The Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo: A Spectacular Rainbow Flower Sea and 3D Lightning-Painted Rice Fields

By MOOK Scenic Spots Editorial Team

 
The Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo kicked off on January 30, featuring a 3.5-hectare rainbow flower sea, Taiwan’s first 3D Thunder God comic-themed colored rice fields, and an 800-meter-long green fruit and vegetable corridor—topics that have generated tremendous buzz as the month-long event unfolds. As the event coincides with the Lunar New Year holiday, Pingtung County Magistrate Pan Meng-an expects a large number of visitors and welcomes tourists from all over Taiwan to “walk spring” and celebrate the New Year in Pingtung.

The Pingtung Tropical Agriculture Expo created a stir even before its opening, sparking heated discussions online. This year’s event especially stands out with its artistically designed floral landscapes, where more than 20 varieties of flowers—including cosmos, sunflowers, salvia, plumed cockscomb, and scarlet sage—combine to form patterns of birds, fish, and fruits, highlighting Pingtung’s rich local specialties. The use of varying terrain creates the Morning Light Hills and Rainbow Hills, stunning three-dimensional flower seas. Many visitors were amazed upon entering the park, racing to take photos with the flower displays, exclaiming, “So beautiful!”

At the heart of the flower sea is a totem depicting two hands cradling a seedling. Designer Wu Tsung-hsien explained that it represents the concept of “love and cultivation.” As a major agricultural county, Pingtung boasts abundant produce and serves as a key production base for flowers, aquaculture (both freshwater and saltwater), and livestock across Taiwan. This year’s Tropical Agriculture Expo is designed around Pingtung’s rich agricultural elements.12Major themed areas include colored rice fields, flower seas, fruit and vegetable corridors, agri-food experiences, multi-ethnic specialty zones, leisure agriculture zones, youth innovation hubs, fresh seafood tastings, equestrian performances, food courts, pet zones, and a children’s play area loved by both kids and adults—making it an ideal spot for family outings during the New Year. 

Building on the enthusiasm from last year’s Colored Rice Art Festival, the county government collaborated with Thunder God Company to merge innovative agricultural technology with comic-book puppet culture. With guidance from Dr. Lin Ching-yuan, a recipient of the Agricultural Golden Award, and computer graphics expertise from Chung Hsing University,3Dthe team used2hectares of farmland to plant the two iconic Thunder God characters—“Su Zhenzhen” and “Ye Shoucheng”—using purple, white, yellow, and green colored rice, now officially unveiled.

Most remarkably, Su Zhenzhen and Ye Shoucheng are not rendered in a cute chibi style—the detailed and intricate line work of the characters subtly conveys the extraordinary presence of the fragrant White Lotus Su Zhenzhen and the Wise Sage Ye Shoucheng. Su Zhenzhen is depicted sitting peacefully in the Glass Immortal Realm, strumming a lute, vividly capturing the ethereal and graceful aura of the character from the show. Magistrate Pan and visitors ascended viewing platforms to witness Su Zhenzhen and Ye Shoucheng leap from TV screens into the rice waves, lifelike and striking, prompting many to give a thumbs-up in admiration of the skill of Pingtung’s farmers.