Zhuzihu – Yangmingshan’s Calla Lilly Village
A village dedicated to growing Calla Lilies, tucked up in middle of Yangmingshan National Park, is just one more little surprise gem hiding a stones throw away from Taipei City!
So 
we took advantage of our day off on May day (also Taiwan’s Labor Day) to go see it for ourselves. It was sweet and picturesque, just as you’d expect. It’s just white calla lilies (no yellows or purples or anything), and there isn’t much else happening here. But it’s simplicity is part of its charm. Wandering & picture taking is free although most calla lilly fields have controlled entrances where you need to pay before entering (with the price of entry comes a certain number of flowers you can hand pick!)
We went with a little stand where the lady said we could pick 10 for $100NT (approx $3.30). I asked – ok, I gestured – if she had scissors or shears for me to cut the flowers but she gestured back that I could just pull them! I had no idea that could be done! But it worked great once I got the hang of it… sliding my hand down the flower stem to the base and then with a bit of tug, the stem came right out! It was fun. Although I did end up with a couple rather short stemmed Calla Lies before perfecting my technique. But I think that’s why when I went back to the lady to pay for the flowers and get them wrapped, she threw in 3 extras for free! 🙂 Seriously, Taiwan people are so kind and generous!
Getting there:
- Take MRT Red Line to Beitou (北投). The #9 Minibus (小9巴士), travels to Zhuzihu (Supposedly. We didn’t go this route so we can’t personally vouch for it)
OR
- Take MRT Red Line to Jiantan and take #8 Minibus (小8巴士) to Zhuzihu. (When you exit the MRT look for the bus stop to the left! We found a stop to the right but we think we ended up at the second stop instead of the beginning stop for that little bus… which meant we were squeezed in standing up the whole way!)
