Peiying Orange Farm is located along the meandering road of Hsinchu Rural Highway 43 and Hsinchu Rural Highway 43-1 going toward Emei Township’s Hsinchu Rural Highway 38. Walking into the farm, you will see rows of citrus trees on both sides and farm owner Chen Hsiao-yen introducing the different citrus varieties to visitors in her carefully kept orchard. Clucking chicks and quacking ducklings on the side add to the lively ambience. At the end of the tour, she will also bring visitors to the DIY area to make citrus jam and candied tangerine
Introduction
Originally a tea plantation, the land where now stands Peiying Orange Farm was gradually abandoned as prices of tea leaves dropped. Ever since Chen’s uncle bought the land, it started transforming as her uncle went from being clueless about farming to becoming an expert at growing different fruit trees.
Because only her husband and herself are available to harvest the fruit trees, Chen said becoming a tourist orchard not only allows more people to learn about the tankan of Emei Township but also avoid the wastage of fruits that dropped before they are harvested. After a family meeting with their children, they decided to name the orchard “Peiying Orange Farm” after the story about picking citrus fruits in Zhu Ziqing’s essay “The Sight of My Father’s Back”.
Harvesting season at Peiying Orange Farm starts from December each year till March the following year. Many varieties of citrus are grown in their orchard, including primarily tankan and Murcott, which are commonly seen in Emei Township. In fact, a total of 28 citrus varieties are grown in their orchard, including bergamot, Fremont, Sunburst, ponkan, mikan, Shiyue Ju, blood orange, papaya pudding orange, Taiwan emperor mandarin, acidless orange and navel orange. Visitors can learn about the exterior characteristics and cultivation environment of different citruses, and savor authentic flavors of the locality.
Using cover cropping instead of herbicides, Peiying Orange Farm always attracts visits from small animals. Chen herself had seen wild yellow rabbits hopping on the grassland, and protected animals such as Formosan masked civet, pangolin and Formosan muntjac wandering through the orchard looking for either food or shelter. If you are lucky, you might catch a glimpse of these special guests too.
Besides fruit-picking and tasting fresh fruits, you can also experience making local Hakka specialties – citrus jam and bitter orange tea, and learn to make unique candied tangerine, try out her bitter orange tea and steamed candied-tangerine bun.
Features of Agricultural Tourism
Fruits
“To open the orchard for fruit-picking, the fruits must be safe to eat,” said Chen. Although customary farming method is used at the orchard, they place emphasis on safe chemical use and reduced usage of pesticide. In fact, pesticide use is completely suspended just before the fruits ripen. Fruits are also sent for testing to ensure no pesticide residue is left on the crops, allowing visitors to eat with peace of mind.
To better protect the environment, Chen adopts cover cropping and makes her own enzyme with citrus peel and brown sugar water to spray under the fruit trees to give them added nutrients. She also practices physical pest control by catching fruit flies and long-horned beetles manually to reduce environmental damage from pesticide spraying.
During every harvest season, fresh citruses grown in the orchard are either picked by visitors or processed by Chen so visitors can try out a variety of flavors. According to Chen, local Hakkas enjoy using citrus jam as a dip. Whenever there is a kumquat harvest, they will offer DIY citrus jam making activity, allowing visitors to get to know local Hakka culture and bring home their own citrus jam.
Hot bitter orange tea is a throat-soothing tea that the Hakkas drink to treat common cold. During harvest season, Chen will prepare tea leaves, licorice, perilla, mint and balsam blumea to make bitter orange tea with visitors. The farm also sells ready-made bitter orange tea for visitors to purchase.
Besides season-limited products, such as citrus jam and bitter orange tea, Chen also uses less attractive or surplus tangerines to make candied tangerine. When added to hot water to make tea or eaten together with toast or bread, the slightly bitter yet refreshingly fragrant aroma of citrus is quite unforgettable.Furthermore, Peiying Orange Farm sells citrus-based cleaning products which they made themselves. You can experience the unique charm of citrus whether through food, fun activities or even everyday products.
