Taiwan: Blooming Delights and Cultural Richness in Daxi 大溪

Ahh…a holiday smells gooood!

I made my virgin trip to Taiwan last May with my friend XT. She was visiting for the first time with her family, so I sorta hitchhiked her family vacation :p since it would be fun travelling in a group, and also more economical to hire a driver to bring us around. Taiwan to me is a land of the cutesey second to Japan, and the lure of hot springs, spectacular nature scenery and cheap face masks made me pretty upbeat about the trip.

Taiwan: Here I come!
Taken at Tomita Farm

We made our way directly to Daxi once we touched down from the airport since it was pretty close by.

An agricultural township in eastern Taoyuan County just southwest of Taiwan, Daxi 大溪 (or Dasi/Dashee) has a population of 91,855 and area of 105.12 km2. Daxi features spectacular mountain scenery, beautiful flower gardens and was named one of the Top 10 Small Tourist Towns by the Tourism Bureau of Taiwan.  This is also the place to learn about Taiwan’s political history, being the hometown and resting place of Chiang Kai-shek and his son Chiang Ching-kuo, former presidents of the ROC.

Hello Daxi! We are here!

Daxi Old Street (大溪老街)
Daxi Old Street is mainly centered around Heping Old Street and Zhongshan Rd. This historic street is lined with old Baroque-style buildings and much cultural heritage, rendering this a must-see destination in Daxi. There are many speciality stores here, alongside snack bars and stores dealing in wooden products.

Owner sleeping, please self-service and leave the money
Although it’s on the tourist trail, Daxi Old Street is still untainted by tourist trappings, with many businesses actively serving the local community. The tomatoes looked so fresh – and so cheap!

This dog reminded me of Boo

Dried tofu from Daxi is famous far and wide because of the sweet water from the township. There are two types – plain and flavoured, which people eat as a dish or snack.

We met this super friendly uncle selling mini animal-shaped pancakes along the road. He gave us so many to try that we felt embarrassed and ended up buying a packet from him despite a really full lunch. Such is the friendliness and hosptality of the Daxi folks.

The Hundred years of Glutinous Rice 百年油饭 is famous, as the name suggests, for its rice cakes and sticky rice dishes. The restaurant has won many awards for its gourmet dishes. All the dishes are hand made and contain no additives.
Address: 17, Minquan Road, Daxi Township, Taoyuan County
Tel: +886 (0)3 388 1681

Hundred years of Glutinous Rice 百年油饭

Hundred years of Glutinous Rice 百年油饭

Yummy feasting with XT and Carine
We came up with a strategy – we would order just one serving, so that we can taste more food at other stores.

More food!

We were particularly interested to try the pig’s intenstines stuffed with glutinuous rice (糯米大肠)

And ended up ordering more food…not too bad, but nothing to shout.

The store decor was very good for souvenir photos though

Fresh starfruit juice anyone?
Everyone was so friendly around here, and we ended up chatting with the stall lady as well

As red as the puppets
The baroque architectural style at Daxi Old Street was popular during the Japanese colonial rule of Japan’s Taisho era. The picture patterns of Greek mountains, Roman columns, Chinese style fish, and bats seen at the stores on Heping and Zhongshan Roads are a mixture of baroque, Taiwanese, Greek, and Roman styles.

Oh so cute! I was super tempted to buy this for Rainbow

After lunch, we went on to visit other attractions in Daxi, in particular, the flower farms which they are very famous for. Home to more flower farms than any other parts of the country, Taoyuan County is known as the “flower kingdom” following aggressive promotion of intensive farming, attracting the multitudes with its floral blooms. Some floral farmers have even begun to grow extensive lotus flowers in the marshland. These places are about 20 mins drive from Daxi town.

Love Story Building 爱情故事館

We made a quick visit here en-route to the flower farms. It’s a pretty small place with some stalls selling souvenirs. I would classify it as a quickie – stop to take some photos and go. We spent less than 30 minutes here.

Love is in the air!

Pee Pee
I found it odd to have such an exhibit…hmm.

Ta Shee Blooming Oasis 大溪花海農場

Welcome to the Flower Oasis!

Reputed for the beautiful fields of seasonal flowers and being the largest farm in North Taiwan, Ta Shee Blooming Oasis is a popular filming site of Taiwanese idol dram such as “Green Light Forest,” “My Secret Garden 2,” Wedding Dress of Heaven,” “In Love of Fragrance,” “Fighting Kings,” etc. There is also a restaurant where one can enjoy herbal cusine or an afternoon tea, or participate in some DIY activities organised by the farm. Or you can arrange for a BBQ with your friends here too.

Flowers in the “Rainbow Flower Field” blossom according to season. It’s a sea of red at the moment.

The latest floral addition: spunktitudedilia. Pretty like fairy, noisy like monkey

Spot the flower wannabe!

XT and me

And more red

Ringing in bliss & lots of yummy food on the trip!

This is the main purpose of my visit – lavender. A pity it wasn’t in season, so I was not able to witness a sea of purple I envisioned.

Faint smell of lavender. I wanna smear it all over my body.

More blooms

Here’s how we take a photo -1,2,3!

Pretty landscape. Even the trees in the carpark bloom so beautifully.

Time to leave and visit another place…

But not before a group photooo! XT’s mum and aunty were even more havoc than us.

Tomita Farm 富田花園農場

Tomita Farm is just across the road from Ta Shee Blooming Oasis. Due to the owner’s attentive care of the flower fields, the farm attracts crowds during holidays and is a super hot spot for wedding photo-taking and producers of TV dramas.

