Xinshe Sea of Flowers (新社花海) is an annual agriculture event showcasing the prettiest flowers in Central Taiwan. Visitors can see hectares of flower fields, including many colours of cosmos and marigolds. It is one of the most popular Taichung flower expos!
While in Taichung, I visited Zhongshe Flower Market, just outside of Taichung City. I thoroughly enjoyed it and decided to see the Sea of Flowers. It is definitely a highlight of my trip!
So if you love flowers and enjoy a day in nature, you must visit Xinshe Sea of Flowers! Especially if you are travelling to Taichung in late autumn, the flower festival only lasts a few weeks!
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Before you visit the Taichung Flower Expo
Before you visit the Taichung flower market, take a look at my post on learning all my best tips for travelling to Taiwan. I included a lot of information, including getting a Taiwan prepaid SIM card, transportation around the country, and more. And check out more tips on my solo travel guide to Taichung and learn about other attractions in Taichung.
Here are additional travel tips for visiting Xinshe Sea of Flowers:
- The annual flower festival opens from late November to early December. Make sure to check the website for exact dates.
- Purchase a rechargeable smartcard called EasyCard or iPass. Either card is good for taking the public buses to Xinshe. You can get the rechargeable card at any major train station or convenience store in Taiwan.
- Or you can take an Uber to the flower festival. Download the Uber app and set up the app before you use the app in Taiwan. And if you are setting it up in Taiwan, you will need a local phone number.
How to get to Xinshe Sea of Flowers
Address: No. 30, Xiexing Street, Xinshe District, Taichung City
Hours: 9am-5pm (late November to early December only; check the website for the exact dates)
Admission: free
Take Taichung public bus + walk
From anywhere in Taichung city centre, take a public bus directly to Xinshe. Then walk for about 15 – 25 minutes.
The official website says bus 91, 265, 270, 271, 272, 276, 277, 278, and 279 all travel from Taichung to Xinshe.
Below are a sample route from Taichung Railway Station to Xinshe Sea of Flowers:
- Bus 270: from Taichung Railway Station to Zhongxingling
- Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Cost: NT$30 (use EasyCard or iPass)
- Follow the main road and walk 20 minutes
Take an Uber directly to Xinshe
If you want to get to Xinshe directly, order an Uber car via the online app. The car ride costs about NT$550.
What is the Sea of Flowers in Xinshe
The Sea of Flowers is an annual event featuring Central Taiwan’s prettiest and brightest flowers. The flower fields are full of garden cosmos, sulphur cosmos, sage flowers, marigolds, globe amaranth, zinnia, buckwheat and, of course, everyone’s favourite, sunflowers.
The flower expo includes an annual themed festival called the Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival. Fields of flowers are designed and planted to a specific theme. And for 2019, the main feature is based on the story of Le Petit Prince.
Several fields also highlight the best crops in Xinshe in the Edible Landscape Area. Rows and rows of leafy lettuce, broccoli, cabbage and other fresh produce are displayed in the field.
Moreover, the Central Taiwan Agriculture Expo has several exhibition tents featuring agricultural highlights from Central Taiwan.
Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival
Every year, the Sea of Flowers in Xinshe has a different theme for the Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival. Typically, the theme is based on a fairy tale, a public figure, or stories that people can relate to.
In 2019, the chosen theme was Le Petit Prince.
The Little Prince is a children’s book written by a French writer, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. It is a story about the Little Prince travelling to various planets in space and comes back with vast knowledge about life and human nature.
The popular children’s story has been adapted to many arts and media forms, including the Sea of Flowers in Xinshe.
The main display features the Little Prince, who stands on top of the world with a giant rose.
Every hour between 9am and 4pm., the airplane circles around the Little Prince and the rose while music is played in the background.
At the Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival’s entrance is another elaborate flower display of the Little Prince.
In this display, the Little Prince sits high on the entrance threshold, and the Fox is nearby.
