Pink shower trees create a petal paradise in Chiayi’s Yilong Village

Pink shower trees create a petal paradise in Chiayi’s Yilong Village

2023-04-12

In Chiayi County, a small village has become known as a pink paradise. After 11 years of assiduous planting, there are thousands of pink shower trees lining the roads of Yilong Village. The trees bloom for a whole month, so flowers will be out until early May. The locals have a festival of flowers in April and May, and hope to attract more visitors to sample the rural delights of Zhuqi Township.

A sea of pink petals extends down the roadside as far as the eye can see. This is the village of Yilong in Chiayi’s Zhuqi Township. It becomes a fairyland with the blossoming of the pink shower tree.

Weng Chang-liang
Chiayi County commissioner
You can come down to Yilong Village to see the pink shower trees covering all the mountains and valleys. The flowers are only about 50% out now, so basically they will get even more spectacular and beautiful as time goes on.

The pink shower tree is special because it likes to grow at low altitudes, blossoms late in spring, and has an exceptionally long blossoming period. It usually bursts into bloom after Tomb-Sweeping Festival, and the branches are laden with flowers for a whole month.

Weng Chang-liang
Chiayi County commissioner
It was the dream of the village head. Over such a long time, the last 11 years, they managed to create an enormous impact, and spread the power of beauty.

Local village chief Yeh Chih-hung is the one who first had a vision of Yilong awash with pink. Over the last 11 years, he planted more than 3,000 pink shower trees on 5 hectares of his own hillside land. Now, each year in April and May, the small village becomes a pink paradise. Yeh plans to start planting orange day-lilies, to bring even more botanical tourism to the area.

Yeh Chih-hung
Yilong village head, Zhuqi Township
We turn on streetlamps at dusk. We want people to be able to come here and enjoy the flowers, to come and visit our small farmers’ market, and drink a cup of coffee. Everyone is welcome!

Locals hope the ocean of flowers will make Yilong stand out as a tourist destination, while also bringing knock-on benefits for other small towns and villages in the area.

5公頃花旗木大爆發嘉縣竹崎"粉紅村"粉嫩破表

2023-04-12

嘉義竹崎鄉最近花旗木盛開，其中義隆村更是整個村莊變成一片粉紅，被人稱做是"粉紅村"，吸引不少人來參觀打卡，而且花期為期一個月，可以到五月初，會有這片5公頃的花旗木粉紅花海，全都歸功於當地村長11年前的一個發想，在自家土地種了3000棵花旗木，如今真的開花結果。

放眼望去，公路兩側全都染上一片粉紅，這裡是嘉義竹崎義隆村，盛開的花旗木，讓義隆村變身粉紅祕境。

[[嘉義縣長翁章梁]]
“大家可以到我們義隆村來，看我們滿山遍野的花旗木，現在開花大概只有到五成，所以基本上後面會更鮮豔、會更漂亮”

花旗木是海拔最低、開花最晚、但花期最長的樹種，每年清明過後開花，一次長達一個月的時間。

[[嘉義縣長翁章梁]]
“村長的一個夢想，這11年來經過這麼長的時間，能夠讓這邊變成一個巨大的影響力，跟散發出它美的力量”

會有這麼多花旗木，靠的全是當地村長葉志紘的一個發願，花了11年的時間，在自家5公頃的山坡地上，種植3000多棵花旗木，小村莊如今每逢四、五月，就有如置身粉紅天堂，而且村長現在還打算再種金針，為當地帶來更多賞花經濟。

[[嘉義竹崎義隆村長葉志紘]]
“要黃昏的時候我們有打夜燈，希望大家可以來這邊賞花，來我們這裡到我們的小農市集參觀一下，來我們這裡喝咖啡，歡迎大家”

就盼滿山的粉紅花旗木，不只讓小村不一樣，也一起帶動周邊鄉鎮。

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