Trip To Taiwan 台湾: Cingjing 清境 - Green Green Grassland 青青草原

By Elin Chow - Tuesday, August 04, 2015

Photo By: Elin Chow
Address: No. 170, Renhe Rd, Datong Village, Ren'ai Township, Nantou Country 546, Taiwan (R.O.C) 546 南投县仁爱乡大同村仁和路170号

We started the fourth day of our 11D10N Taiwan Trip early the next morning.  After breakfast, we packed up our luggage and proceeded to check out of Brilliant Twins of Seattle 清境西雅图璀璨双城 in Cingjing. Our destination for the day was to visit Green Green Grassland (or Evergreen Grassland) 青青草原 before embarking on a long car journey to Kenting 垦丁 in Pingtung, Taiwan 屏东台湾.

Green Green Grassland 青青草原

Situated 1,750 meters above sea level in Nantou Country, Green Green Grassland is one of the most popular destination in Cingjing. The attraction consists of beautiful grassy high plains set against a magnificent mountain backdrop. Under the blue sky, herds of sheep graze and roam freely on the open grass plains. 

The cool breeze, green grassy plains and azure sky with free-roaming sheep offer a tranquil and peaceful experience for all visitors. An ideal summer getaway to escape from the busy city life.

Operating Hours

Green Green Grassland is open from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm on Monday to Friday. Hours of operation is extended to 5.30 pm on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

Operating Hours
Weekdays
8.00 am – 5.00 pm
Weekends & Public Holidays
8.00 am – 5.30 pm

Admission Fee

Admission to the attraction is not free. The price of admission is as per below:

Types of Ticket
For Who
Weekdays
Weekends / Holidays
Adult
General Public
TWD 160
TWD 200
Group
Groups of 30 persons and above
TWD 120
TWD 160
Student
Students with valid student ID
TWD 120
TWD 120
Senior
Senior aged 65 years old and above
TWD 80
TWD 100
Resident
Resident of Puli and Sinyi Township, Nantou Country, Heping District, Taichung City
TWD 80
TWD 100
Concessionary
- Children under 6 years old
- Disabled person and one companion
- Resident of Ren’ai Township, Nantou Country
TWD 20
TWD 20

For us, we paid TWD 160 each since we visited on a weekday. I would suggest you to visit on a weekday if you would like to save some money. Remember to present your Youth Travel Card for additional discount if you have one. 





We started at the entrance located at top where we will be walking our way down to the bottom. At the entrance, Mr Tsai, our driver cum tour guide, offered to help us take a nice group photo before we went off exploring on our own.


Weekdays are typically not crowded and we were glad that there was no queue to enter the attraction. 


Upon entering, we came upon a wooden box containing a rubber stamp and stamp ink pad. Be sure to have your hand stamped before you exit if you intend to re-enter on the same day. However, please note that re-entry is only allowed for the same day until closing time. 

To sufficiently explore Green Green Grassland, I would suggest that you allocate at least half a day for this visit.

Be prepared to do a lot of walking up and down the paved hill, so make sure you wear a pair of comfortable shoes. Please note that the entire place is not wheelchair or stroller friendly. Visiting using a wheelchair seems impossible due to steep slopes and uneven paving. 

We were delighted to find ourselves surrounded by a spectacular view of lush green grasslands and mountain ranges. The view was simply breathtaking.


We walked down a wooden walkway that leads to a viewing deck overlooking the stunning landscape of Cingjing.


There are coin-operated binoculars on the wooden viewing deck that allowed one a close-up view of the grasslands. So, like any other tourists, we inserted a coin into the coin-operated device and enjoyed a spectacular view of lush forests and majestic mountain ranges.

We spotted a castle-like architecture from afar and excitedly posed for the camera.

The castle makes a great backdrop for photo-taking.




Once we had our pictures taken, we followed the path straight ahead that leads to a steep descend. People with severe mobility problem will find the steep descend down the hill extremely difficult and challenging.



At the bottom of the steep slope, we proceeded climb a few stairs up to Cingjing Sheep Castle 清境绵羊城堡. Within the castle, there is a small gift shop offering sheep-related souvenirs and products made from pure sheep's milk. We were hoping to find unique items, but nothing caught our eyes. So, we left the shop empty-handed. 



Outside the castle, you will find a small wooden fenced area where younger sheep are kept.









Each of the sheep is tagged with a yellow ear tag for identification and tracking purposes.





If you wish to get close and take a photo with the sheep, you would need to feed them with some sheep food purchased from one of the dispenser machine around.


There were plenty of dispenser machine around that dispense a handful of sheep food for TWD 10.



The castle also offers an amazing panoramic views of surrounding grasslands and mountains.


