Climbing the Winding Path to Songhong Farm
Songhong Farm is nestled on the mid-slopes of Ma Yuan Village in Wanrong Township, Hualien County. As you ascend the winding agricultural road, the path narrows, but the view overlooking the valley below becomes increasingly expansive.
Yi Hua Jie, a Bunun elder, fondly recalls her days running a homestay. Due to the tricky mountain roads, she often had to personally drive down to pick up her guests. Laughing, she shared:
“Many times, visitors joked with me, saying, ‘If something were to happen here, no one would probably find out!'”
The Origin of the Name “Songhong Farm”
Curious, I asked Yi Hua Jie about the origin of Songhong Farm’s name. She explained that she and her husband initially planted cypress and red cedar trees on the mountain, chosen for their high economic value. The names of the two trees, “Song” (cypress) and “Hong” (red), when spoken in Taiwanese, sound like “shàng hóng” (meaning “very prosperous”), symbolizing their hope that the farm would bring both financial success and local recognition. However, due to poor soil conditions and typhoon damage, nearly all the cypress and red cedar trees were lost.
From Office Desk to Farm Fields
Yi Hua Jie admitted she wasn’t raised as a farmer and had to learn everything from scratch. The turning point came in 2009, when the loss of her father plunged her into grief, affecting her health and prompting her to reevaluate her lifestyle.
At the time, she worked as an accountant at the tribal cooperative, spending her days managing administrative tasks in the office. The heavy workload, combined with her emotional distress, left her feeling physically and mentally drained by the end of each week, with weekends offering no relief. Determined to make a change, she resigned despite her supervisor’s attempts to dissuade her, choosing instead to dedicate herself to farming.
A Gentle Memory from Her Mother: Rediscovering Cinnamomum Osmophloeum
In her early farming days, Yi Hua Jie attended various workshops and sought advice from friends and family, setting her sights on achieving organic certification. She began by planting simple vegetables and fruits but quickly realized that relying on fresh produce made her vulnerable to fluctuating market prices. Although she successfully obtained organic certification in 2011, she wanted to find a crop that was more stable in both yield and pricing.
That’s when she remembered Cinnamomum osmophloeum, also known as indigenous cinnamon, which her parents used to cultivate.
As a child, whenever she caught a cold or felt unwell, her mother would pick a few leaves and twigs of cinnamon (Cinnamomum osmophloeum) and chew them herself. Soon after, her body would heat up, sweat, and recover. This simple yet effective remedy reflects the enduring wisdom of the elders, deeply rooted in the surrounding mountains.
In addition to cultivating indigenous cinnamon, she also planted Japanese Akaro sweet persimmons, bitter tea trees, and sacha inchi, diversifying the crops to include more varieties suitable for processing.
Since 2014, Songhong Farm has partnered with the Story Behind the Mountain (Houshan · Shanhou Story Museum) to design packaging and develop a range of processed products. These include cinnamon powder, cinnamon tea, cinnamon extract, red turmeric powder, and sacha inchi oil, establishing its own brand and significantly increasing the profitability of its agricultural products.
Stones with Stories: The Unique Landscape of Songhong Farm
As you step into Songhong Farm, rows of low-lying sweet persimmon trees greet your eyes. Some branches are tied with ropes that connect to the ground. Yi Hua Jie’s husband, Song Wen-Yi, eagerly guided me around the farm, barefoot and nimble as he climbed up and down the uneven terrain like a child. With palpable excitement, he explained how to distinguish persimmons, bitter tea, and mountain pepper trees.
The farm is dotted with large stones of various shapes and sizes, scattered across the neatly maintained fields. Though their presence might seem random at first glance, they blend into the landscape with a natural harmony. Wen-Yi pointed to a massive rock nearby, its upper surface smooth and concave, resembling a bed. With a grin, he shared:
“When I used to get tired from work, I would nap right here. This was my sofa, my favorite spot for an afternoon rest.”

