Located in Yongan Village, Luye Township, Imagine Taitung is northeast of Luye Highlands and only 200m from Luye Visitor Center. Since 2011, when Taitung County Government held the first-ever Taiwan International Balloon Festival in Taiwan, Luye has attracted a high influx of tourists every year. However, hot air balloon is not its only attraction, Luye is also famous for its red oolong tea.
Introduction
Imagine Taitung’s founder Ms Chuan Nan-yen was formerly a nurse and had worked at the Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taitung and Taipei for 15 years. When she returned to her hometown in 2016, she helped to run her family’s guest house. As she often had to answer travel inquiries from guests, it suddenly occurred to her that too many agricultural and travel spots in Luye had not been systematically integrated, especially tour planning for families of two to four persons.
Thus, in 2017, she co-founded Imagine Taitung with four rural returnees and migrants to Luye. In 2019, they leased their current quarters, turning a tea shop which had been abandoned for over 20 years into a space that provides a wider range of experiential service. Their service chain brings together guest houses, ice-pop processing and even farmers. There are many scenic spots, and stores offering quality products and services, to give tourists a deeper experience of Luye. At first, they had 30 partners, including A Shan Go, Natural Life and Food, and iceSpring, when they started “Good Luye” to promote mini tours. Ultimately, 77 businesses have been integrated to form the travel and recreation brand “Live Wild! Luye Highland”
Located in the southern section of East Rift Valley, nestled between the central mountains and coastal mountains, Luye enjoys plentiful daylight and high diurnal temperature range. Such climate conditions, plus irrigation from the water of Beinan River, create the unique environment for growing red oolong tea. Using an innovative tea-production process co-created by the Taitung branch of Tea Research and Extension Station and local tea farmers, red oolong tea has become one of Taiwan’s original specialty teas.
To educate travelers on how a good cup of tea is produced, Imagine Taitung has designed an experiential tour around the theme of red oolong tea. In approximately 2.5 hours, you get to tour the tea farm, pick tea leaves and savor the famous tea. To give travelers an in-depth understanding of the crops and way of living in Taitung, products sold include its self-produced red oolong tea, and floral/herbal teas, coffee, assorted grains and fresh farm produce. They also provide tea-drinking area and tea ceremony reservation service, and a special tea pairing experience.
Features of Agricultural Tourism
Tea
In the seven years since its establishment, Imagine Taitung’s tour services have extended from Luye to Chishang, Guanshan, Yanping and Changbin, giving travelers a more diverse and in-depth appreciation of Taitung. Through DIY experience, participants can discern healthy food grown from eco-friendly farming and witness the beauty of crops grown from the soil. Tea leaves picked during tour activities are not only certified traceable but also pending MOA certification for in-conversion organic products.
Besides physical retail space, Ms Chuan has also set up an e-commerce platform, opening new retail channel for her partners with travel and shopping information provided on webpages. As a trailblazer, she shows everyone the possibility of sustainability transition for a farming village and hopes for the future.
Imagine Taitung aims to share good food with its guests and show travelers the way. Whether you are a first-time visitor to Luye or a familiar traveler, you cannot go wrong choosing Imagine Taitung as your guide.
