1-Natural Environment
Meiling is situated on the eastern side of the Nansi District of Tainan City. It is at an elevation of approximately 1000 meters and is a branch of the southwestern central mountain range, running from north to south. The Nanhua Reservoir is to its right, overlooking the Zengwun Reservoir to the left.
2-Origin of Name
Meiling was originally called "Siangjiaoshan (Banana Mountain)" but there were great agricultural losses after each typhoon disaster. In order to resolve the typhoon issue, the farmers started to cultivate plum trees, which also attracted a lot of people from other provinces to immigrate and join in the cultivation of plum trees. Consequently, it was renamed Meiling (Plum Ridge) in 1981.
3-Agricultural Status
(1)On the mountain, plum trees number in the several tens of thousands, and it serves as the largest plum production area in Tainan. Around the time of the New Year, the white plum flowers are in full bloom as though it were a field of snow.
(2)The Meiling Leisure Agricultural Area was established in 1993. Since then, the original Tainan County Government agencies and the Soil and Water Conservation Bureau of the Council of Agriculture have been actively promoting all kinds of construction work, directing the locals in transforming its traditional agriculture into leisure agriculture.
(3)It is hoped that Meiling’s agricultural products and leisure farms in plums, tea, and star fruits, and food processing, along with its natural environment, culture, and ecology, can bring forth a second boom for its industries. The local residences are also very committed to developing unique products, including plum chicken cuisine, plum essences, marinated plums, and plum wines.
(4)Additionally, local natural sceneries includes fire holes, sky-lines, Cinglong Falls, and giant trees, and it also offers gorgeous views of sunrises and seas of clouds.
(5)As for ecotourism, Meiling offers plum blossoms every new year, green plums during the Tomb Sweeping Festival, firefly gatherings in April, butterfly trails formed by the migration of the Eastern Brown Crow Butterflies in May, and a rich ecology of birds, frogs, and insects.