The Fruit & Vegetable Picking Festival of Taiwan Farmers Venture Park opened on June 17 with 20 enterprises displaying a dozen varieties of high-quality products among which in-season pineapples and wax apples are most popular.

Initially, 100 Taiwan agricultural experts, enterprise executives, and farmers toured the groves at Yongcheng Plantation Base in Pingsha Town, Jinwan District, taking a few moments to sample Taiwan pineapples.

The festival integrates agricultural sightseeing, characteristic fruit and vegetable picking, farming experience, and summer retreats. It is meant to increase brand awareness of tropical fruits, promote ecological agriculture tourism, and boost rural rejuvenation.

Shopper selects dragon fruit (火龙果 huǒ lóng guǒ) from wide display of produce

As of now, the Taiwan Farmers Venture Park produces 56 Taiwan tropical fruits further including ziziphus mauritiana (Chinese dates), pitaya (dragon fruit), fragrant lemons, and carambola (star fruit), of which 22 are more extensively planted. Along with wax apples and pineapples, dragon fruit and Chinese dates are most abundant.

The core plantation area covers 2,000 mu (133 hectares, 329 acres) southeast of Pingsha Town and northeast of Gaolan Port. Nearby Pingsha communities of Lianwan and Dahaihuan have a fruit plantation area of more than 2,800 mu (187 hectares, 462 acres).

The park itself became a National Leisure Agriculture & Rural Tourism demonstration site in 2015. It has cultivated the following agricultural sightseeing projects: Taiwan Famous Quality Fruit & Vegetable Picking Base, Taiwan Fragrant Water Lily Corridor, seven Agricultural Science Popularization Education Bases, Horticultural Crop Breeding Demonstration Base, Happy Ranch, Seed industry Exposition Park, plus Taiwan Orchid, Taiwan-themed Characteristic Agricultural Products, Cutting-Edge Agricultural Science & Technology, and Modern Fishery exhibition halls.

Development of a 1,755-mu (117 hectares, 289 acres) North Latitude 22° Green Pearl Comprehensive Agricultural Leisure Tourism Resort Demonstration Zone and Yongcheng Taiwan Characteristic Product Processing & Ecological Sightseeing Tourism & Agricultural centers is progressing.

The event is handled by the Zhuhai Modern Agriculture Development Center under auspices of the Zhuhai Agricultural & Rural Bureau. The Gaolan Port Economic Zone Marine & Agricultural Bureau, Pingsha Town, and Zhuhai Yongcheng Gardening Co provide support.

Transport:

Use GPS navigation to Taiwan Farmers Venture Park (台湾农民创业园).

Buses 204, 502, 540, or 812 to South/North Taiwan Farmers Venture Park (台创园南/北)

Highly prized purplish-red wax apples (莲雾 lián wù) [Photos by Wu Changfu / Guanhai App]