The Eden Social Welfare Foundation, in collaboration with National Ilan University, has jointly promoted the urban beekeeping project. The W Hotel is the first hotel operator in Taiwan to engage in rooftop beekeeping and also the first to do so on a high-rise building. In December last year, five beehives were placed on the W Hotel’s rooftop, with assistance from students at National Ilan University in managing the beekeeping project.

Zhao Han-Jie from National Ilan University also mentioned that the bees used in the urban beekeeping project are gentle species, not aggressive ones like hornets, so there is no safety concern.“Produce locally, consume locally.” In the third quarter of 2015, Taipei W Hotel will use a small portion of the honey in its kitchen and bar, offering limited daily servings of honey cheesecake and honey cocktails. The majority of the honey will be provided to the Eden Social Welfare Foundation for fundraising purposes.

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When asked by a reporter via phone, Li Li-Yu, one of the nation’s top ten distinguished agricultural experts and a honey judge, responded to netizens’ concerns by saying that bees typically forage within a radius of 3 to 5 kilometers. In high-rise buildings, many residents grow flowers, vegetables, and fruits, which serve as excellent sources of nectar for bees. These plants also rely on bees for pollination. Therefore, she said, “Urban beekeeping is a great thing, and I fully support it.” As for the height of the Taipei W Hotel, she believes it’s not an issue, citing that bees in mountainous areas naturally adapt to their environment. The amount and quality of the honey produced, however, will need to be assessed through data evaluation over time.


▲ Taipei W Hotel becomes the first operator in Taiwan to practice beekeeping on a high-rise building. (Photo / Taken by reporter Sun Yao-Zhang)