Held in March and April, the Zhuzihu Calla Lily Festival is one of the most popular annual events at Yangmingshan National Park in northern Taiwan. As the weather warms and the last vestiges of winter fade, visitors flock to the mountainous area to explore the pristine natural environment and handpick some fresh flowers.
The festival was first held in 2003. Zhuzihu, however, was originally an agricultural community rather than a tourist destination. The Japanese started cultivating rice there in the 1920s, but since the land can deliver only a single harvest each year due to the climate of the region, the farms in the area could not compete against the multi-harvest rice fields in central and southern Taiwan.
Over time, farmers in Zhuzihu shifted to growing cabbages for the Greater Taipei area. The initial success of this industry did not last, however. The market was quickly taken over by highland vegetable farmers in central Taiwan once the nation’s transportation infrastructure improved to the point where agricultural produce could be promptly shipped to the capital.
The cultivation of calla lilies was introduced to Zhuzihu in the late 1960s, but it was not until the mid-1990s, when the government started to promote the agri-tourism sector, that large numbers of people began to visit the community. With a planted area of 13 hectares and an annual production of about 3 million flowers, Zhuzihu now greets its 500,000 festival visitors with a sea of calla lily blossoms.
Write to Jim Hwang at cyhuang03@mofa.gov.tw
The calla lily’s white funnel-shaped exterior is in fact a form of leaf rather than a bloom, while its actual flowers are found on its yellow spadix. (Photo by Jimmy Lin)
Zhuzihu in northern Taiwan’s Yangmingshan National Park offers an ideal environment for growing calla lilies. (Photo by Jimmy Lin)
Approximately 500,000 visitors flock to Zhuzihu in March and April each year to explore the area’s calla lily gardens and handpick some fresh flowers. (Photos by Jimmy Lin)
Government efforts to promote agri-tourism have helped transform Zhuzihu from an agricultural community into a popular tourist destination. (Photo by Jimmy Lin)
A farmer begins picking calla lilies at the break of day so he can deliver the flowers to a market. (Photo by Jimmy Lin)