Travel Date: 2025/03/02
Because of my husband's work, we haven’t had time to go out on weekends. Even though it’s been nearly a month since we came back from Poland, this was our first time going out sightseeing. Finally, we decided to take a trip on March 1st, but when we arrived in the mountains of Miaoli, the cherry trees had already lost their blossoms.
A year without cherry blossoms feels like a year wasted, so the next day, we hopped on our scooter and rode up the mountains again—this time to Hsinchu. We passed by Beipu, and the road leading to the cherry farm was beautiful, with mountain views and even some cherry trees along the way.
I would recommend taking a scooter, as the mountain roads are quite narrow, and encountering oncoming cars can be challenging. There was a traffic jam well before the entrance to the farm because the road only allows one-way traffic for cars. If you don’t arrive early, you may struggle to find parking and end up waiting in the car for a long time.
The road is steep, so parking at a distance and climbing up would still be quite far. Once you arrive, you still have to climb several levels to reach the best viewpoints, so unless you’re in great shape, it can be quite tough.
If you're reading this soon after publication, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom just two days ago (March 2), so you still have a chance to see them before the season ends!
The entrance fee to Shan Shang Ren Jia is 200 NT per person and cannot be exchanged for anything. However, we later noticed that the ticket allows you to participate in a lottery. With the number of visitors, though, you’d have to be very lucky to win. And what’s the prize? A stay at their accommodation—only 20 winners in total.
Inside, we enjoyed plenty of beautifully pink cherry trees. The trees are planted on different levels and surrounded by tea bushes. There’s a restaurant and a few resting areas, though the prices seemed quite high—220 NT for tea felt a bit extreme to me.
The area is quite large, so you can easily spend two hours walking around. It’s located high in the mountains, and in one of the gift shop photos, we even saw a picture of the area covered in snow!
Shan Shang Ren Jia sits at an altitude of 1,200 meters and covers 5 hectares. It’s close to the Sanshan National Scenic Area and is surrounded by towering Yoshino cedars. Nearby, farmers grow peaches, plums, persimmons, and cold-resistant organic vegetables. Sometimes, you can even see a rolling sea of clouds in the distance, making the scenery truly breathtaking.
The weather was absolutely beautiful when we arrived, with plenty of sunshine. We got there quite early, around 11 AM, but by noon, the sun started hiding behind the clouds. After a long period of cool weather in Taiwan, it suddenly felt super hot—and when we checked the temperature, it was 28°C!
Most of the trees had bright pink flowers, but there was also a large white cherry tree and some dark pink ones. The darker cherry blossoms seemed to be the first to bloom and the first to finish their season. There were a lot of people, so taking photos with just the trees in the background was quite difficult.
We also saw several birds. Besides ducks and chickens, there were peacocks and parrots as well!
Since there are many stairs and slopes, walking around can be tiring for older visitors. Overall, it was an amazing place to visit. When we left around 1 PM, there were still many cars waiting to enter. I definitely recommend arriving before noon when the sunshine is at its best.
On the way back, we stopped in Beipu to find lunch—crystal dumplings, noodles, and luwei. Beipu was quite packed with people, but it was also filled with Hakka foods, many of which don’t look like the typical street food you’d find outside of Hakka towns. That being said, Hakka food is usually really tasty!
That’s all for this trip! I hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure. See you in the next post!
Address: 311-41新竹縣五峰鄉大隘村23鄰468-5號
