Hope River in Tucheng, New Taipei City: Grape Ripening Season and the Joy of Fruit Viewing

(Taiwan Business News) The "Hope River" plaza in Tucheng, New Taipei City, is an urban micro-travel spot for flower lovers and admirers. Although the flower-viewing crowds from March to April have now come to an end, sharp-eyed visitors can still spot round, lovely clusters of fruit hanging from the trellises, taking over as the star attraction for fruit viewing, and everyone is looking forward to a bountiful grape harvest this year.

The grapes grown here at Hope River are small, charming green grapes that cannot be eaten as fruit, but the juice they produce has an absolutely superb flavor. The grapevines here were first planted in the 99th year of the Republic of China (2010) by Hsu Chun-teng, the neighborhood warden of Huorao Village in Tucheng District, and they bear abundantly every year. The volunteers of the New Taipei City Greening and Landscape Promotion Association, who tend and cultivate them with dedication, are the unsung heroes behind the scenes.

The association's 90-some volunteers are divided into 5 groups, each taking turns handling a full month of watering, fertilizing and other maintenance work for the plants around Hope River. For example, the grapevines lose their leaves in winter and can be pruned in December, while new buds emerge in early spring and January is a good time to fertilize. In addition to applying organic fertilizer, they also ask nearby breakfast shops for soybean milk residue to use as fertilizer.

Hsu Chun-teng also specially thanked the New Taipei City Agriculture Department for its years of guidance. The 60-some Yoshino cherry trees at Hope River and the 5 Taiwan cherry trees newly added last year were all planted with the assistance of the Agriculture Department. Surrounding the area, flowers of many colors are still in bloom, including azaleas, marguerite daisies, bougainvillea, golden trumpet, and Chinese hibiscus, along with foliage plants such as asparagus fern and heavenly bamboo. The landscape is beautiful and the environment is pleasant, a joint achievement of the association's volunteers, the village office, the district office, and the Agriculture Department.

At the end of June this year, the refreshing, chilled grape champagne juice is expected to be shared with the public. Visitors can also take the opportunity to enjoy the "fruit-viewing fun" of the grape clusters and pick grapes together, experiencing a happy day in the life of a grape farmer.