Travel Weekly / Come on and be a "flower fanatic"！ Weekend flower appreciation season begins across the country

Travel Centre / Taipei Report

As autumn transitions into winter, flower appreciation fever is sweeping across Taiwan, with a series of floral and butterfly-themed events kicking off this holiday weekend from north to south. Through meticulous arrangement, the beautiful flower seas display various fun patterns, making their vibrant colors even more eye-catching. This weekend, why not become a “flower fanatic” and immerse yourself in a wonderful environment interacting with nature?


▲ Autumn and winter transition is the best time for flower appreciation. (Photo / Reporter You t
u)

【Shilin Official Residence Chrysanthemum Exhibition “Dancing with Chrysanthemums”】
The 2012 Shilin Official Residence Chrysanthemum Exhibition runs from November 18, 2012 to December 2, 2012, for a total of 15 days. This year’s theme, “Autumn’s Colorful Dance Banquet – Dancing with Chrysanthemums,” guides the exhibition. To echo the theme, all nine exhibition zones feature “dance” as their sub-theme, creatively designed by the park administration team.

Most notably, this year’s chrysanthemum exhibition embraces technology to serve more mobile internet users. By integrating a mobile app, visitors can access the exhibition layout with a tap of their fingers. The smart app not only shows your relative location within the exhibition zones but also includes a photo sticker feature that lets you combine your personal photos with exclusive chrysanthemum exhibition frames. Additionally, QR codes are placed in the nine exhibition zones. Visitors can read detailed introductions while admiring the displays, and upon completing a nine-grid challenge game, they can take home attractive gifts—limited quantities available, while supplies last.

Event Time: 2012/11/18–2012/12/2
Event Location: Shilin Official Residence Park

【Xinshe Flower Sea Festival】
The “Xinshe Flower Sea” series of events promotes the development of local leisure agriculture and enhances the market visibility of regional agricultural products. It is the most anticipated annual event in the Greater Mountain City area and the most well-known and large-scale flower sea leisure activity in the country. Over the past seven years, it has continuously innovated and broken new ground, aiming to offer the public a diverse experience of the beauty and joy of agriculture. In 2011, it was first combined with the Taichung International Floral Carpet Festival.

This year’s theme focuses on “rural life and premium agricultural products.” In addition to various exciting themed activities in the exhibition zones, visitors are also welcome to enjoy rich mountain town tour packages, bringing the flower sea experience into everyday life. This helps plant the seeds of a healthy lifestyle in every family, creating a virtuous cycle of fulfillment and sharing. With a flower sea in your heart, embrace a good mood, enjoy peace and health, and live a long and happy life.

Event Time: 2012/11/17–2012/12/16  8:30–16:30
Event Location: No. 30, Xie Xing Street, Xie Cheng Village, Xinshe District, Taichung City (Second Farm of the Crop Improvement and Propagation Station, Council of Agriculture)

【Flower Field Happiness – Rainbow Bridgehead】
The Flower Field Happiness series features a wide variety of activities, both dynamic and static — it’s an event that collects happiness and overflows with laughter. The entire Qiaotou area is expected to plant 75 hectares of various flowers this year, including cosmos, sunflowers, and Cleome. Using these colorful blooms, four major thematic flower sea patterns have been created: the [I Love Qiaotou] emblem pattern of Qiaotou District, the [Dream Tunnel] inspired by the image of the Provincial Highway Rainbow Bridge, the boundless floral boulevard of [Rainbow Land], and the romantic sea of [Sweet Dreams] woven with pink-purple cosmos. The flower fields are also decorated with playful installations, and there's even a mysterious [Candy House] waiting for visitors.

Event Dates: 2012/11/17–2012/11/18  10:00–16:30
Flower Viewing Period: 2012/11/14–2012/12/25
Event Location: Qiaotou District, Kaohsiung City

【Maolin Purple Valley – Biennial Butterfly Appreciation Series】
The “2012–2013 Maolin Purple Butterfly Valley Biennial Butterfly Appreciation Series” will kick off on November 17. During the four-and-a-half-month butterfly viewing period, the organizer, Maolin National Scenic Area Administration, has specially incorporated the “Dona Black Rice Festival” of Maolin, the mysterious “Wanshan Rock Carvings” — a national third-grade historic site — and the Wanshan Old Tribe heritage journey into the series. The content is rich and diverse, and visitors from home and abroad are welcome to explore Maolin District in Kaohsiung.

The Maolin National Scenic Area Administration states that every autumn and winter, nearly one million purple crow butterflies migrate to the valleys of Maolin District in Kaohsiung to overwinter. The natural phenomenon of purple crow butterflies gathering and flying in swarms is as renowned as Mexico’s “Monarch Butterfly Valley,” making it a world-class natural asset. Therefore, the administration holds an annual cross-year butterfly appreciation event, allowing visitors to witness this unique spectacle — the only one in Taiwan and one of only two in the world — of purple crow butterflies filling the skies, as well as the mysteries and life cycle of their overwintering.

Event Time: 2012/11/17–2013/3/31
Event Location: Maolin National Scenic Area (Maolin District, Kaohsiung City)