A farm stay is a new vacation option that is gaining popularity among city dwellers. Ditching the hectic city life for the countryside and waking up to sweet mountain air is a thoroughly amazing experience. Most importantly, there is no pressure to do anything and no travel itinerary to rush through. You do what you feel like, when you feel like it.
En route on our maiden trip to explore the rich cultural and natural treasures of Central Taiwan recently, we embarked on a weekend trip to Qingjing Farm in Nantou. Situated in the Renai township of Taiwan’s Nantou County (the second largest county in Taiwan), Qingjing Farm is the only farm that sits in the high mountains.
Our trip there involved traveling by bus for about an hour up a steep and winding road, where the air gets fresher and lighter as the altitude increases.
If you are lucky, you may see what many other tourists have encountered: “The endless sea of clouds.” From our lofty vantage point, the clouds around nearby mountains were at eye level. As we watched, fluffy layers rose up and filled the spaces between peaks, forming a spectacular sea of clouds that stretched beyond the horizon.
Along your journey, you may also stop to purchase some of the area’s specialty products—mountain tea leaves and cabbages. Due to the cool temperatures up there, the organic cabbages are quite fresh and crunchy. Life’s much healthier out there, I guess.
Enjoying a mild temperature of around 16 degrees, the farm produces a fascinating range of flowers, fruits, and plants such as honey peaches, sakuras, or cherry blossoms, and maple trees, all of which take turns to dress the landscape in ever-changing attire: flowers in the spring, fruits in the summer, colourful maple trees in autumn, and snow in the winter.
Green, Green Grassland
Green, Green Grassland, one of the most popular tourist attractions at the farm, is famous for its vast meadow that lures occasional flocks of grazing sheep and goats. Set against a backdrop of beautiful valleys and an endless mountain range, the quaint grassland, with its refreshing breezes, makes you feel as though you are in a dream.
Such a phenomenon explains why tourists the world over rank Qingjing among the top destinations for a highland holiday or summer vacation, earning the farm the title of “a haven above the clouds.”
The endless flow of tourists every year makes Green, Green Grassland the most popular tour venue on the farm, where everyone in the family, from young to old, come to enjoy life’s simple pleasures.
