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Flower forecast aids trip-planning

“Right now, the Tung Blossoms in Tungshih [東勢], Taichung Township are in full bloom, and those in Nantou are coming right after,” the latest Tung blossom forecast report released by the Council for Hakka Affairs said on Thursday.

Although the Tung Blossom Hakka Festival has been held yearly for the last seven years, this year marks the first time a Tung Blossom forecast has been provided so that visitors can know exactly what to expect before leaving home for the nation’s Tung Blossom areas across 15 townships.

Tung Blossoms are considered a symbol of Taiwan’s Hakka culture as the flowers are found mostly — though not confined to — regions inhabited by Hakkas.

“Tung oil trees have been in Taiwan for several hundreds of years, but we never really studied the tree,” council Chairman Lee Yung-teh (李永得) said.

As the weather conditions vary at each location and every year, visitors can never be sure if they will see the beautiful little flowers dotting the countryside or paving the hiking trails after they fall.

To avoid disappointing visitors, “we started working with the Council of Agriculture three years ago on a detailed study of the tree, especially its blossoms,” Lee said.

Now, the council has a better understanding of under what weather conditions the Tung trees are likely to bloom, and how long it takes to reach each phase of the blossoming process.

“With the information and a little help from the Central Weather Bureau, the council is now able to make a blossom forecast,” Lee said.

But being able to make the forecast is not enough.

“We’ve asked each of the townships to send out people each week to check the Tung blossoms, take pictures and report back to us, so we can make a complete Tung Blossom forecast and update reports,” vice-chairwoman of the council Chuang Chin-hua (莊錦華) said.

Information in the Tung Blossom report includes the percentage of trees that have already blossomed, and the percentage of trees that are still budding in each of the 15 townships.

The report will be released weekly until May 8, and it will also be broadcast on ETTV and FTV every Friday and Saturday at 7:30am and 7:30pm until May 10.

For more information on the Tung Blossom Hakka Festival itself, visit www.hakka.gov.tw/tung.
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