We continued our descent down the mountain. The weather was cooling and it felt great. But the uneven pavement makes it difficult and tiring to walk on.  There are also several pavilions along the walkway for visitors to rest and enjoy the greenery and fresh air.


Further down, we were excited to see herds of sheep grazing lazily under the clear blue sky. The sheep are allowed to roam freely on the open grassy plains. It was a very delightful sight to see.


The grasslands provide plenty of food for the herds of sheep to graze, ignoring us as we came and went during the day.


So, just like any other visitors, we actively tried to attract the attention of the sheep by waving or calling out to them. But not surprisingly, we did not succeed since we did not have any food for them.



Even so, the grassy plains and beautiful mountain backdrop offer plenty of photo opportunities for visitors.





As you slowly descend your way down, take a deep breath of the clean, cool and crisp mountain air. This is a perfect little place for people who wish to get away from the hectic city life and get close to nature.



Relax and unwind as you stroll down the mountain trail while the cooling breeze gently brushed across your face. Everywhere you look, it is peaceful. The pace of life is slower. This is where you will start to appreciate the little things in life.








We were surprised to see a black sheep with orangery brown wool!





All day. the sheep grazed happily on the grassy plains and only started to crowd eagerly around us when someone offered them some food. 


Sheep started to gathered by the fences at the sight of food, all eager for snacks. 




Away from hustle and bustle of city life, Green Green Grassland is ideal for anyone seeking for peace and tranquility. It is a great place to spend a day with your family and friends, particularly if you bring a picnic basket along.







The weather is a little unpredictable. It was sunny one moment and gloomy the next. There were even moments when we thought it would rain because the sky was so dark. But luckily, it did not.

Green Green Grassland also offers a sheep and horse show to entertain its visitors on stage. You may want to check out the show schedule below if you are interested in watching any of the shows.

Shows
Available
Time
Sheep Shearing Show
ONLY weekends, national holidays, winter & summer vacation (except Wednesday)
09.30 am & 2.30 pm
Equestrian Stunt Show
Daily
10.45 am & 3.45 pm

At the end of the trail, we came upon a small open-air amphitheater where the signature sheep show will be held. Unfortunately, the show will only be held during weekend at 9.30 am and 2.30 pm, with each lasting for about half an hour. Since we visited on a weekday, we did not managed to catch the show.

The Equestrian stunt show, on the other hand, is held daily at 10.45 am and 3.45 pm. However, we decided to skip the horse show due to tight itinerary.

For those interested, please note that the sheep show and horse show are held at two different venues. So, make sure you are at the right venue for the show.



We also get to touch a free-roaming sheep around the amphitheater area. I was surprised by the feel of the wool. It felt so matted and rough. I was actually expecting something soft and fluffy like cotton. But it was not.





Apart from that, private horseback rides are available for an additional fee. If I did not remember wrongly, it was TWD 150 per round for a rider. The horse ride will be guided by a trainer, so you can assured that you are in safe hand.



The horse ride will take you around the open-air amphitheater area, which will probably takes less than 5 minutes. It was definitely not worthwhile to spend TWD 150 for a 5 minutes horse ride. But of course, there are always people who are willing to pay for it, especially those with young children. 


Even so, this was actually a great opportunity for us to touch a horse. Although I was hesitant to touch them for fear of being bitten, eventually, I still did it. We took the chance to snap a quick photo with the horses as well


The horses actually looked a little tired and sleepy on the day we visited. They appeared uninterested in the people and surroundings around them.


There was another souvenir shop around the amphitheater area selling some of the usual tourist souvenirs. The shop also sell sheep's milk ice cream in both original and red bean flavors. Try it if you dare.

We spend a good 3 hours taking photographs and enjoying the nature. Since it was a normal weekday, the entire place was not too crowded. It was a peaceful walk at our own pace in our own time.


Other than that, we also enjoyed hours of uninterrupted photo-taking time without having to wait for other visitors to walk pass first before proceeding to take pictures. It felt as though we had the entire place to ourselves!




So, if you wish to avoid the crowds, I would suggest you to visit on a normal weekday. This will allow you to enjoy plenty of private moments with your loved ones.





We walked down a few flight of stairs and arrived at a marketplace.



This is where you could buy local fruits and snacks from the many stalls available.




Personally, I feel that the Green Green Grassland is well-worth a visit, especially if you are a nature lover. For us, this is definitely one of the must-visit destination in Cingjing and I would recommend anyone to drop by if you have time.

Be sure to have your camera ready to capture some breathtaking pictures and be amazed by its amazing landscape.

If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 11D10N round island tour itinerary for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 11 days in Taiwan. Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter  for the latest updates on my 11 days adventures in Taiwan!

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1 comments

  1. thanksfor sharing, ur information is helpful!

    ReplyDelete