Taipei City Government

Are you someone who enjoys the sight of blooming flowers but dreads the thought of traveling up all the way to Yangmingshan? The good news is: you don’t have to go that far to admire floral beauties during the month of March!

Taipei City Government announced that the 2017 Taipei Azalea Festival will take place in the southern part of Taipei City between March 1 and 31. The city is collaborating with National Taiwan University, which has been organizing the NTU Azalea Festival for over 20 years.

Spanning the entire month of March, the event includes activities ranging from music to art to guided tours to campus activities to large-scale picnic. The blooming azaleas in the southern districts serve as wonderful backdrops for these exciting arts and leisure programs by infusing a sense of spring season.

Mayor Ko Wen-je believes that azalea – the city flower of Taipei City – should be more closely connected with the city’s image, like how cherry blossoms evoke the image of Tokyo and tulips evoke the image of Amsterdam. He recalled that he has the idea of organizing such festivals since last year and is glad to see the event take place.

During the press conference, Deputy Mayor Chen Chin-jun remarked that organizations held their separate events celebrating blooming azaleas in the past. In the interest of educating the public on Taipei’s city flower, the city government organized this new event during March. He hopes that the public will take this opportunity to visit the southern part of Taipei to enjoy the scholarly atmosphere of the commercial districts in the neighborhood of National Taiwan University.

The Parks and Street Lights Office has also planted over 100,000 white azaleas, with the majority being concentrated in the vicinity of National Taiwan University, National Taiwan Normal University, and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology

The other major site for the newly planted azaleas is Daan Forest Park. Those exiting from Exit 5 of MRT Daan Park Station will notice these newcomers along the slope nearby. When walking along the main walkway towards the outdoor amphitheater, pedestrians will notice the different breeds of azalea from the Agricultural Research and Extension Station along the way. Such beautiful scenery also adorns the road connecting the park to the National Taiwan University campus.

Smire Weng, the spokesperson for the 2017 Taipei Azalea Festival, noted that the NTU Azalea Festival was one of her favorite activities when she was a student there. She invited everyone to come and take part in the Taipei Azalea Festival to experience the romantic atmosphere and the love of the city.

For more information on activities of the 2017 Taipei Azalea Festival, please visit the official website of the event (Chinese): http://2017.azalea.taipei