Taipei City Geotechnical Engineering Office

Flowers across Taipei come into bloom in April, painting the City in vibrant hues that encourage outdoor activities. Among the various native or non-native flowering plants lining trails city-wide, calla lilies, Taiwanese lilies and dull-ice flowers are emblematic of northern, central and southern Taipei, respectively. It is healthful and relaxing to admire the sheer splendor of blossoms while enjoying life’s little blessings on Taipei’s flower-viewing trails.

Huang Li-yuan, Director of Taipei City’s Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO), explained the term “calla lilies in the north” refers to the calla lily fields lying by the gently rolling, hiker-friendly trails in Beitou District’ Zhuzihu Lake. Fading into the horizon, the effortless luxury of a snow-white sea of calla lilies is available on a number of the City’s hiking trails, including Shuicheliao (or “water wheel shed”) Hiking Trail, Hudi Circular Trail, Calla Lily Circular Trail and Dinghu Circular Trail. “Taiwanese lilies in the center” refer to the staple flowering plant at Neishuangxi Nature Center, Shilin District, where visitors can stop and smell the intense fragrance during each flowering season. As the term “dull-ice flowers in the south” implies, the GEO ingeniously created an ethereal carpet of yellow, white and blue dull-ice flowers that stretches all the way up the slopes in an amusing contrast to the 1.5-hectare fallow land flanking the Camphor Tree Trail in Maokong, Wenshan District.

The Cuishan Hiking Trail in Shilin District, according to GEO’s Industrial and Trail Section chief, Xia Xian-tong, was transformed by replanting an abandoned police shooting range for ecological richness and diversity, as evidenced by the trail-lining flowering plants (mostly Taiwan agrimony and Common Melastoma) besides tiny, plaza-dwelling flossflowers that frolic in the wind.

Accessible via Cuishan Hiking Trail, the Bixi Hiking Trail provides a tranquil view of the immaculately white Chinese Fringetrees, in full bloom and set against a verdant backdrop. Meanwhile, the subtle yet uplifting fragrance of Taiwan Maesa adorning the historic Tianmu Trail ensures a flower-viewing trip that satisfies visitors’ visual as well as olfactory senses.

Chen Yan-cheng, a senior engineer at GEO’s Industrial and Trail Section, recommended the calming and historically significant Hengling Trail in Hushan township, Beitou District, which is flanked by Chinese hydrangea (white sepals and tiny yellow flowers), besides Formosanum Elderberry (tiny white flowers) to make visitors feel as if they are in a meditation retreat. The well-equipped Xiangshan and Hushan (meaning Mt. Elephant and Mt. Tiger in Chinese, respectively) Hiking Trails in Xinyi District near the Taipei 101 skyscraper feature dazzling clusters; each contains tens of white Bigflower Galangal. Moreover, numerous impeccably white, fragrant Taiwanese lilies are planted by local residents both along Nangang District’s Gengliao Trail and near the hilltop pavilion. People visiting Neihu District’s Jinmianshan Hiking Trail on the ridge will surely be impressed by how the fiery-red Oldham’s Azalea pleasantly and vividly contrasts with green leaves.

Reaching every administrative district of Taipei City, the extensive network of hiking trails offers access to a springtime stroll amid Mother Nature, where various flowers elicit a sense of joy in the viewers. GEO invites you to take a flower-viewing tour of the 12 trails it recommends, and offers a map free of charge. You can also download the map at GEO’s hiking website (http://hiking.taipei.gov.tw/)(Chinese)