The Hualien Guofu Flower Sea Makes a Warm Debut – Walk Through the Fortune Character Maze for Year-Round Happiness

Reported by Wang Zhaolin / Hualien

The Hualien Guofu Flower Sea officially opened to the public on the 23rd, with over fifty families participating in a DIY flower-planting activity, enjoying a family-friendly atmosphere. Hualien Mayor Wei Jiaxian noted that this year’s Guofu Flower Sea is different from previous years, featuring a new shrub-planted Fortune Character Maze. The flower sea and maze together boast more than 70,000 plants (photo provided by Hualien City Government, same below), and visitors are welcome to enjoy the flowers and explore the maze, ensuring a full year of happiness.

The “Plant a Flower at Guofu, Bring Fortune to Hualien” citizen DIY flower-planting event kicked off enthusiastically this morning at the Guofu Wellness Park. The opening ceremony was attended by Mayor Wei Jiaxian, along with Deputy Secretary-General Weng Meihua, Director of Agriculture and Tourism Hong Guoshan, and Librarian Tsai Shu-hsiang. The Chairperson of the Citizens’ Representative Council, Su Meichu, was also present, joined by councilors Chiang Pang-fa, Hu Ren-shun, Han Lin-mei, Wu Dongf, Li Zhenwei, Li Zhengwen, and Pingdao 'Buding'. Other attendees included Chen Cheng-yen, Clerk of the Hualien District Prosecutors Office, and social worker Lin Longtong, as well as County Government Secretary to the Magistrate Li Guangsheng, Legislator Hsu Chen-wei’s Office Director You Huangming, Chairman of the Guofu Community Development Association Huang Deyong, and Chief of the Sagu Tribe Xu Cong.

Mayor Wei Jiaxian stated that this year’s flower sea event in Hualien is different from past years, inviting families to enjoy the fun of planting flowers together. Open for online registration and including local community members from Guofu Li, a total of 58 creative mini gardens were made available for the public to plant themselves. The hope is that during the Lunar New Year, participants will visit the Guofu Wellness Park with their families for an outing and share their self-planted mini gardens with relatives and friends. Additionally, a maze has been designed this year in the Guofu Wellness Park, with the central feature being a “Fortune” character made from the plant Ligustrum lucidum, specially created because the wellness park is located in Guofu Li.

Wei Jiaxian expressed gratitude to the Hualien County Environmental Protection Bureau for funding support and to the Hualien District Prosecutors Office for providing labor service personnel, which have contributed to making the Guofu Park even more spectacular. He encouraged locals to check in online and share photos, and urged tourists visiting Hualien to be sure to come to Guofu to admire the flowers and explore the maze, bringing the fortune back to their families and friends so that good luck can last the entire year.

Chairperson of the Citizens’ Representative Council Su Meichu and other councilors praised the city government for organizing an event that promotes both family bonding and tourism. Chairperson Su mentioned that since taking office, Mayor Wei has been particularly active in organizing family-friendly activities. She added that the atmosphere at today’s flower-planting DIY event was especially warm and hoped that the city government would hold more such events in the future.

The Hualien District Prosecutors Office provided 30 labor service personnel this time to assist in the planning of the Guofu Flower Sea and maze. Clerk of the Court Chen Cheng-yen expressed gratitude for the collaboration between the city government and the prosecutors office in advancing community service programs. He explained that the community service system is modeled after similar programs in Europe and America, allowing convicts to serve their sentences through community work rather than incarceration. This helps alleviate prison overcrowding, mitigates the drawbacks of short-term imprisonment, and achieves a win-win situation through community contributions.

The flower-planting DIY activity had its fifty spots quickly filled online earlier in the month, and several areas at the site were open to local residents of Guofu Li for participation. Before planting, the city government had participants design the patterns they wanted, with hearts being the most popular, along with cat and dog faces or images of blooming flowers. Most participants came as families, but some signed up in small groups of friends to create their own unique designs. There were also missionaries from the United States who shared the lively scene online with their families and friends, expressing hopes of participating in next year’s DIY planting event.

Deputy Secretary-General Weng Meihua, Librarian Tsai Shu-hsiang, and staff from the agriculture and tourism flower class also adopted a plot of land, designing a pattern titled “‘Flowers’ Bring Reading to Life, ‘Opening’ Books Brings Benefits.” Everyone sweated together and shared the joy of planting. At the event site, Wei the Mayor’s wife, Wu Yun-chen, was also spotted. She had registered online earlier in the month and today came with her daughter, father, and brother to plant flowers. The family, with the theme “Hua Shi Is Wonderful,” actively supported the city government’s policies on promoting family-friendly activities and developing tourism.

This year, the Guofu Flower Sea and maze feature more than 70,000 plants. The flower sea includes a variety of plants such as Begonia semperflorens, Salvia splendens, coleus, marigold, petunia, poinsettia, Rieger begonia, marguerite, and Impatiens hawkeri. The Fortune Character Maze features plants like wisteria, Ligustrum lucidum, Codiaeum variegatum, orange jasmine, poinsettia, dwarf ixora, marigold, cigar flower, green amaranth, and red amaranth. The shrubs in the Fortune Character Maze are expected to grow to a height of 1.8 meters, which will take an estimated two to three years. The city government stated that these plants require patient care and hopes that Hualien residents will help protect them.