Seeing Snow in Midsummer — Tung Flower in a Secret Spot
Globetrotters April Monthly Challenge
It was supposed to be an ordinary hiking trip for my friend and me, but the mid-summer snow turned out to be a gift from heaven for us.
My friend R and I like to take trails that are less traveled, that is how our friendship started. We don’t care that much about grand views and famous IG spots, but rather, we seek the tranquility along the hike and the sense of achievement when we trail a long distance from A to B.
We discovered this Tung Flower wonderland while hiking on the Yuan-Xi Hiking Trail, which runs from Yuan Mountain in Sanxia District to Daxi Township in Taoyuan County, Taiwan.
The Yuan Shan hiking trail is already considered a boring and unpopular hiking trail, and even fewer hikers walk to the other side of the mountain, as we did. Thus, we didn’t expect anything out of this trail, but life is always full of surprises.
In the beginning, the trail looked like this. You could see how unpopular it was, and there were lots of transparent spider webs that stuck to me.
There are occasional good views, but honestly, they aren’t comparable to other trails I’ve hiked in Taiwan. (Still, it’s very enjoyable though!)
I took pictures of strange plants that I’d never seen in Taiwan, and from here, I began to feel like I was entering a wonderland.
We were stunned by the beauty of this snowy wonderland. Looking up, we couldn’t see where the Tung flowers came from. The Tung flowers kept falling on our heads as if it was snowing. I sincerely apologize that my phone couldn’t capture its full beauty.
We lay down, played with the flowers, and enjoyed the tranquility on our own.
As we looked back at the trail we had hiked, we were surprised to see the Tung flowers from a different perspective. From the top, they seemed to be singing and dancing, covering the mountains and valleys as if they were celebrating a summer festival. It was a mesmerizing sight that filled us with awe and wonder.
We explored the natural colorful wall of Yuan Shan, the green lake and the cypress in Taoyuan, and the charming old town of Daxi after the hike.
It was a delightful journey, yet my mind couldn’t shake off the memories of the Tung Flower Wonderland. While there are certainly other great spots in Taiwan to see Tung flowers, they are often crowded with tourists.
I’m grateful to have R as a hiking partner, always willing to explore the less-traveled trails with me, allowing us to settle our minds, embrace nature, and be surprised like we were on this unforgettable journey.
This was a writing prompt for Globetrotter’s April challenge, and I would like to thank the editors JoAnn Ryan, Anne Bonfert, Michele Maize, Jillian Amatt - Artistic Voyages, Adrienne Beaumont for having this prompt. If you’re interested in joining or reading other writers’ take on the prompt, please find this article by Michele Maize.
I enjoyed how Serhii Onkov captured the beauty of flowers during the lockdown of COVID-19. His search for snowdrops and discovery of Eastern pasqueflower were particularly amazing to me.
I also love Erika Burkhalter’s yoga photo shoots amidst the crocus.
If you like my stories and are not a Medium member yet, consider joining Medium with my referral link. I receive a portion of your membership fee while there is no additional cost to you. You’ll also get full access to every story of other authors on Medium.
