The plum blossoms in Xinyi Township are now ready to be admired.

The flowers are beautifully bloomed, and visitors are excitedly taking photos. (Photo by Shen Huisheng)

Both the blossoms and branches are stunning. (Photo by Shen Huisheng)

The buds are budding and blooming—the plum blossom season has begun. (Photo by Shen Huisheng)

The “Tracking Snow to Find Plum Blossoms – Blooming… Waiting for You” plum blossom viewing event in Xinyi Township, Nantou County, kicked off on the 23rd. Huang Zhihui, head of the Xinyi Township Farmers' Association and the event organizer, predicted that this year’s plum blossom conditions would be the best in over a decade—and indeed, they are. Currently, the plum blossoms in various orchards are just beginning to bloom, with some in the Waipingding area already at a viewable scale. The upcoming weekend and New Year’s holiday are perfect for a visit.

For other areas, the best time to view the plum blossoms will be early January. Liu Qingxiang, owner of the Liujia Plum Orchard in Niuchongkeng, said that starting from the end of the month, Erqing, Daqing, Yanzhi, and Ruanzhi plum varieties will bloom in succession according to their respective schedules. The orchard also features a sea of white-flowered eurya (Christmas snow) blooms, accented by beautiful Christmas poinsettias—definitely worth seeing.

On January 7th, the theme day events “Sweet Burden: Couples Carrying Each Other” competition and “Rolling Oak Barrels” competition will also take place at the Liujia Plum Orchard. The organizers at the Xinyi Township Farmers’ Association have timed it perfectly—starting that day and continuing through mid-January, the plum blossoms will be at their most splendid.

Wang Jiasheng, manager of the Niuchongkeng Station next to the Liujia Plum Orchard, pointed out that in earlier years, the plum blossom season usually began around the Winter Solstice, with peak blooming occurring about a week later. But in recent years, it was often not until New Year’s Day that flower clusters became denser, with the blooming period delayed by one to two weeks. Compared to the past decade, this year’s bloom seems to have arrived 7 to 10 days earlier, but if compared to 20 years ago, it's simply returning to normal.

Next to Wang Jiasheng’s orchard building stands an over 80-year-old giant old plum tree, with both blossoms and branches exquisitely beautiful—well worth a closer look. Plum growers such as Xu Yilan of Fenguitou and Weng’s Plum Orchard in Tongfu Village noted that due to differences in terrain, altitude, sunlight, temperature, and humidity, blooming periods vary slightly among different settlements. However, overall, there will definitely be flowers to admire starting from New Year’s Day, with some areas reaching 30–40% bloom, and then progressing to full bloom by mid to late January.

Zhang Shengzheng, director of the Xinyi Township Plum Dream Factory, stated that this winter has seen several cold fronts along with higher-than-usual moisture levels. Overall, the condition of the plum blossoms in Xinyi Township is significantly better than in previous years, and the bud development across all plum orchards is also promising, signaling a bountiful year ahead.