The owner’s idea for the farm ranch comes from a Japanese village-style vanilla garden farm in Hokkaido, where flowers bloom all the year round. In the spring there are lavender spanis and impatiens wallerland. In the summer there are sunflowers, sage, and hybrid verbena. In the autumn and winter there are lavender and cosmos.

It’s sunflower season!

The sunflower is as big as my face! Which is not, erm, exactly small.

Spotted this uncle hard at work. He was so focused on tilling the soil.

Even the butterflies came to visit

Pretty flowers

Tiny grasshopper

Ring my bell, neighhh and mooo

Wonder why there are so many bears here?

The sorbet came in interesting flavours such as cactus.

Yes baby, I know you can’t bear to say good-bye…but it’s time for me to go. Be good!

The Top, Yangming Shan 屋頂上景觀餐廳

After a day of play in Daxi, we headed to our hotel for a quick refresh before heading to The Top at YangMingShan for dinner. Situated near to the Chinese Culture University, The Top sits on the southern mountainside of YangMingShan and offers marvellous views of Taipei City at night. Food-wise, they offer BBQ or Chinese cuisine in separate sections.

The Top, Yangming Shan 屋頂上景觀餐廳
Address: No. 33, Alley 4, Lane 61, KǎiXuán Rd, Shihlin District /
台北市凱旋路61巷4弄33號
Website: http://www.compei.com
Menu: http://www.compei.com/product.aspx
Reservations recommended. And take a taxi.

Other than alfresco seating, there are also cabanas for private dining with a minimum spend. The alfresco seating is very popular as you get to admire the spectacular scenery while you dine, so it’s best to make a reservation beforehand.

Asparagus with lily bulbs

Sweet sour pork

Sakura Prawns with Cabbage

This dried beancurd with dried chilli was my fave dish

Steamed lemon fish – super sour but kinda refreshing

What a full first day in Taiwan!
We took in the beautiful night scenery while sipping our coffee, and looking forward to the rest of our Taiwan trip. More adventures to come!

Addresses

Love Story Building 爱情故事館
Address: No. 1037, Sec. 1, Fuxing Rd., Daxi Township, Taoyuan County 33559
Tel: 03-387-1566
Opening Hours： 9:30AM to 5:30PM (weekdays); 9:30AM to 6:00PM (Sat & Sun)
Free admission
Website: www.9420.com.tw/museum/english/english.htm

Ta Shee Blooming Oasis大溪花海農場
Address: No. 27, Lane 1093, Sec.1 Fu-xing Road, 4th Neighborhood, Fu An Lane, Da Xi Township, Taoyuan County
Tel: 03-388-0801, extension 10 or 11
Opening hrs: 8:30AM to 5:30PM (weekdays); 8:00AM to 6:30PM (weekends and public holidays)
Admission: NT$100 (weekdays) NT$150 (weekends and public holidays); Get a discount with the Youth Travel Card
Admission ticket price redeemable on food and purchases.
Website: www.tasheeblmn.com.tw

Tomita Farm富田花園農場
Address: No. 20-1, Fu-An Li Pi Wei, Daxi Township, Taoyuan County
Tel: 03-387-2540, extension  1
Opening hrs: 10:00AM to 8:00PM (weekdays); 9:00AM to 8:30PM (weekends and public holidays)
Admission: NT$50 (weekdays, weekends and public holidays); Free entry otherwise
Admission ticket price redeemable on food and purchases.
Website: http://www.tomita.com.tw

Other Attractions in Daxi

There are many other attractions and eating places in Daxi, here’s a list I compiled:

• Cihu Memorial Sculpture Park 慈湖纪念雕塑公园
  Over 100 bronze statues of Chiang Kai-Shek were relocated from schools and public areas all over Taiwan when the DPP were in power.
• Daxi Mausoleum
  The mausoleum of Chiang Kai-Shek in his former summer home is here.
• Daxi Shen Niu Tourist Resort 大溪神牛观光区 Admission: NT$300
• Li Tengfang’s Ancient Residence
• Daxi Zhongzheng Park
• Tong Ho Music Museum
• Touliao Jing-guo Memorial Hall
• Daxi Literary and Art House
• Bird Watching at Touliao Dachi
• Back Cihu

Food

• Focus Coffee
• Honey Baby’s honey
• TaFang Foods Corporation Ltd.
• Hwang Ryh Shiang Co., Ltd.
• The Soft Bean Curd of Mama Lai
• Ilichia Meat Bum and Bum Specialty Store
• Brother Chen Vegetarian Meat Ball
• The Wanlixiang Aged Red Vinasse Bean Curd
• Xi You Yuan Delicacies

Good resource on Daxi: http://travel-taoyuan.tycg.gov.tw/e_content/map/Map01.aspx?sid=335&typeid=-1&PageID=1
Learn more about the history of Daxi (Dasi) http://www.tyccc.gov.tw/englishweb/info9/hist/historic_monuments_05.asp

Getting to Daxi
Taiwan High Speed Rail to Taoyuan http://travel-taoyuan.tycg.gov.tw/e_content/suggest/suggest02.aspx?sid=1
Bus route map from Taipei to Daxi: http://www.tpebus.com.tw/image/1011.gif
Bus timings schedule: http://www.tpebus.com.tw/image/1011.html  

Driver
If you are looking to hire a driver, you can consider Mr Liu 刘先生. He’s a burly uncle who used to be a truck driver, and very honest. He charged us a very reasonable per day rate, brought us to all the places where the locals went, and none of those touristy crap. And we felt safe with him. You can give him a try if you wish.  Mr Liu’s Mobile: (0)92-0266-276