Nantou County’s New Central Cross-Island Highway year-end highlight, the “Tracking Snow to Find Plum Blossoms” plum blossom appreciation season, is drawing to a close. Xinyi Township Mayor Shih Chiang estimates that in just one month since the event launched in late December last year, it has already brought NT$250 million in economic benefits to local industries. The organizers, the Xinyi Township Farmers’ Association, believe that if potential business opportunities are included, the total figure should be far higher than the above amount.
Zhang Sheng-cheng, director of Xinyi Township’s Plum Dream Factory, stated that this wave of plum blossom viewing spanned five weekends, with three of them—on Saturdays and Sundays—setting single-day records of over 100,000 visitors each. Especially on the 13th and 14th, nearly all plum blossom tourists were caught in traffic jams stretching 15 to 25 kilometers on their way home, with estimates exceeding 150,000 people. Even on non-holiday days during the plum blossom season, visitor numbers remained steady at between 20,000 and 60,000 per day.
The influx of vehicles and people brings in the money flow. Zheng Jing-hsin, store manager of the Plum Dream Factory retail outlet, said that the store’s weekend turnover in recent years has been around NT$500,000 to NT$600,000, and non-weekend days mostly around NT$200,000. But during the plum blossom season, weekend sales soared to NT$800,000 to NT$900,000, with non-weekends also reaching around NT$600,000—a rare boom since the sharp decline in mainland Chinese tourists two years ago.
Liu Ching-hsiang, operator of the well-known plum blossom spot “Liu Family Plum Garden,” noted that the garden’s revenue is about half that of the Plum Dream Factory, with plum-flavored hot pot and green plum-related products being the main sources of consumption. The end-of-year and new-year plum blossom activities, along with the green plum harvest and DIY events in April, are the most important agricultural events in Xinyi Township. Many farmers rely on these two seasons for their entire annual income.
Mayor Shih Chiang pointed out that in addition to the major plum gardens and green plum-related industries, the hot springs, hotels, restaurants in Dongpu, as well as homestays, food stores, and grocery shops along the New Central Cross-Island Highway tribal areas have all benefited. This includes tour buses, shuttle fleets, tour guides, and even tribal roast pigs—all have enjoyed a share of the prosperity.
Huang Chih-hui, general manager of the township farmers’ association, said that Xinyi Township’s flower appreciation season from the Gregorian calendar year-end to the Lunar New Year actually consists of two waves. The first wave, the plum blossom season, is known to have already created at least NT$250 million in business. The upcoming cherry blossom season, which will kick off on the 27th, is expected to bring even more significant economic benefits. The high-value tea crops in Caopingtou and Shalixian, combined with the marketing of other agricultural products, are expected to generate output value comparable to that of green plums.
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