Chishang

Chishang grows rice that sells at a premium across Taiwan, and the fields fill the flat floor of the rift valley between two mountain ranges with no buildings or poles in them, which is deliberate: the town removed the power lines. Mr Brown Avenue, a lane running through the paddies, became famous from a television advertisement and is now cycled by everyone who comes. The town also sells the railway lunchbox that Taiwanese associate with the line.

Highlights

• Mr Brown Avenue - a tree-lined lane through open paddy with no poles or buildings.
• The paddy fields - the valley floor between the Central and Coastal ranges.
• The lunchbox - the Chishang bento sold at the station and in the town.
• The bicycle routes - flat lanes through the fields, the standard way to see it.

When to go

May to June is the green paddy and October to November the second harvest, which are the two best windows. Golden ripening in late June and November is the classic look. Winter fields are bare.

What to expect

Mr Brown Avenue is crowded with bicycles and photographers at weekends and in season. Outside the growing seasons the fields are bare mud. Bicycle hire prices rise sharply at peak times.

Nearby

Luye is south, and the East Rift Valley runs north into Hualien.

Key facts