Sprawling rice paddies in Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山) have been drawing crowds over the past few years, earning the township up to NT$15 million (US$476,145) per month in tourism revenue in May and June last year, the township office said on Saturday.
The township started witnessing an influx of visitors about five years ago after people compared its rice fields to those on Mr Brown Avenue in Taitung County’s Chishang Township (池上).
A record 150,000 visitors poured into Dongshan in May and June last year, the office said, adding that revenue from tourism was estimated on the conservative assumption that visitors spent NT$100 on average.
Photo: Chang Yi-chen, Taipei Times
Visitors flock to Sanfeng Road in Sanci Village (三奇), which is flanked by 16 hectares of rice paddies, the office said.
“I never imagined that a 1km-long farm road could have such a draw on people,” a township official said.
The road stretches from an intersection near the Fengzun Temple (奉尊宮) and makes a bend before another intersection at the other end, the office said.
The paddies turn a vibrant green in May and June, and the road cuts through them, creating a unique and beautiful scene, it said.
“Nobody knew about Sanfeng Road five years ago. After a photographer showed up and shared pictures of the paddies, it became popular overnight,” the official said.
The office in 2016 built a lookout platform at one end of the road to allow people to see the fields from a high vantage point.
Visitor numbers jumped to 50,000 in May and June that year, the office said.
The office last year launched hot-air balloon rides and subsequently saw monthly visitor numbers soar to 150,000 over the period, it said.
“The number of visitors has grown far beyond our expectations, especially in the summer months,” Dongshan Mayor Chiang Li-wei (江立偉) said.
In the past, there had only been a couple of food stands in the area, but now residents are taking advantage of the influx of visitors, selling sausages and other snacks from their backyards, Chiang said.
The village has begun collecting a clean-up fee of NT$100 per visitor, which goes toward repair work at the temple, where many visitors use the washrooms, he said.
While the fields are at their most vibrant in May and June, the township offers balloon rides until July, and after that offers workshops on pottery and scarecrow making, Chiang said.
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