Xinshe Sea of Flowers

Flowers are beautiful in their ephemerality. Here today, and gone tomorrow, their impermanence somehow captures our imagination. We pluck them to put in our homes, take photos of them and even dry them as keepsakes. Yet, flowers have been a mainstay on the site of the Xinshe Sea of Flowers since as early as 1913, when the Japanese government used it as a nursery dedicated to improving the yield of plant species. At the end of the Japanese occupation, the locals continued to work with plants until today.

The Xinshe Sea of Flowers is a rare window of opportunity to commune with flowers near the center of busy Taichung. Held every late November to early December, this two to four week flower exhibition attracts thousands of locals and tourists alike. With sixty hectares of flowers to explore, visitors revel in the colors on display, enjoying the annual theme, sometimes fairy tales, public figures, famous buildings or even movies. An education exhibition center allows tourists to gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s agriculture and flower industries. Some visitors happily spend up to four hours enjoying the atmosphere here. Flowers may be ephemeral, but memories are forever at the Xinshe Sea of Flowers.