Taiwan Day 546: The Quest for Magnolia - Feb. 28, 2015
Have you ever seen a magnolia? Well, I’ve seen a "magnolia" before when I was still the only child of the family. As the first-born child I always have the chance of getting what I want most especially the Magnolia ice cream. My parents didn’t just gave me a cone of ice cream. They even bought the big pail of Magnolia just for their only son. lol. More than two decades have passed and a new meaning of magnolia unfolded in the mountains of Taiwan. It changed my memories of “magnolia” forever.
At the back of Yangminshan was a beautiful garden full of magnolia. It’s spring time and the time was ripe for the flowers to open. I went there together with Nia (Filipino) and she was my Travel Buddy for this Taiwan Day 546. What seems to be a simple flower viewing became an instant hiking as we climbed the back of Yangminshan while competing with other magnolia hunters.
The flowers of magnolia blooms only for one week and visiting the private garden was an event sponsored by the New Taipei City government. They have provided a free shuttle and as expected there were a lot of people. Nia and I took Bus 867 which also follows the same route as the free shuttle bus.
The hiking trail was foggy. It was like a special effect for this travel adventure. It blankets the mountains as if there was snow and trying to fool the people that it was still winter. Some people wore their winter jackets but the cold didn’t bother me anyway. I was comfortable with my orange polo shirt.
Finally, we came across a group of people getting frenzy taking photos. We have found the magnolias! A pink ribbon was tied around the fence reminding people not to cross to preserve the beauty of the flowers. The scene was a winter wonderland with the fog acting as the snow on the open flowers of the magnolias. I zoomed my camera and I was enchanted with the images. The magnolias opened their petals like a chalice held high in the sky. It was like an answered prayer to the long-awaited spring.
The Tian Yuan temple was near the hiking trail and we took a bus to see the unique place of worship. It is a must-see temple when you visit Taiwan. It is five floors high and as you go higher you will be able to see New Taipei City. We entered the temple and each floor has a set of gods to worship. I just interpreted each set of gods in each floor as a form of hierarchy with the god in the fifth floor as the highest god reaching the heavens.
Oh, the magnolias! How can I ever forget them? Their petals shower the soil with love. They are not as much charming as the cherry blossoms when they are just a single flower on a branch. But when packed together in tree and become a forest they would surely brighten up your day.
With this trip, my magnolia will no longer be the ice cream that I know when I was a kid. It’s now the happy memories that I create and share with everybody. So here’s a magnolia for you! Enjoy the quest for magnolia.
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2026 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansheng Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansheng Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
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