Written/Compiled and Reported by MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network, Chen Guanxin
Every year from late December to the end of January is the plum blossom season. When the plum blossoms bloom in the cold winter, thousands of hectares of white plum trees come into full flower. The air carries a faint fragrance — the sweet scent of plum blossoms fills your nostrils. The Hometown of Plums — Xinyi Township in Nantou County — is the place with the most extensively planted plum trees across Taiwan. Its three major plum blossom viewing spots are “Fengguidou,” “Wusongling,” and “Niuchongkeng.” Among these, Niuchongkeng is a lesser-known hidden gem for plum blossom viewing and was even the backdrop for Lin Chi-ling’s China Airlines calendar photoshoot. As you stroll through the plum groves, snow-white petals occasionally drift down, making it feel as though you're walking along a path of white snow. The blossoms are vibrant and lush, with soft pink, white, and pale green hues — like snowflakes filling the sky, dreamlike and surreal. Looking out over the white plum-covered mountain slopes feels like stepping into a traditional Chinese painting — plum blossoms blooming as far as the eye can see. The saying “quantity creates beauty” truly comes to life.
From late December to January each year, Liu Family Plum Garden becomes the best hidden gem for enjoying the soft pink, white, and pale green hues of plum blossoms. (Image Source / Chinese Green Living Leisure Development Association)
The Liu Family Plum Garden covers a vast area and boasts a truly beautiful environment — it’s hard not to be captivated by its charm. With green lawns, verdant distant mountains, snow-white plum blossoms, and the embrace of nature, the deep blue sky forms a stunning picture, as if you were in a painting.
Walking along the winding little gravel path into the Liu Family Plum Garden, what greets you are green spaces and plum tree groves. The terrain of the plum garden gradually undulates like a hillside. The surrounding forested mountains are layered and staggered, making the entire plum garden even more breathtakingly beautiful.
Lin Chi-ling’s China Airlines calendar photoshoot once used Liu Family Plum Garden as its background. (Image Source / Chinese Green Living Leisure Development Association)
The expanse of lush green lawn is the most attractive feature. When you’re tired from walking, you can easily lie down beneath the plum trees on the soft grass, gaze up at the blue sky and white clouds, admire the plum blossoms, and watch the falling petals land on your face. It’s the kind of place that makes you want to take an afternoon nap, a little date with Mr. Sandman, and enjoy a leisurely, lazy afternoon. The scale of Liu Family Plum Garden can be considered the largest plum garden near Niuchongkeng. Moreover, its location is excellent — facing the Chenyoulan River and the Junda Mountains. Currently, the open section of the plum garden spans fifteen hectares. Once the plum blossom season arrives, you can look out over the sea of white plum blossoms. It attracts not only regular tourists but also many painters, musicians, and photography enthusiasts who make special trips to Liu Family Plum Garden to enjoy the scenery. The garden brings people closer to plum blossoms, allowing them to appreciate their beauty up close.
With the arrival of the plum blossom blooming season in Xinyi Township, Nantou County, the Xinyi Township Farmers’ Association holds an approximately one-month-long “Trampling Snow to Seek Plum Blossoms” tourism event every year in late December. The event combines local cuisine, scenic beauty, and indigenous cultural elements — including Bunun ethnic group song and dance performances, plum-themed meals, tea tasting, and pottery workshops — enriching visitors’ plum blossom viewing experiences. Under the blooming plum blossoms, you can listen to music, admire traditional Chinese paintings of plum blossoms, or enjoy tea beneath the plum trees. You can also explore the Xinyi Township agricultural specialty product exhibition, indulge in Bunun cultural cuisine, and participate in fun plum-related games.
● Extended Reading:
Autumn Flowers Bloom in Gu Ting — A Super Romantic Date on the Riverside Floral Carpet
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