Pure white plum blossoms are in full bloom！ A must-visit flower-spotting destination in Shenkeng: the “A-Rou-Yang Secret Path”

Text and photos byLittle White Whale

The plum blossom hidden gem along A-Rou-Yang Industrial Road is now in full bloom. A gentle breeze blows, and petals drift down like snow. Care to come and take a stroll in this floral snowfall? Just turn off at the Formosa gas station beside Section 2 of Wenshan Road in Shenkeng District, New Taipei City, and you’ll enter A-Rou-Yang Industrial Road, which leads to Muzha and Maokong. Many people know to visit Shenkeng’s old street and try its tofu, but they often miss a serene plum blossom hideaway right near the old street. Plum blossoms usually bloom in early February, with the best viewing period lasting seven to ten days. Miss them this year, and you’ll have to wait until next year to meet them again in A-Rou-Yang.

A-Rou-Yang Industrial Road is also a must-visit cherry blossom spot in the Shenkeng area. Along the way, you can see bright red winter cherries dotting the branches, heralding the arrival of spring.

The origin of “A-Rou-Yang”: It gets its name from the homophonic sound of an old military outpost built by early settlers for defense. Last February 7th, I visited A-Rou-Yang for the first time. At that point, I had only heard about this plum blossom secret spot online and had never even heard of “A-Rou-Yang.” I wondered if it was located deep in some remote mountain wilderness?

Full of anticipation and a bit of anxiety, I followed the route shared by netizens and found it！The legendary plum blossom secret spot turned out to be not far away at all.

Back then, I was still using my old Canon S100 camera. I only knew how to use the close-up mode to shoot nearby subjects, and had no idea about depth of field or composition.

On my first visit, the sky was overcast, which made me resolve: Next year！Next February, I’ll come back to A-Rou-Yang under blue skies and bright sunshine！

This year, on February 8, 2016 (Lunar New Year’s Day), I didn’t forget my appointment with the A-Rou-Yang plum blossom secret spot and went for a spring outing with my family. Finally, there was sunshine, finally blue skies — but where were the promised fully bloomed plum blossoms? I showed up on time, but did the plum blossom ladies arrive late?

There were only a few blossoms on the branches. Flower-viewing visitors were sparse too. But that gave me the chance to quietly practice photography. Not being able to capture trees full of blossoms was fine；I could just zoom in on one or two blossoms, capturing their fresh and ethereal beauty — that was nice too.

After the holiday, work resumed, and northern Taiwan experienced two straight weeks of wet, cold, rainy weather. It wasn’t until 228 today that the sun finally came out！Yeah！

As soon as I woke up and saw the blue sky outside the window, I immediately grabbed my Canon EOS M3 and two lenses (a macro lens and the EF 40mm F2.8 STM) and rushed out！

The plum blossom ladies hadn’t forgotten our appointment after all！They had all bloomed, the blossoms were in full glory, hehe～

Actually, this is private land where seventeen plum trees have been planted. We should all be grateful to the landowner for opening it up for free so we can enjoy the blossoms.

Lots of people took advantage of the great weather gifted by the heavens on 228 and came to A-Rou-Yang to fully enjoy the “plum blossom snow.”

Last year we lacked blue skies, but this year we have them. Of course, I couldn’t resist looking up at the blue sky and capturing the plum blossoms against that azure backdrop.

With the blue-sky version of the plum blossoms, we of course also need a few green-ground versions. Which version of the plum blossoms do you prefer?

I also love the branch-framed plum blossoms. Against the sturdy, rugged branches, the blossoms appear even more delicate and charming.

But the most heartwarming version is the flower-viewers themselves！Whether holding a phone or a camera, everyone’s face is lit up with blissful smiles.

Plum blossoms and plum blossoms both have five petals, and people often mix them up with apricot blossoms or even plum blossoms. How can we tell plum blossoms and plum blossoms apart?

Plum blossoms grow directly from branches without stems, with round petals; plum blossoms branch out more from the stems, have long stems, and oval-shaped petals.

Visiting in early February is too early；going on 228 is too late — the most beautiful blooming period has already passed. Though heavy rain damaged the delicate flowers, it didn’t dampen our enthusiasm for flower viewing.

How to get to the A-Rou-Yang Plum Blossom Secret Spot? From the Formosa gas station at Section 2 of Wenshan Road in Shenkeng, turn right onto A-Rou-Yang Industrial Road. Drive about 3–4 kilometers, and you’ll see it on your left.

Map of the A-Rou-Yang Plum Blossom Farm in Shenkeng

Recommended itinerary: After visiting the plum blossom farm, you can go back the same way to the gas station and continue exploring Shenkeng Old Street; or you can continue along A-Rou-Yang Industrial Road to Muzha and Maokong.Apricot Blossom GroveFor a spring walk, or to visitTenglong Imperial Cherry BlossomsCherry blossom viewing.

Little white whale who loves sharing, photography, and travel.
Learning photography happily allows me to see the world from different perspectives; enjoying delicious food happily lets me savor the world through ordinary happiness.