March 2016: Each year, between the months of February and April, Taiwan bursts into colourful pink and white blossoms. Spring visitors can experience Taiwan's Formosan cherry blossoms flowers in full bloom with a multitude of places to enjoy the beautiful buds across the destination. Yangmingshan National Park and Alishan Forest provide particularly spectacular shows.

Sun Moon Lake Cherry and Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village

The Sun Moon Lake cherry blossom festival in Yuchih incorporates a number of events centred around the few thousand cherry trees in Sun Moon Lake. It's the largest cherry blossom festival in central Taiwan, and a particular highlight is the 'Evening Cherry Blossom Activity' during which each tree is lit with lamplights, creating a stunning colourful and romantic show. Another aspect of the Sun Moon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival is the show at the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village. The park offers night tours of the cherry blossom throughout February. The cherry blossom at Sun Moon Lake can be seen throughout the entire cherry blossom season, from January through to mid-April. For more information please visit http://www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw/English/

Alishan Cherry Blossom Festival

The Alishan Cherry Blossom Festival takes place from mid-March through to mid-April. Covered by more than 19,000 cherry trees, Alishan is one of Taiwan's most famous places to see the cherry blossom. Over 18,000 of these trees are the Yoshino cherry trees, making Alishan the only and largest area for Yoshino cherry trees in Taiwan, the best places to view including Zhaoping Park and Alishan House.

Prices to get into the Alishan National Scenic Area start at £3 per person. The famous Formosan aboriginal cherry blossom can be seen in Alishan for the entirety of the cherry blossom season, meaning visitors can make use of the beautiful sights for up until mid-April. For more information please visit http://www.ali-nsa.net/user/Main.aspx

Yangmingshan National Park

Running until 20 March, the Yangmingshan Flower Festival features more than 3,000 cherry trees alongside a wide range of flowers such as camellias and peach blossoms. Free guided tours of the famous double cherry, Japanese Showa cherry and the Taiwan cherry trees run on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The festival is separated into three phases; the blooming of the Formosan cherry up on the mountain sides of Yangminshan Park throughout February, the flowering of the Showa cherry and Japanese cherry in March, and the third stage in April allows the Formosan cherry to take centre stage. The park is open to the public for no fee.

The Yangmingshan Flower Season forms part of the larger Yangmingshan Flower Season which incorporates YangmingsPark, Chienshan Park and the surrounding areas, where visitors can view a vast array of blooming flowers during the spring season. For more information please visit http://english.ymsnp.gov.tw/

Taipei parks

Visitors do not even need to step outside of the Taiwanese capital to experience the fabulous blooms. Buds begin to open in mid-February in the Songzhi Park in the Xinyi District, revealing their pink petals. Located next to two iconic Taiwanese buildings; Taipei 101 and the Eslite Xinyi Store, the cherry blossom trees of the Songzhi Park are a relatively new phenomena, opening up the urban areas to the beauty of spring. The trees contrast against the backdrop of the high rise buildings, making them even more stunning. Taipei city is now home to over 4,000 cherry trees across its parks, brightening up the city scape. Visitors can view these stunning cherry trees in their bloom at any time throughout the famous cherry blossom season.

Ends

For further information on Taiwan please visit http://eng.taiwan.net.tw

Email taiwan@brightergroup.com or telephone 020 7326 9880.

Notes to editors

For media enquiries, please contact Laoise Collins at the Brighter Group on Laoise.collins@brightergroup.com or telephone 020 7326 9880.