Due to the Taitung area's regulating climate caused by the Pacific Ocean Current and the Japan Current, as well as the fact that this area has not experienced serious environmental pollution or damage, many varieties of medicinal herbs have grown here since early times. During the Japanese occupation era, the Japanese planted medicinal herbs in the Jhihben and Taimali mountain areas of Taitung, developing "Medicine Mountain". Apart from a few medicinal herbs that have been introduced from outside, most of these herbs are native to the Taitung area (including Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island). According to statistics produced by medicinal herb experts, over 2,000 varieties of medicinal herbs can be found in the Taitung area, making it the "Homeland of Taiwan Medicinal Herbs".
This is the background under which the Taitung Yuan Sen Applied Botanical Garden came into being. Although it has only been opened for two years, under its professional management team and superior management concepts, it has resulted in a tourist recreation botanical garden area in the Taitung area that integrates the cultivation of Taiwan's medicinal herbs with biotechnology research, fresh vegetables cuisine, health recreation and the promotion of health-care products.
The entrance is an imposing large hall with water screens, looking as if they will completely wash the visitors. After entering the garden area, one can view the “Yuan Sen Explorer’s Plant Garden”, a vast area of almost 5,000 square meters that is filled with all kinds of medicinal herbs, flowers, and plants. There are six areas, namely, the health-care medicinal herbs area, the aromatic plants area, the medicinal dietary plants area, the ground cover plants area, the hundred herb tea plant area, and the water plants area. Over 200 species of plants are displayed, all of which are native to Taitung.
Pass through the "Yuan Sen Explorer's Plant Garden" to the mountain slopes ahead, and then follow the elevated, central scenic path, where some fascinating scenery will unfold before your eyes. Here, you can see the crest lines of the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range extend south. You can even see in the distance to the Pacific Ocean. It's enough to make the visitors exclaim in delight!
The health restaurant is another unique selling point of the Taitung Yuan Sen Applied Botanical Garden. Not only does it provide superior views of the vast mountains and oceans, but its health selections are uniquely innovative, using all kinds of healthy organic wild herbs grown in the gardens. When these herbs are added to unique sauces made from red thorn onion stalks, edible young sprouts of the Chinese toon tree, etc., they produce a taste found nowhere else! Under the chefs' skilled cooking, healthy wild herbs, such as Gynura bicolor, white purslane, sorrel, deadly nightshade, sweet potato leaves, Asiatic pennywort, nodding burnweed, wild celery, and Surinam purslane, all become delicacies for the visitors to sample. These herbs can even be made into drinks or sweet confectionary. After listening to an explanation from the service staff, these meals ly become an educational grand banquet providing every variety of flavors.
Finally, remember to visit the "Plant Life Gift Center" in the middle of the garden area, where you can view health products made from all kinds of healthy medicinal herbs. This is not your typical agricultural specialty products center with products that can be found elsewhere. Over 150 items are on display, all of which are high-quality Taitung native medicinal herb series products and healthy specialty products. They include all varieties of medicinal herb teas and beverages, healthy medicinal wine, medicinal herb food products, medicinal herb bath items, etc. Most of these products have been developed by the Taitung Yuan Sen Applied Botanical Garden.