Taipei City Government

Just before and after Chinese New Year, cherry blossom on Yangmingshan is in full bloom, signifying the upcoming spring. Taiwan’s annual flower appreciation event - Yangmingshan Flower Festival - is held during February and March every year, attracting a million tourists from Taiwan and throughout the world to Yangmingshan to appreciate the beauty of cherry blossoms. The influx of visitors creates a spectacle that is reminiscent of the salmon run.

Eastern Culture Foundation advocates the Plant Trees to Protect the Forest – Fostering A Better Life in Taipei event and supports the Taipei City Government’s urban policy of Maximizing Greenification and Improving the Heat Island Effect in order to create a better and healthier living environment for our future generation. The foundation has donated cherry blossom trees and adopted the cherry blossom river area, hoping to welcome spring by staging a vibrant cherry blossom extravaganza, thereby turning Yangming Park into the public’s premier recreational destination.

According to Taipei City Mayor Ko Wen-Je, the cherry blossom river area of Yangming Park is a route that must be taken by the tourists to reach the Flower Clock; hence it always attracts heavy pedestrian traffic during the Yangmingshan Flower Festival. In order to enhance the landscape at the cherry blossom river area, the Plant Trees to Protect the Forest – Fostering A Better Life in Taipei event has adopted 100 Taiwan cherry trees. Taiwan cherry trees’ flowering period is around February. Due to its early flowering period and astonishing volume, coupled with its heat-resistant properties and relatively less prone to disease, Taiwan cherry tree is an ideal cherry blossom species for Yangmingshan, thus Ko thanked the Eastern Media International for donating the eco-friendly, magnificent, and priceless gift to the citizens of Taipei.

The Parks and Street Lights Office (PSLO) of Public Works Department commented that Yangmingshan is blessed with diverse ecological resources as well as history and culture from different periods, therefore walking into Yangming Park is like taking a trip down memory lane. In particular, the Yangming Park cherry blossom river area – which was completed in 2016 – features classic natural garden landscape complemented by trickling streams, allowing the citizens to enjoy a reprieve from the hustle and bustle of the city by embracing the leisurely ambiance of the park. As a result, the area has also been a very popular tourist attraction in the park. However, beautiful sceneries must be maintained at a cost, therefore the city government is grateful to the Eastern Media International for donating 100 cherry blossom trees and adopting the routine maintenance work so as to preserve the park’s magnificent façade for the tourists. Sharing the stunning views of Yangming Park with the international communities through social media will help to attract foreign visitors, in turn showcasing the most appealing features of urban tourism.

Due to limited funding and manpower, the immense resources of the private sector can go a long way in making a difference. Therefore, Taipei City Government has committed to promoting the adoption of parks in order to encourage the infusion of private resources. Through adoption by various organizations and the exchange of social resources, people will be able to care and help one another, enabling limited governmental resources to be focused on important city administration-related affairs. The PSLO has proactively sought private participation in adopting park maintenance, hoping the citizens can join the initiative by adopting a tree, location, or green space near their home because a small gesture from all of you will be a giant leap for Taipei City Government in transforming the city into a more splendid metropolis.