For families planning a trip to Taipei with their little ones, one of the top destinations that is widely recommended is none other than Qingjing Farm.
It is actually located quite a distance away from Taipei, but a bus ride will bring you there. Located at an altitude of 1750 meters above sea level and with an average temperature of 15℃~23℃ from May to September every year, it makes for a perfect getaway from the city life.
Qingjing Farm also has guesthouses for you to stay the night at if you’re not keen on doing the long bus journey to and fro on the same day. It is also perfect for those who want to soak in the gorgeous scenery and chill temperatures.
We didn’t book it as we had limited time in Taiwan and didn’t want to spend too much of our itinerary in Qingjing. But it’s definitely an option you can consider!
What to do at Qingjing Farm
I thought the official Qingjing Farm website was exaggerating when they described the grassland as resembling Switzerland. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that the views were honestly very stunning!
The key highlight of Qingjing Farm is none other than the sheep! Similar to Alpaca World, you can actually get up close to these furry creatures. They roam freely all over the grassland and even on the boardwalks!
Most of the time they don’t pay much attention to you and do their own thing.
The grass slopes offer a stunning view of lush green leaves against the thick fog. I think we were pretty lucky to visit on a day when the fog was quite thick, so it really added to the mystic vibes of the place.
If you have mobility issues or have children with you, do exercise some caution while going up and down the grass slopes! They are a little steep and can get rather slippery, especially if it rained the night before.
Otherwise, getting on the grass slopes is a fantastic way to get closer to the grazing sheep!
While the alpacas at Alpaca World can get a little nasty with their spitting, I found that the sheep at Qingjing Farm are much gentler. You can get pretty close to them without fearing that they’ll spit at you or attack you!
Feeding sheep at Qingjing Farm
After a while, you may realise that even though the sheep are incredibly gentle, they usually don’t give a hoot about you if they figure out that you’re not feeding them.
Keen to become a sheep magnet, or simply want to try your hand at farm life? You can find one of these vending machines located around Qingjing Farm! Starting from just NT $20, you get a good amount of sheep feed.
You can even keep the box afterwards ifyou fancy.
Qingjing Farm also has interactive shows like Sheep Shearing (!) at their square, although we didn’t manage to catch that. It’s quite fascinating how they have so many varieties of sheep in the farm though!
Once we had the sheep feed in our hands, that was when the sheep really started paying close attention to us.
Unfortunately, they also have a tendency to chase after you for food. It’s not particularly scary, but you may get a little startled by how fast they charge up to you.
All you have to do is put the food on your hand, stretch it out, and let the sheep do the rest. They gobble it up pretty fast, but they’re generally quite clean eaters and don’t leave a mess on your hands.
I’m admittedly not a big fan of letting animals lick me, so I found this rather manageable!
The sheep in Qingjing are very meek and mild, and will allow you to gently pat them. This is especially after you’ve fed them and they feel all good.
We were really very fortunate to visit on a day when there was good weather and the fog made for such gorgeous photos.
Horse-riding
If you’re done with feeding the sheep and want to try other activities, consider doing horse-riding at Qingjing Farm!
There’s an additional fee to pay for this, but I can’t remember how much it was. I personally didn’t do it, but my friends got around to trying it. Looking at them ride into the fog was such an amazing experience!
Your safety is also well-ensured as there’ll be a staff on hand to guide the horse along.
What to eat at Qingjing Farm
Feeding (and running from) the sheep & riding horses can surprisingly take up a lot of energy.
Thankfully, there is quite a good variety of food options at the bottom of the hill.
These are individual stores which sell different types of food – you can just grab a table and order from all the different stores. A bit like a kopitiam or night market!
We ordered some common Taiwan food and snacks to share. These include fried rice, sausages, and a serving of mushrooms & vegetables (trying to be healthy lol).
The sausages are actually Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang 大腸包小腸, where the sausage typically goes into the glutinous rice roll, shaped to look like, well, a bigger sausage.
I find it quite funny that they separated the sausage from the rice roll, but it did make sharing lot easier!
How to get to Qingjing Farm from Taipei?
If you’re travelling from Taipei, you can opt to take a bus from the Taipei West Bus Station Terminal B.
Taipei West Bus Station Terminal B → Puli → Take Nantou Bus (that is destined for Songgang or Cueifong to reach for Qingjing Farm)
The total journey is 260km and usually takes less than 5 hours.
How much is the admission fee?
Full-priced adult ticket is NT $200.
Concession tickets are available for large groups (20 – 30, depending on season) and students aged 13 and above at NT $160.
Half-priced tickets are available for seniors aged 65 and older, and children aged aged 6-12 and under 150 cm in height.
DIRECTIONS
Address: 5號, No. 186-1, Renhe Rd, Ren’ai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan 546
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