The Origin of the Name "Meiling"
Meiling was formerly known as Banana Hill, which was named after the bananas that were widely planted across the entire mountain. It was not until the Japanese rule period that plum trees were planted, and the snowy white plum blossoms seemed to be decorated across a large green canvas. As the value of bananas decreased, plum trees gradually replaced bananas until the mountain was blanketed in white and the name of Banana Hill was changed to Meiling (Plum Hill). The Meiling Scenic Area currently has about 200,000 plum trees, making it the largest plum-producing area in Southern Taiwan, and includes several hiking trails of varying difficulties.
Famous Hiking Trails
The hiking trails in the Meiling Scenic Area are, in increasing order of difficulty: Meifeng Historic Trail, Wulong Trail, Meilong Trail, Ridge Trail, Guanyin Trail, and Yixiantian Trail. Plum trees are planted along each trail, and the slope of the Wulong Trail and the Meifeng Historic Trail are relatively gentle and friendly, so it is very suitable for families to visit and enjoy the plum blossoms while taking a leisurely stroll, as well as to enjoy the scenery of the Zengwen Reservoir and the Chianan Plain.
If you want to take on a more difficult hiking challenge, you may want to extend along the Meifeng Historic Trail to the Yixiantian Trail to check out the famous "Falcon Point – Yixiantian", one of the three wonders of Tainan.
Blossoming Flowers
In addition to plum trees, 20,000 purple glory trees and nearly 1,000 mountain cherries are planted along the Meifeng Historic Trail. When the plum and camellia blossoms are about to end in January, the purple glory trees will bloom in succession, and the tung tree will bloom in April. But don't think that's the end of it! In addition to the flower appreciation, the Wulong Trail is a popular trail during April to May because at night, green glowing lights of fireflies slowly spread out along the trail, decorating the dark trees in a spectacular sight.
When you come to Meiling Scenic Area, you can enjoy flowers, fireflies and food, and the scenery is different throughout the year. If you want to give yourself a day and a half to relax, or if you want to head for an outing with your friends or family to go for a pleasant walk, there’s no better place than Meiling Scenic Area!
No matter when you go, the blossoming conditions will be affected by the climate and temperature of the year, so you should pay attention to the current blossoming conditions and climate of the year before making travel arrangements.