From afar, the colourful display may not look like flowers at all. But when you walk up close, you can see how detailed each flower is planted expertly into the structure.
Throughout the story, the Little Prince meets many people, and each person teaches him about humanity. And one of them is the King.
The King is a kind and fair man. He believes that he is reasonable that he has the right to command others.
At the flower festival, the King sits in the center of a flower field where colourful flowers are placed in a radiation pattern.
In the story, the Businessman is a very busy, and he doesn’t even raise his head when the Little Prince arrives. He is too busy to meet any visitors.
At the flower festival, the Businessman is surrounded by colourful flowers (of course), and he is sitting at his desk and pointing to a clock.
The entire scene is simply stunning! It might be the gorgeous blooming flowers, the blue skies, and fluffy white clouds, the rugged mountainous background, or a combination of everything!
Also, in the story, the Little Prince meets the Conceited Man, who lives alone on an asteroid. He only raises his hat when he is praised. Moreover, he thinks that everyone admires him; hence, the reason why he is called the Conceited Man.
In the flower display, the Conceited Man is ready to raise his hat. I wonder if he is raising it for all the visitors to the flower festival? Hmmm….
Several other characters from Le Petite Prince’s story are displayed throughout the Taichung International Flower Carpet Festival.
But I didn’t take photos of all of them. I wish I had known the story of the Little Prince a little bit more before going to the flower expo. It would explain a lot more seeing all the beautiful flower displays.
Edible Landscape Area: see a variety of fruits and vegetables
When you wander to the northwest quadrant of the festival, you will find many types of vegetables and fruits in the Edible Landscape Area.
You will find different types of broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, cabbage, garden pea, beet, eggplant, pepper, gourd, carrot, tomato, squash and even fruits like passion fruit, and watermelon.
Each vegetable and fruit is expertly grown by local farmers.
I’ve never seen so many different types of cauliflower and cabbage! They are some of the biggest and healthiest-looking vegetables I’ve ever seen!
It is a good thing the expo labelled each product in Chinese and English. Even though I didn’t see many foreign travellers on the expo ground, the English signage and labels are handy for anyone who cannot read Chinese.
Also, I didn’t think using vegetables and fruits to make such a beautiful field of colours was possible. There are rows and rows of leafy greens, colourful gourds and fruits. From afar, the vegetables look like colourful stripes in a field.
Xinshe Flower Market: food vendors selling Taiwanese street food
I wanted to pick up snacks at a 7-Eleven before going to the flower farm because I wasn’t sure if there was any food there.
But after spending over two months in Taiwan, I noticed that there is always food at any event! Taiwanese people really enjoy their food! And eating in Taiwan is really affordable too!
At the northeast corner of the flower expo is a food tent with many vendors selling typical Taiwanese food, including meat skewers, fried chicken, stinky tofu, scallion pancake, milk tea, and many more.
There are a few chairs and tables inside the tented area as well. Just in case you are tired from all the walking around.
Support local farmers by buying locally-grown produce in Xinshe
In the flower festival’s southwest quadrant is a farmer’s market with rows and rows of vendors selling fresh and dried mushrooms, leafy greens, delicious fruits, honey products, etc.
Xinshe has perfect weather and soil to grow mushrooms. There are many mushroom farms around Xinshe Sea of Flowers, and many farmers sell their locally grown mushrooms at the festival.
It is an excellent way to support local communities by buying local produce and returning money to local communities. Buying local food means you are getting the freshest produce, even better than the supermarkets.
Central Taiwan Agriculture Expo
And last but not least, you will find the Central Taiwan Agriculture Expo at the southwest quadrant of the flower festival, near the farmer’s market.
The agriculture expo is hosted by the government of four counties (Taichung City, Mantou County, Changhua County and Miaoli Country) in Central Taiwan.
Four exhibition areas showcase the agricultural highlights of each county. And the goal is to promote agriculture in the country’s mountainous region and drive rural tourism.
