Ten Thousand Egrets 2026: When to Come, Where to Watch, Parking and Toilets in Taixing, Meishan

From August to October each year, flocks of cattle egrets sweep across the tea hills of Taixing Village in Meishan, Chiayi. On the best days the whole valley fills with birds. Locals call it wan lu chao feng — the ten thousand egrets.

It is not a built attraction. It is something that happens on its own, which means timing matters more than anything else: come at the right hour and you see it; come at the wrong one and you see a very quiet tea hill.

The name comes from the landscape. Locally, this stretch of the Shengmaoshu Creek valley in Taixing Village is said to resemble a phoenix nest; as the egrets spiral up the valley and sweep over the ridge in formation, they look like ten thousand egrets paying homage to a phoenix — hence the name.

The valley shape is also why it looks the way it does: the terrain funnels the birds into a single moving band rather than letting them scatter.

The season runs from August to October. The flocks are generally said to be at their densest between the solar terms of White Dew and Cold Dew — roughly early September to early October.

Within a day, the birds start arriving around 2pm, and the spectacle peaks between 3pm and roughly 6pm, when they return to roost.

Outside that window you need a good deal of luck. If you can only make the drive once, come after three in the afternoon.

That said, no two years are the same and the weather has a say. We are here every day — if you want to check before setting off, call us on 0972-619-391 (someone answers 8am to 10pm, daily).

There are two places to watch from, and both are ours: Xinchun Tea House, and what Google Maps lists as the Taixing Village Cattle Egret Viewing Platform Car Park. They are a 3 to 5 minute walk apart, and you can drive right up to either — no trail to walk first, so strollers and older visitors are fine.

Just here to watch: park at the viewing platform car park. Parking there is free.

To sit and wait properly: come into Xinchun Tea House, NT$150 per person, including a bottle of cold-brew high-mountain tea and the snack of the day, parking included. For the two or three hours of waiting you have a seat, tea, and toilets — no standing about in the wind.

Booked the tour: drive to Xinchun Tea House — that is the meeting point, and parking is already covered by your tour fee. The tea house has about seven spaces and can fill up on peak-season weekends; when it does, use the car park or the roadside nearby.

Yes. There are toilets at Xinchun Tea House, and shaded seating.

Worth asking before you set off, because watching takes two or three hours — the birds start arriving around 2pm and the spectacle peaks between three and six. If you are bringing children or older family, this is the thing to sort out first.

The free viewing platform car park has no toilets and no seating; it suits a quick look. To stay longer, come into the tea house: NT$150 per person, including a bottle of cold-brew high-mountain tea and the snack of the day, parking included — and you can sit until the flock disperses. There is no time limit.

Word of the Ten Thousand Egrets spread from the egret viewing platform car park and the viewing decks of several neighbouring families — not from any one household. Government offices and journalists came later, and visitors shared what they saw online; that is how it became known.

Our family of three has grown tea in Taixing Village for more than 40 years. The birds come every year, and we are here every year — which is why we can tell you which afternoons are worth the drive and which are not.

Rain does not mean no birds. Once the season is in, the flock flies most days — heavy rain is the exception. In ordinary rain, if the birds have been flying the past few days, they will most likely pass over that day too. If you are unsure, call us on 0972-619-391 before you set out.

Bring a layer. Evenings get cool up here, and the best hour is the evening.

Please do not fly drones near the flock. One drone can scatter the whole group, and everyone who arrives after you sees nothing.

No power lines across this view. Some angles around the valley catch wires and you have to work around them; here you do not. With a long lens on a passing flock, that saves a lot of effort.

The best hour is also the best light. From about four the flock is at its densest and the light has softened. If you only have one hour, make it that one.

Please do not fly drones at the birds. One is enough to scatter the whole flock, and then nobody who comes after you sees anything.

The Ten Thousand Egrets Tea Hill Tour is NT$450 per person, 90 minutes, running 22 August to 11 October and starting at 2pm.

The tour ending is not your cue to leave. The talk finishes around 3:30pm, just as the birds start to build — and you are welcome to stay on at the tea house until the flock comes home at six, or until you feel like leaving. The seat is yours, the tea keeps coming, the toilets are right there. NT$450 buys the whole afternoon, not ninety minutes.

The price already includes everything in garden admission: cold-brew high-mountain tea, the snack of the day, parking, toilets, a shaded seat. What it adds is a local guide with you throughout, an ecology booklet to take home, and freshly made handmade mountain-spring fig jelly — on tour days we always make it.

One thing that matters more than the talk itself: the tour is booked ahead, so your seat is held. On peak-season weekends the seven parking spaces at the tea house can fill before noon, and so can the seating. Booking means not leaving it to chance.

The person guiding you is the person who wrote this guide — the family that has grown tea in Taixing for more than forty years, here every year the birds come. Two people is enough to run a session. Book online, or call us on 0972-619-391 (8am to 10pm, daily).

You are just as welcome to come and watch without booking anything. This was always something people watched together.

No booking needed — just drive up to Xinchun Tea House. We have seven parking spaces at the door.

To sit down and wait properly, a tea seat is NT$150 per person, paid on the day by cash or bank transfer (we do not take cards): a bottle of cold-brewed high-mountain tea, the snack of the day, and shaded seating you can keep until the flock disperses, with no time limit. If you would rather have something hot, add a freshly brewed pot for the table — NT$300, refilled as long as you stay.

Only the Ten Thousand Egrets Tea Hill Tour needs booking ahead. It leaves at 2pm daily and costs NT$450 per person.

Any questions on the way up, call 0972-619-391 — someone answers between 8am and 10pm every day. We live here.