Plum trees in Nantou County are expected to come into full bloom by the middle of this month as the weather turns cooler, a township mayor in the landlocked county said on Sunday.
About half of the plum trees in Renai (仁愛) and Sinyi (信義) townships, the county’s two most popular areas for viewing plum blossoms, are flowering, local observers said.
“If a cold spell or cold air mass prevails, the blooming will peak by the middle of the month,” Renai Township Mayor Chiang Tzu-hsin (江子信) said.
This year is expected to be one of the best for viewing plum blossoms in Taiwan, he said.
Meanwhile, in Sinyi Township, the plum trees are also about 50 percent in bloom, thanks to constant rainfall and cool temperatures, said Chang Sheng-cheng (張勝正), head of Dream Works of the Mei (plum), which is run by the Sinyi Township Farmers’ Association.
Fenggueidou (風櫃斗), Wusonglun (烏松崙), Niouchoukeng (牛稠坑), Waipingding (外坪頂) and Tuchang (土場) are the main areas in Sinyi Township for viewing plum blossoms, he said.
Chang and Chiang suggested that weekdays would be the best time to visit Nantou on plum blossom appreciation tours, as traffic is usually heavy on weekends during the plum blossom season.
The Central Weather Bureau said a cold, dry air mass arrived in Taiwan yesterday, sending temperatures down nationwide for most of the week.
If the cold front is upgraded to a strong cold air mass or a cold surge, temperatures in open coastal areas can be expected to drop as low as 7°C between today and Friday, the bureau said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is unlikely to attempt an invasion of Taiwan during US president-elect Donald Trump’s time in office, Taiwanese and foreign academics said on Friday. Trump is set to begin his second term early next year. Xi’s ambition to establish China as a “true world power” has intensified over the years, but he would not initiate an invasion of Taiwan “in the near future,” as his top priority is to maintain the regime and his power, not unification, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University distinguished visiting professor and contemporary Chinese politics expert Akio Takahara said. Takahara made the comment at a
Upon its completion next year, the new Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) in New Taipei City is to be an important landmark in Taiwan, alongside Taipei 101, Minister of Transportation and Communications Chen Shi-kai (陳世凱) said today. The bridge is scheduled to be completed in December next year and open to the public in the first half of 2026, connecting New Taipei City’s Tamsui (淡水) and Bali (八里) districts. It is an asymmetric single-tower suspension bridge, nearly 70 stories tall, designed by world-famous architect Zaha Hadid. The bridge aims to alleviate traffic in Tamsui and on the Guandu Bridge (關渡大橋), in addition to increasing the
EXERCISES: A 2022 article by a Chinese intelligence expert identified at least six People’s Liberation Army assault boats hidden inside the Hong Kong-flagged ship A Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship that had been docked at Taichung Port and which previously took part in Chinese military exercises departed from the port on Saturday, the Taiwan International Ports Corp’s Taichung branch said yesterday. The statement came in response to a post on the social media platform X by Taiwan-based journalist Chris Horton that said the ship, the SCSC Fortune, had been docked at the port since Tuesday and questioned whether Taiwan has any rules regarding foreign civilian vessels that have participated in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) exercises. Horton referenced a 2022 article by Chinese intelligence expert Rod Lee that
PROBLEMATIC: Popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants that failed the inspection and have been ordered to remove bad ingredients The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives. As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said. Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder
RSS