Many displays are in Chinese, but some have infographics (enough for you to understand). Even if you are just inside to escape the late autumn heat, seeing some of the exhibitions is worthwhile.
Taichung day trip itinerary: Visit all the best attractions in Xinshe
It is possible to see several attractions in Xinshe in one day. The day trip has three featured attractions including:
- Carton King Creativity Park
- Xinshe Sea of Flowers (from late November to early December)
- Xinshe Castle
Follow my instructions below on how to take public transportation and click on the individual link for more information about the specific attraction.
How to travel to each attraction in Xinshe
1. Taichung Railway Station to Carton King Creativity Park
- Bus 15: from Taichung Station (Taiwan Blvd) to Dakeng Traffic Circle (see route)
- Time: 45 minutes
- Cost: free (use EasyCard or iPass)
2a. Carton King Park to Xinshe Sea of Flowers
- Bus 276: from Dakeng Traffic Circle to Xingzhong Villa (see route)
- Time: 45 minutes
- Cost: free (use EasyCard or iPass)
- Walk 20 minutes
2b. Carton King Creativity Park to Xinshe Castle
If you are visiting Xinshe and the Sea of Flower is not open, you can still take bus 271 directly from Carton King Creativity Park to Village 4 Entrance, then walk 17 minutes to Xinshe Castle.
- Bus 270: from Dakeng Traffic Circle to Yingqu (see route)
- Time: 20 minutes
- Cost: free (use EasyCard or iPass)
- Bus 272: from Yingqu to Xinwu Village
- Time: 22 minutes
- Cost: free (use EasyCard or iPass)
- Walk 6 minutes
3. Sea of Flowers in Xinshe to Xinshe Castle
4. Xinshe Castle to Taichung Railway Station
- Bus 265: from Xinwu Village to Yingqu (see route)
- Time: 10 minutes
- Cost: free (use EasyCard or iPass)
- *Note* – Bus 265 does not stop frequently. Check the Fengyuan bus schedule for the last bus before you go into Xinshe Castle. At the time of writing, the last bus leaves Xinwu Village at 5:40 pm (Monday to Friday) and 5:30 (Saturday and Sunday). Otherwise, you will have to walk to Zhonxingling to catch bus 272.
- Bus 272: from Yingqu to Taichung Railway Station
- Time: 45 minutes
- Cost: free (use EasyCard or iPass)
Are you including the Xinshe Sea of Flowers in your Taichung itinerary?
I thought Zhongshe Flower Market was fabulous! And don’t get me wrong, it is.
But the Sea of Flowers in Xinshe is out of this world! I can’t believe the elaborate displays of flowers around the Little Prince. And also, the massive scale of the flower farm was on another level!
If you happen to visit Taichung in late autumn, definitely consider taking a day trip to Xinshe and visit the Sea of Flowers. It is an annual event, and the festival has different themes and displays each year.
So even if you have visited the flower festival before, it is worth returning.
I hope you enjoyed my post! And if you like it, share it and pin it to your Pinterest board!
Thank you for reading my Xinshe Sea of Flower post
You might also like these other posts on solo travel in Taiwan:
Introduction to Taiwan
- Things to know before visiting Taiwan
- How and where to buy a Taiwan prepaid SIM card
- How to spend 3 weeks in Taiwan
- 22 must-eat food in Taiwan
- Top 10 must-try Taiwan 7-11 Food
Taichung posts
- 23 Best things to do alone in Taichung
- Taichung 1-day itinerary
- Where to stay in Taichung for solo travellers
- Miyahara Taichung: best ice cream and food souvenirs
- Taichung Second Market
- Top 3 Taichung Night Markets
- SOF Hotel: best boutique hotel in Taichung
- Norden Ruder Hostel: best minimalist hostel in Taichung
- Zhongshe Flower Market near Taichung
- Carton King Creativity Park: 1-day itinerary
- How to spend 1 day at Gaomei Wetlands
- Xinshe Castle near Taichung
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