Photo By: Elin Chow
Address: No. 65, Xiezhong Street, Xinshe Township, Taichung City, Taiwan 台中市新社区协成里协中街65号
Leaving Lavender Cottage 薰衣草森林, we moved on to Summit Resort 新社古堡庄园 (also known as Xinshe Castle or Summit Castle Resort).
Summit Resort 新社古堡庄园
Situated high up in the mountains in Xinshe, Taichung City 新社台中, you will an unique castle in European style with a large garden, lake and waterfall. Although the castle is reminiscent of an ancient Eurporean castle, it was not built and left behind by the Europeans. So, the castle was definitely not a century old.
Its origin was left ambiguous, even on its website. No one seems to know who built the castle or why was it built. Perhaps, someone just decided that it will be a great idea to build a castle high up in the mountains.
Please note that there are no accommodation in the attraction even though it is called a resort.
Entrance Fee
The entrance fee to the Summit Resort are as below:
Entrance
Fees
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Adult Ticket
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Above 12 years old
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250 TWD
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Concessionary Ticket
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Children aged 7 to 12 years old
Elderly aged 65 years old & above
Disabled
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150 TWD
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Free Entry
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Children aged 6 years old & below
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There are two types of ticket available for the public - 250 TWD for adult and 150 TWD for children, elderly or people with disabilities (inclusive of 100 TWD voucher) which can be used to offset any purchase in the attraction later. Please note that children below 6 are allowed to enter for free.
However, for those who are interested in shooting your pre-wedding photographs at the Summit Resort, you will be required to pay a little more. The cost of entrance will be as below:
Entrance
Fees
(For
Wedding Photography)
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Per Entry
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3,500 TWD
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The entrance fee of 3,500 TWD only allow free entry for up to 6 persons (also comes with free drinks for 6 persons). Any additional pax will be charged according to the normal rate.
Operating Hours
The operating hours for Summit Resort is as below:
Operating
Hours
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Monday - Friday
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9.00 am – 6.00 pm
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Saturday & Sunday
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8.00 am – 6.00 pm
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Upon stepping into the attraction, we were immediately greeted by European-style castle, flower garden and a lake.
There are plenty of seating area for visitors to gather, relax and enjoy the scenery.
The glamorous European castle-like architecture gracefully overlooks a stunning huge lake and is surrounded by lush greenery. It was a truly awe-inspiring sight.
Of course, this was also a great spot for us to snap some tourist photos.
Turn left and cross another wooden bridge across the lake that lead to the castle.
We came upon an outdoor cafe beside the lake. However, the cafe was not opened on the day we visited.
Even so, this is a great place for us to relax and rest our sore and tired feet after a long day of walking.
Walk further in and climb up at few flight of stairs to the castle.
On the top of the stairs, you will get to enjoy a spectacular panoramic view of the lake.
There was also a small flower garden in the attraction. Walk among the beautiful
flowers and take a deep breath of fresh air. Listen to the birds chirping and enjoy the peacefulness of nature.
At first look, the exterior facade of the castle was impressive. I believe the majestic splendor of the external facade would impressed most of the visitors arriving at the castle. But if you look carefully, you will realized that it was actually not as impressive as you have initially thought.
Even so, we were still excited to pose for photos in front of the castle, just like any other locals and tourists visiting the attraction would do.
This is also a perfect place for your outdoor wedding photo shoot due to its picturesque landscape.
Walking around the garden also makes one feels like being in a medieval European Castle.
We spent about an hour or so exploring and snapping tons of photos around the Resort. It was just more than enough time to see everything in the attraction.
In fact, the attraction actually feels like a tourist trap to us. I have no idea why Summit Resort is so heavily advertised as one of the most popular tourist attraction in Taichung. Personally, I really feel that this should not be a must-visit or must-see attraction in Taichung.
Even so, we were still glad that the entire place was not crowded with tourists since we visited on a normal weekday.
There was also a man-made multi-layer waterfall in the attraction. Walked down several flight of stairs and continue on a wooden boardwalk to enjoy a closer view of the waterfall.
The waterfall makes a great backdrop for photo-taking.
Once you are done with the waterfall, we crossed over a stone bridge that led us back to the entrance.
Overall, our experience at Summit Resort was pleasant, but not awesome. The entrance ticket was expensive and in our opinion, not worth the price at all. In fact, the Summit Resort was the most expensive fee-paying attraction we have visited that day.
The Summit Resort was a rather dull place without anything interesting. I would suggested anyone to give this attraction a miss if you are on a tight itinerary and only visit when you have extra time to spare.
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!
3 comments
May i know how to travel to xinshe castle if don wan cab?
ReplyDeleteHi,
DeleteI don't think there is any other to get to Xinshe castle if you don't hire a cab or driver. There is no public transport available in that area
There're bus 264,265,271,272,273 there but not so convenient.
DeleteYou can only take bus #271 from Central Taichung, 2 buses on weekdays and 1 bus on weekend. Other buses are departed from Dongshi, you have to transfer at Fengyuan first.
If you still want to go there on budget, you can catch bus #271 or take many buses to Zhongxingling and take a cab there.