North Coast Responds to Conservation Efforts: The Stunning "Taiwan Lily" Makes a Rare Appearance

Wild lilies have their spring too. The Taiwan lily is a species unique to Taiwan. Every spring and summer, the North Coast of New Taipei City has become a go-to spot for flower enthusiasts to admire them.

To protect this captivating natural scenery and resources, while also highlighting the Taiwan lily's native charm, in recent years the Agriculture Bureau and local communities have been actively promoting the conservation and cultivation of Taiwan lilies. The effort has expanded from the North Coast to the Northeast Coast, including Ruifang’s Long’an Li and Gongliao’s Longmen Li, where residents have introduced Taiwan lilies to community green spaces and personally tend to them. This allows the Taiwan lily to take root locally and lets more people appreciate the beauty of this native plant.

Both Ruifang’s Long’an Li and Gongliao’s Longmen Li have joined in bringing Taiwan lilies to their community green spaces. (Photo provided by New Taipei City Agriculture Bureau)

Ruifang District’s Long’an Li is adjacent to the back entrance of Ruifang Railway Station. To beautify the community environment, resident volunteers transformed an overgrown, trash-strewn wasteland behind Ruifang Industrial High School into the beautiful Long’an Garden. Village Chief Ko Ruihe said that the first plants in the garden were daylilies. Late last year, upon learning that the Agriculture Bureau was promoting the conservation of Taiwan lilies, they applied for 500 seedlings to cultivate because the Taiwan lily, with its distinctive shape and striking white blossoms, is very popular.

The resident volunteers have also been highly proactive, with many making it a daily habit to patrol and tend the garden — weeding, watering, and watching it gradually take shape. Everyone feels a great sense of joy and accomplishment and is willing to put more effort into maintaining this land. In the future, they hope to gradually increase the number of Taiwan lilies being conserved, not only to make the community more pleasing to the eye but also so that train passengers can enjoy the blooming beauty through the windows.

The Agriculture Bureau stated that Gongliao District’s Longmen Li voluntarily applied to plant 1,000 Taiwan lilies on the sloped area of Longmen Park. The flowers are maintained year-round by local residents, making it another beautiful example of community-involved conservation.

Agriculture Bureau Director Li Wen stated that, feeling the threat of extinction faced by numerous species due to human activity, the Agriculture Bureau has for many years been dedicated to the conservation of native plants and gradually strengthening ties and cooperation with local communities. They aim to convey the message that conservation efforts require participation from everyone. At the same time, they encourage residents to use more native plants and fewer non-native species when landscaping their homes, in order to avoid the ecological impact caused by invasive alien plants and to jointly protect Taiwan’s precious native ecosystems.

Ruifang District’s Long’an Li is adjacent to the back entrance of Ruifang Railway Station. To beautify the community environment, resident volunteers transformed an overgrown, trash-strewn wasteland behind Ruifang Industrial High School into the beautiful Long’an Garden. (Photo provided by New Taipei City Agriculture Bureau)