Dahu Township is located in the south of Miaoli County, adjacent to Shitan Township in the north, Gongguan Township, Tongluo Township and Sanyi Township in the west, Zhuolan Town in the south, and Taian Township in the east. The climate here is mild and rainy. It is famous for its strawberry production, and is known as the “strawberry kingdom.” The Hakkas are the main ethnic group here, so the local dialect spoken here is mainly the Hakka.
Da Hu Wineland Resort | 大湖酒莊
Da Hu Wineland Resort is located behind Zhongyuan Road and Strawberry Cultural Center on Provincial Highway 3, which passes through Miaoli’s Dahu Township. After the 921 earthquake in 1999, the Da Hu Farmers Association launched efforts to revive tourism earnings and began sponsoring the establishment of the winery and the equipment of the cultural center. The winery was officially opened in 2002. It is the third in the world and the first in Asia to produce strawberry wine.
The resort park has a Strawberry Cultural Center, a winery, a wine products, fruits and tea area, an agricultural specialty products exhibition and sales hall, the Dahu hot springs club, the Dahu wine cellar, a strawberry house, and a Dahu strawberry garden, where people can learn about the wine making process and try strawberry wine. It is a special attraction to learn about the development of Dahu’s strawberry culture, history and humanities.
The first floor of the Strawberry Cultural Center is the exhibition area for agricultural products. The second floor is the video screening room and souvenir shop. The third floor is the strawberry ecological display area, and the fourth and fifth floors are the restaurant which serves specialty cuisine made from locally grown agricultural products, and the sky garden. The first floor exhibition area mainly focuses on strawberry-related products, such as strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream, strawberry vinegar, and strawberry biscuits, as well as agricultural specialty products from other areas of Miaoli. In the wine-making area, visitors can watch through the transparent glass the juice-making room, which has the winery's advanced equipment, the filter room, the laboratory, the bartending room, the packaging room and strawberry wine making processes.
The Strawberry Cultural Center has served as a venue for various activities, playing an important role in the overall development of Dahu Township. The strawberry-themed center helps connect the strawberries with the local people. It is not only a popular sightseeing spot in Dahu but an important regional development center and place for providing tourism information.
Dawo Ecological Park |大窩生態園區
Dawo Ecological Park is located next to a mountain in Daliao Village in the Dawo area of Dahu Township, Miaoli County. The park covers an area of more than 300 hectares. In addition to having many scenic trails and various ecological landscapes, it has also been successful in the resurrection of fireflies in recent years, making it a popular spotlight attraction for tourists in the early summer.
"The Ancient Vines (古樟奇藤)" is located at the high point of the Dawo Ecological Park. The huge old banyan trees here are very tall. On the side of the giant trees, there are thick vines with a diameter of 60 cm. Local residents explain that the two completely different plants have been interdependent for 200 years. Local residents believe that these 200-year-old trees are spiritual, so they are worshipped and respected.
In addition, inside the park, there are also valuable cultural relics, such as the "Guzhen Trail (古圳道)" and "Wang Zhongye (王忠爺)" memorial stone monuments, which are testament to the Hakka ancestors’ development of the mountains in the early days. The birthplace and former residence of the prominent Hakka composer Tu Min-heng’s (涂敏恆) is also located here.
There are 35 households and about 200 people living in this community. Their lives are simple and diligent. Most of the residents here are mainly engaged in farming, and they inherit the spirit of hard work from their ancestors. The quiet and elegant ecological landscape of the Dawo Ecological Park is ideal for people who want to get away from the city's hubbub and enjoy the tranquility of nature.