The Golden Rapeseed Flower Sea Returns: Chihshang Rapeseed Flower Season Kicks Off on January 19

By MOOK Scenic Spots Travel Life Network, reported and compiled by Li Xinyi

 

Every mid-January is when rapeseed flowers are in full bloom, creating a stunning expanse of bright yellow. After a five-year hiatus, the rapeseed flower season event will return on the 19th (Saturday) in front of Daguan Building in Chihshang Township, Taitung. In addition to inviting local performance groups, this year’s rapeseed flower event will also use the leaves of the plants to make juice, which is then turned into green dumpling wrappers, while the rapeseed flower stamens are used as filling—offering visitors a hands-on experience making "green ingots." These will be freshly wrapped and cooked just in time for the Lunar New Year. There will also be green-dyed floral fabric workshops on site.

In fact, rapeseed flowers are used to replenish organic matter in rice paddies, hence they are known as winter green manure. After the rice harvest in November of the previous year, the government provides free rapeseed seeds to farmers, who then sow them in their fields. The flowers bloom around 45 days after sowing, with a flowering period of about 10–15 days, after which the flowers can be plowed back into the soil.

 

Xu Yue’e, General Manager of the Chihshang Township Farmers’ Association, said that this year’s rapeseed flower event is being held in the fields in front of Daguan Building beside Brown Highway in Chihshang Township—the same spot where pianist Gavin Chu once performed in the fields, which was even featured on the cover of TIME magazine in the United States. Looking southward, the 400-hectare area is completely free of utility poles, offering vast, unobstructed views of the endless rapeseed flower sea, making it a perfect spot for travelers to relive the dreamy fields of their imagination.

 

 

● Read more: Green Taitung – A Fulfilling 3-Day, 2-Night Leisure Trip

http://goo.gl/05F60