The Council of Agriculture indicated that it was crisp and autumnal in November in Central Taiwan, an ideal time for the family to go outing. Hsinshe, Taichung County, which has long enjoyed the reputation of the Grass Mountain in Central Taiwan, is endowed with the natural vista of river terraces, scenic beauty and a clement weather and considered to be an ideal place for recreational outing. In order to push for the development of tourist and recreational industry in Central Taiwan, COA took advantage of the period when farmland lies fallow to set aside a 30-hectare pastoral sea of flowers inside Tanan Hsinshe River Terrace where the Second Farm of the Seed Improvement and Propagation Station is located. The spectacular sea of flowers set against the scenic mountains and rivers creates a piece of scenery comparable to that of Furano Japan in its breathtaking natural beauty, thereby sparing people, who like to get close to nature, a trip abroad when they want to feed their sight with flowers to their fill.

COA pointed out that the altitude of Hsinshe is somewhere between 400 and 1000 meters and the mountain village is prodigiously endowed with the topography of hills, river terraces and mountains. Sunshine is ample and there is a considerable discrepancy between diurnal and nocturnal temperatures, which gives rise to a great variety of high quality agricultural produce and specialties. It also boasts of uniquely endowed natural beauty, the farms scattered in the village and a booming recreational industry. The Seed Improvement and Propagation Station, affiliated with COA and located in Tanan Hsinshe, has long shouldered the mission of providing quality seeds, deepening the research and development of seed technology and protecting plant varieties and enhancing the competitiveness of the seed industry in Taiwan. Starting from 2005, in keeping with the events held on opening days of the agencies, COA took advantage of the period when farmland lies fallow to grow plants and flowers extensively and construct the bucolic vista of the sea of flowers. At the same time, it took one step further to integrate the resources from recreation industry groups, local government and farmers’ organizations together with the breathtaking beauty of its natural view to launch a one-month series of activities entitled Fascinating Farms---Take a Trip to the Sea of Flowers in Hsinshe. During the period when the sea of flowers go on display, events are held on a weekly basis, allowing visitors who come to visit the exhibition all the way from afar to take part in the series of activities and enjoy being with their families any time they want apart from feasting on the spectacular scenery.

COA went on to stress that, apart from constructing the 30-hectare vista comprising the blue sky, green mountains and the spectacular sea of flowers in the series of activities in Fascinating Farms ---Take a Trip to the Sea of Flowers in Hsinshe, it also made efforts to incorporate the resources from the five villages and townships of Hsinshe, Tongshe, Zhuolan, Heping and Shegang and used the sea of flowers as the hub to roll out the Recreational and Tourist Circle in the Greater Mountain Village to allow the flower-watching visitors to sense a feeling of beatitude brought about by local exquisite cuisine as well as have their fill of visual beauty by means of expanding the scope of activities. Besides, in order to allow consumers to appreciate the three-in-one charm, combining the sea of flowers, recreation and gifts for friends, of exquisite recreation, the organizers went out of their way to combine the delicately-made produce to be used as gifts for friends from Miaoli, Taichung, Nantou, Changhua counties in central Taiwan with recreational activities to conduct an exhibition and sales of exquisite produce, enabling visitors to make their purchase of exquisite produce to be used as gifts for friends and bring back home a serving of good will from farmers.

COA indicated that, after being incorporated, the recreational tourist sites around the sea of flowers are broken down into six main sight-seeing routes, namely Romantic Purple, Passionate Red, Tender Yellow, Soothing Green and Coquettish Pink, to create a recreational image of Hsinshe as the home to color purple, allowing consumers to have a deeper appreciation of the scenic beauty of the mountains in Hsinshe. It also designed a highly recommended one-day or two-day tour that particularly suits the Tourist Circle in the Greater Mountain Village. We are convinced that, through the considerate arrangements made by the organizers, visitors who make their trip to Hsinshe are certain to enjoy a flower-watching trip brimming with happiness and fond memories.