Day 3 was set aside for visiting fruit plantations and for the kids to have some fun plucking ripe fruits from the trees.
Our plans for the day in Miaoli County went like this:
姜麻圆休闲农业区 – 卓兰镇农业区 – 山水米有机稻场
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Jiang Ma Yuan Agricultural Leisure Area (姜麻圆休闲农业区)
We had chosen to visit 姜麻圆休闲农业区 (Jiang Ma Yuan Agricultural Leisure Area) in Dahu Township as it is known for having over 30 sightseeing fruit farms with a variety of seasonal fruits throughout the year. But unfortunately, today the fruits here had not ripened enough for plucking. So we had a walk around the area before leaving for 卓兰镇农业区 (Zhuolan Township).
Visited 圣衡宫 (Sheng Heng Palace) within Jiang Ma Yuan Agricultural Leisure Area. The temple has a long history and is always filled with worshipers for Lord Kuan Kong. Worshipers and believers come from all over the country because of its reputation.
Enjoyed fresh air and agricultural landscape from the high altitude:
We had lunch at the roadside stalls; local noodle soups (板条 & 伊面) and bamboo shoot soup (竹笋汤) with Taiwanese sausages. But we ain’t used to the local taste so did not eat much.
The area is not in the radar of most tourists hence we saw mostly locals. Oh yes, they sell lots of ginger (姜) and ginger products here though we did not buy any. Upon deciding that we were not going to trek our way uphill to the landmark 瞭望台 (or viewing tower) and climb another 5 storeys up the tower, we departed for the fruit plantations in Zhuolan Township.
Zhuolan Agricultural District (卓兰镇农业区)
At one of the starfruit plantations in 卓兰镇, the kids had fun plucking the fruits from the trees. We ended up with a box of 14 big, juicy starfruits to lug back home.
Enjoyed this novel activity despite being under siege by buzzing mosquitoes:
Baby starfruits. After wrapping in paper bags for protection, they still need a good 3 months to grow to maturity.
Big winter melons hanging from their vines in a nearby plantation. Just look at their sizes!
Also visited a grape plantation, seeing the famous 巨峰葡萄 (Jufeng / Kyoho grapes). These green grapes will only be ready for harvesting around January next year (around 3 months away).
Shanshuei Organic Rice Farm (山水米有机稻场)
At 山水有机稻场 (Shanshuei Organic Rice Farm), our urban kids gained a better understanding of how rice is cultivated. A pity there wasn’t any activity as we did not do any advanced booking, but we got to explain to them how rice arrives on our dining table:
The main hall with educational materials:
With no organised activity within the centre, DL and CL spent some time playing with their ‘rice-themed’ jig-saw puzzles and reading similarly-themed books. No one else visited the centre during the time we were there, so it was a good way to relax for an hour before we headed back to Flying Cow Ranch.
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Travel information:
It is recommended to get a cab to drive around on a per day rate. We were able to take our time to sight-see and hop onto the cab for the next destination when we were ready. We booked our driver for the day through Flying Cow Ranch.
On our way to the next stop in our hired cab, admiring the agricultural landscape:
Jiang Ma Yuan is off-the-beaten track for tourists. Most information available are in Chinese. More information on Jiang Ma Yuan in English can be found on this website.
More information on 山水米有机稻场 (Shanshuei Organic Rice Farm) can be found on their official website (in Chinese only). Besides having rice harvesting activities in certain months, they hold educational activities round the year.
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Read more about our trip itinerary and the other places we visited during the trip in Taiwan 2013 – Family Trip Itinerary.
