• The coronavirus may be keeping the tourists away, but locals are flocking to areas around Taipei to see the cherry blossoms
• The sites are easy to reach from the city, and have beautiful rural backdrops, unlike Japan’s urban scenery

South China Morning Post
Date: 15 Mar, 2020
By: Ralph Jennings

Cherry trees started to blossom around Taipei in mid-January this year because of unseasonably warm weather. Then along came the coronavirus, which sparked fear of venturing out to crowded malls and restaurants.

While tourists are avoiding Taiwan, despite its relatively low number of confirmed cases, local crowds are forming around the trees, where flowers radiate photogenic pinks, reds and whites.Greater Taipei stands out for having some of Asia’s most easily accessible mountain cherry blossoms

.“The advantage here in the northern parts is convenience, and up here you do not need to wear a face mask,” says Tina Lee, 22, a Chang Gung University of Science and Technology student who has come to see the blossoms for the first time at Yangming Park, about 400 metres above sea level and 45 minutes by bus from central Taipei.    [FULL  STORY]