He then pointed to a rock glittering with translucent quartz and said, “This rock is the most valuable one here. Many people have offered high prices to buy it, but I’ll never sell it.”
Before I could respond, he quickly ducked his head into a crevice in a rocky cavern and asked me to shine my flashlight inside. “See if there’s still a pot in there,” he said. It turns out the crevice once served as a makeshift shelter for his in-laws when they worked here. “This cave was both their worksite and rest area. They’d cook and nap in there midway through their workday.”
He then led me along a long pathway and pointed to a triangular rock perched on a cliff. “This is the head of the hundred-pace viper,” he said, explaining how the “snake’s mouth” faces the Coastal Mountain Range. When the sun rises from the east, standing at the “snake’s head” bathes you in sunlight. The light illuminates the back of your head, obscuring your facial features, giving the impression of a divine presence. Many visitors to Songhong Farm can’t resist snapping photos at this iconic spot.
The sharp rock on the cliff resembles the head of a hundred-pace viper from a distance.In addition to the uniquely shaped stones steeped in local stories, the farm offers breathtaking scenery that showcases harmony with nature. A freshly shed snakeskin lies on the grass, traces of wild boars rooting with their snouts mark the soil beneath the persimmon trees, and the branches are adorned with orange-red sweet persimmons. Wen-Yi smiled and said, “The harvest isn’t great this year, so I’m leaving them as a gift from nature—for the birds and monkeys to enjoy!”






A Mountain Retreat: The Homestay Experience
Before the pandemic, Songhong Farm offered a unique farm-stay experience. With fully equipped bedrooms and bathrooms, the farm could accommodate over ten guests, making it an ideal choice for family gatherings or corporate retreats. The couple would prepare meals using fresh produce from the farm, and for those interested, Wen-Yi would arrange simple farming activities like chopping firewood, starting a fire, or harvesting fruit, allowing visitors to immerse themselves in tribal life. Business was thriving before the pandemic, attracting many foreign travelers, with Yi Hua Jie personally driving to Guangfu or Ruisui train stations to pick up and drop off guests.
Post-pandemic, they paused the homestay operations to focus on promoting their agricultural products.
A Perfect Partnership
Today, the couple has a clear division of labor: Yi Hua Jie handles marketing and external promotions, while Wen-Yi dedicates himself to farm work, carefully tending to every crop. Yi Hua Jie recalls, “In the beginning, I worked the fields and marketed the produce all on my own. It wasn’t until my husband retired and joined me that I passed on the farm duties to him.”
Expanding Songhong’s Reach
Songhong’s processed agricultural products are now available at the Hualien City Farmers’ Association, Guangfu Sugar Factory, and Tzu Chi University. On weekends, Yi Hua Jie diligently travels by train to markets across Taiwan, selling her products. While sales fluctuate, she finds joy in meeting people and learning about their work, treating it as an opportunity to make friends.
Over the years, Songhong Farm has gradually gained recognition as a tribal brand originating from Wanrong, Hualien, showcasing the essence of Bunun agriculture and lifestyle.




Commitment to Organic Farming and Future Vision
Reflecting on her years in farming, Yi Hua Jie recalls the challenges of transforming the farmland in its early days. Yields were modest, and others often teased her, asking if she could even make a living. Yet, she remained steadfast in her philosophy: cultivating the land with care and respect to create a beautiful and healthy environment where her family could live comfortably and happily.
Today, she and her husband aspire to share this goodness with others. They are working toward developing a leisure and recreational agricultural tourism farm—a harmonious space where agriculture, culture, and recreation intertwine seamlessly.
Sipping on the cinnamon extract Yi Hua Jie offered me, the initial taste was slightly spicy, but a sweet, lingering aftertaste soon followed. It left a clear, soothing sensation—earthy and natural. In that flavor was the essence of her inherited wisdom, passed down from her parents, and the countless hours of hard work she and her husband poured into creating their organic farm.
The unique stones scattered across the farm, each with its own story and name, the crops they’ve lovingly grown, the forests they’ve diligently protected, and their unwavering commitment to environmental sustainability—all converge into a vision of living harmoniously with nature. Their farm is a testament to resilience, care, and the enduring beauty of a life lived with purpose.
Writer: Apyang Imiq
Interview Date: August 28, 2024