Exploring the Pumpkin Tunnel at Miaoxiang Ranch - Miaoli Travel

Travel Date: 2026/05/16

One of the things I absolutely love about living in Taiwan is how easy it is to discover seasonal surprises just a short trip from home. Usually, spring means chasing cherry blossoms or tung blossoms, but this weekend my husband and I decided to do something a little bit different. We went to Zaoqiao Township in Miaoli County to catch the annual Zaoqiao Pumpkin Festival (造橋南瓜季).

I had seen photos of this place online on Facebook, but experiencing it in person was something completely different. It was colorful, beautiful, and honestly a little bit mind-blowing to see how many types of pumpkins actually exist!

About the Zaoqiao Pumpkin Festival

The festival is an annual tradition held here in Miaoli, running from early May through early June when the pumpkin harvest is at its absolute peak. Zaoqiao’s hilly terrain and well-drained soil make it the perfect place for growing incredibly sweet edible pumpkins, but the festival has turned into a major seasonal attraction because of one special spot: Miaoxiang Ranch (苗翔牧場).

During the festival period, the entire ranch opens its doors to the public completely free of charge. In Taiwan, where so many seasonal flower and farm attractions charge an entry fee, that feels especially generous!

When you arrive at the ranch, the first thing that catches your eye is a huge, bright orange pumpkin display right at the entrance. It's the ultimate photo spot and everyone was queueing up to take pictures with it.

But the real highlight of the festival is walking through the spectacular Pumpkin Tunnel.

It’s a massive arched trellis stretching for over 100 meters, completely covered in lush green vines. Hanging right above your head are hundreds of pumpkins in every shape, size, and color imaginable.

I definitely did not expect to see so much variety!

Aside from the classic bright orange pumpkins, there were white ones, cream-colored ones, green striped ones, and even miniature pumpkins that looked like spinning tops or little pears. Some of the giant pumpkins hanging there looked so heavy that I kept wondering how the vines could support them, but everything is perfectly maintained and totally safe to walk under.

Walking through the shade of the tunnel with the green leaves filtering the bright May sunshine felt so peaceful.  

Since the festival takes place on a real, functioning dairy ranch, there is plenty to do even after you finish walking through the tunnel.

Normally, Miaoxiang Ranch is a popular spot for families because it has a really nice, down-to-earth farm atmosphere. It’s not over-commercialized at all. They have cows, chickens, horse. 

Inside the indoor exhibition area, local farmers set up stalls selling fresh agricultural products, and they even sell freshly harvested pumpkins that you can buy to take home for cooking.

Weekends can get incredibly busy with families and tour groups. If you want to take photos in the tunnel without too many people in the background, I highly recommend arriving early in the morning.

If you are looking for a fun spring weekend escape in Miaoli, this is definitely a place worth visiting!

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Why the World's Biggest Microchip Maker Has Its Own Brand of Chips

What you are looking at is an iconic piece of Taiwanese tech culture.

This is a special edition bag of Kuai Kuai (乖乖), a popular Taiwanese corn snack. While it's technically food (this one is the classic coconut flavor), in Taiwan, it doubles as a good luck charm for technology.

Here is the story behind the phenomenon.

The "Kuai Kuai Culture" (乖乖文化)

The Name: In Chinese, "Kuai Kuai" literally means "be good" or "behave yourself."

Engineers, IT professionals, and technicians across Taiwan place these bags on top of servers, computers, medical equipment, and assembly lines. The belief is that putting a bag of Kuai Kuai on a machine will make the machine "behave" and run smoothly without crashing.

The Rules:

- It must be green: Green represents a "green light" (smooth operation / system normal). Yellow or red bags (other flavors) signify warnings or errors and are strictly forbidden near tech.

- Never eat them: Once a bag is dedicated to a machine, it cannot be eaten, and it must be replaced before its expiration date, or the "magic" wears off.

What Makes This Specific Bag Special?

If you look closely at the picture, this isn't just a standard grocery store bag. This is a highly coveted, limited-edition collaboration with TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) - the world's largest and most advanced microchip manufacturer.

Several unique details stand out on this packaging:

- TSMC Branding: The cartoon mascot on the right side is wearing a blue hat that explicitly features the tsmc logo.

- Circuit Board Design: The background features printed circuit board (PCB) traces and a microchip icon rather than the traditional abstract patterns.

- The Slogan: The large text reads 「乖乖守護 綠色順行」, which translates to "Kuai Kuai protects, green light smoothly runs." Above it, near the circuit traces, it says 「順順利利」 ("Smoothly and successfully").

These specific TSMC co-branded bags are usually not sold to the general public. They are typically distributed internally to TSMC employees or engineers at their fabs (fabrication plants) to ensure the multimillion-dollar chip-making machines keep running flawlessly. Because of this, they are often treated as collector's items!

Our Forbidden Snack Time (Oops!)

I used to think the whole "Kuai Kuai on the machines" thing was just an urban legend expats hear about when they first move to Taiwan. That was until my husband brought home the exact bag.

As it turns out, the rumors are true, but human hunger wins eventually! Because TSMC engineers are constantly working intense overtime, they occasionally share these exclusive snacks with the hungry vendors working on-site. That’s how this rare bag made its way out of the high-tech cleanrooms and right onto our kitchen table.

Not realizing just how rare it was, I actually opened it up and ate it! Now that the magic spell is broken and since my husband is currently working somewhere else rather than TSMC... I won't be restocking our digital guardian angels anytime soon! I just hope my laptop doesn't start crashing in retaliation...

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