Often described as the Swiss Alps or Switzerland of Taiwan, Qingjing Farm also known as Cingjing Farm is a beautiful mountainous scenic area in central Taiwan. At the top of Taiwan's central Nantou County, Qingjing Farm is the perfect nature escape in Taiwan, rolling grasslands, dramatic mountain views and lush forests to explore. There's much more to Qingjing Farm than the farm itself, such as these incredible destinations.
Green Green Grassland
A large open pasture area for animals to graze, Green Green Grassland is usually where most people come to first when visiting Qingjing Farm. Perfect for families and those with kids, the farm animals such as sheep and cows here can be approached and interacted with, along with a number of events held by the farm throughout the day. Make sure to check out other events held by Qingjing Farm such as the popular Qingjing Horsemanship Show, featuring horse-riding acrobats from Mongolia and Kazakhstan.
Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area
A short drive from Cingjing Farm, Aowanda is a natural paradise of greenery stretching across the canyon of the Wanda River. Filled with waterfalls, hiking trails and rope bridges stretching across gorges, it's the perfect spot for those looking for an adventure.
Aowanda is particularly famous for its autumn scenery, one of the few places in Taiwan with beautiful maples trees that turn red in the fall.
Qingjing Old English Manor
With old Tudor-style architecture and lavish decorations you'd expect at a wealthy estate in England, surrounded by incredible mountain scenery that looks like it's been copy and pasted from Switzerland, Qingjing's Old English Manor is a sight to behold.
This huge decadent manor is actually a hotel, one of the most beautifully designed on the island, the manor is full of intricate details and lavish decorations to make guests feel like they're whisked off to a historic Tudor estate.
Qingjing's Swiss Garden is another popular place to feel like you're outside of Taiwan, not quite as grand as the English Manor, the gardens are full of beautiful flowers and unique architecture.
Qingjing Farm Hiking Trails
There are a number of great hiking trails located right within the Qingjing Farm area both moderate and short trails. For one of the most beautiful views, head to Qingjing's Sunset Trail during the last few hours of light. The trail lasts about 30 minutes, with stunning views across the valley below with the setting sun in the distance.
Another popular hike, Jade Lake traverses through tea fields and stunning views over the lake below.
Lushan Hot Springs
The perfect antidote to trekking around mountain trails, the small hot spring town of Lushan offers revitalizing hot water pools and hot spring hotels with private baths. A number of the hotels feature outside or inside public baths that you can bathe in for a fee without staying overnight, along with private baths to rent out for day trips to Lushan from Qingjing.
To get to Lushan Hot Springs from Qingjing by public bus you'll need to get a bus to Wushe first (No. 6664) and then change to the bus towards the hot springs (6661).
Wuling Farm
Just over the border of Nantou in Taichung, Wuling Farm is a similarly picturesque high mountain farm in Taiwan. The hills around the farm are lined with cherry trees which usually flower in February, making Wuling Farm one of the most famous cherry blossom viewing spots in Taiwan.
Getting there from Qingjing requires navigating some fairly winding mountain roads, but the scenery along the way is well worth it.
Hehuanshan
While it's not actually in Nantou County, Hehuanshan is close to Qingjing Farm and is easy to reach for those using a car.
Despite being one of the taller mountains around Taiwan, it's one of the easiest to reach, with a road traversing across the mountain. Due to its high altitude and easy-to-reach location, it's one of the most popular places in Taiwan to see snow scenery, the slopes of the mountain are often covered in white snow during the winter months.
Just below the main peak of Hehuanshan (meters) the highway below is the highest point accessible by road in Taiwan, at 3,275 meters.
Other Things to do in Nantou near Qingjing
One of Taiwan's most famous scenic spots, Sun Moon Lake is a short journey from Qingjing Farm and easy to combine on the same trip.
Lishan and the neighboring Fushoushan Farm is another popular high mountain farm that has some of the most beautiful autumn leaf scenery in Taiwan, with a number of large red maple trees.
How to Get to Qingjing Farm
The easiest way to explore Qingjing Farm and the central mountain region of Taiwan is to hire a car and drive between attractions. Buses in this area are infrequent and some areas have no public transportation.
It is possible to explore the area by using public buses however, just make sure not to miss the bus as some routes only have one per day. If you're visiting by public transport and bus we'd recommend heading to Sun Moon Lake first and then visiting Qingjng farm, afterwards going to Wuling Farm and then on towards Taroko Gorge. You can sometimes book a shuttle service between these destinations (especially for Sun Moon Lake to Qingjing Farm) that makes it much more convenient and faster than just using public buses.
Hotels around Qingjing Farm
It's highly recommended to stay overnight around Qingjing Farm, there's plenty of things to do to make it worthwhile. There are plenty of guesthouses known as minsu around Cingjing Farm, which offer relatively cheap accommodation from friendly owners. For somewhere more luxurious, check out Sangrila Hanging Garden & Resort or the Old English Manor.