Trip To Taiwan 台湾: Taitung 台东 - Mr Brown Avenue / Brown's Road 伯朗大道
By Elin Chow - Friday, October 23, 2015
Address: Mr Brown Avenue, Chishang Township, Taitung Country 958, Taiwan 台东县池上乡伯朗大道
After a quick snack at Donghe Baozi 东河包子, we headed off to visit Mr Brown Avenue 伯朗大道 next.
Mr Brown Avenue / Brown's Road 伯朗大道
Located in Chishang Township of Taiting Country, you will find a small country avenue known as the "green road of paradise." The attraction consists of a vast rice paddies fields set against a magnificent mountain backdrop, which becomes widely popular due to a commercial of Mr Brown Coffee. In recent years, this green road of paradise is better known as "Mr Brown Avenue" (also known as Mr Brown Road or Mr Brown Boulevard) since the area was made famous by the commercial.
To maintain smooth and safe traffic condition during busy farming season, Mr Brown Avenue have been closed to non-agricultural vehicles for an entire year. No vehicles (except bicycle) are allowed to drive into the restricted area in order to maintain traffic safety in the scenic area.
Cycling is probably the best way to explore the scenic site, and no visitors should leave without experiencing the country's world famous bike culture. Bicycle rentals are available at many locations, making it extremely convenient for visitors to explore the area on their own.
We rented four bicycles at TWD 100/day each from a rental shop near the entrance to the scenic area.
We arrived around noon and it was surprisingly not crowded at all. The entire scenic area was huge and spread out, so even with crowds, you will never feel overly crowded.
After taking some photos, we mounted the bicycle and began to pedal down the road.
Pedaling down the road, we began to seeing endless fields of brilliant green. The view was amazingly beautiful and the roads are straight, smooth and well-paved. You certainly do not have to worry about traffic as no vehicles are allowed to enter the scenic area.
The scenery along the path was breathtaking and idyllic. Emerald green rice paddies and lush mountains surround us in every direction. This is truly a green road of paradise.
It was a cloudy gloomy day when we visited. The sky was really dark and we were worried that it was going to rain at any time. But luckily, it did not, or else we will be drenched as there was absolutely no shelter around.
The main planting area is made up of rice paddies crisscrossed by narrow roads with no telephones or electric poles. Everywhere we look, it was endless green fields. There was very few structures around. Only vast green fields.
Thus, we were able to enjoy an unobstructed view of the green paddies field while the farmers work in the fields.
The commercial resulted in large number of visitors flocking to the site daily just to take a photograph with the tree, which has become known as the Takeshi Kaneshiro's tree 金城武树.
Unfortunately, the famous tree was uprooted by Typhoon Matmo, which left it laying by the side of the road. The tree was immediately replanted after the storm blew past, but is set to take another four to five years to fully recover.
It was not a surprise to see lots of tourists (mostly from Mainland China) gather around the tree, eager to snap some keepsake photo for their trip to Mr Brown Avenue. We did not join in the crowds just to take photo with a tree. There was nothing really special about it, so it was not worth our time to do that at all.
Surrounded by an untouched natural environment, this is an ideal place to relax and unwind from the hustle and bustle of city life.
Mr Brown Avenue can be visited any time of the year. However, the best time to visit is during the harvest seasons when the fields turned golden yellow.
There are two rice harvests per year in Chishang Township. The first one is in Summer, in late June or early July and the second is in the fall of early November.
It was a windy day. The wind was blowing strong. We pedaled hard against the gusting winds, stopping occasionally for the plenty of opportunities along the way.
The green rice paddy fields provide a picture perfect backdrop for photo taking. Most photo enthusiasts would love the amazing photo opportunities everywhere.
The entire area is clean and trash free, which was very appealing. So, please remember to bring your trash with you before you leave.
Mr Brown Avenue offers an incredibly picturesque ride that should not be missed. The countryside scenery is beautiful and peaceful.
The scenery is awesomely beautiful. You will find beauty in every direction - the lush mountains and vast green rice fields. Be sure to have your camera ready to capture some breathtaking photos and be amazed by the beautiful landscape. This is definitely a must-see destination for those visiting the East Rift Valley in Taiwan.
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!
