Eco Homestays in Meinong

The Meinong District of Kaohsiung City is a well-known Hakka settlement in the Liudui area of southern Taiwan. In addition to the classic Hakka culture, the local area also has a beautiful natural ecological environment, including Meinong Lake. It’s the second largest artificial lake in Kaohsiung City, and was originally used for water storage and irrigation of nearby agricultural land. Because of the rich ecology around the lake and the quiet environment, it later became a tourist park with bicycle trails along the lake, attracting many tourists who come here to ride a bike, take a stroll or go fishing. In recent years, some local homestay operators have created ecological homestays with Meinong characteristics because they cherish this land. These homestays operate under the concept of being good to the land and co-existing in harmony with nature. They provide an environment for visitors to observe the ecological environment and taste the food made from organically grown local ingredients. The owners of the homestays also have a wealth of ecological knowledge and enthusiasm for environmental protection.

The Meinong District of Kaohsiung City

(Image: Hakka TV)

Beauty Green Resort (美綠生態園區)
The Beauty Green Resort covers an area of 30,000 square meters and is adjacent to the Yellow Butterfly Valley. From June to October every year, hundreds of thousands of yellow butterflies descend on the valley, creating a spectacular scene. This rare ecological wonder is unique in the world. In view of the difficulty of ecological maintenance and preservation, Wu Wen-hao (吳文豪) asked his family to agree in 1998 to let him build the Beauty Green Report to promote Hakka culture and stimulate local economic development, under the concept of combining ecological beauty and green landscape. The park has a butterfly ecological protection zone, B&B accommodation, an outdoor camping area, an oil-paper umbrella making area, ecological guided tour classrooms and a Hakka gourmet restaurant.

The Beauty Green Resort

(Image: Hakka TV)

Yellow and Black Guest House (香蕉與黑膠民宿)
Yellow and Black Guest House is a traditional Hakka courtyard house located at the foot of Meinong Mountain. The name of the homestay symbolizes the grandfather and mother of Chung Shi-wei (鍾士為), the owner of the homestay. His grandfather is a banana farmer, and his mother has collected thousands of black vinyl records because she was the host of a radio show. Chung has repaired the 80-year-old house and turned it into a guest house. He also preserved the vinyl records left by his mother for the lodging guests to enjoy. In front of the homestay is a green rice field, and behind it is the verdant Moonlight Mountain, creating an idyllic scene of a pristine Hakka town.

Yellow and Black Guest House

(Image: Hakka TV)

Homeinn (湖美茵民宿)
The Homeinn homestay, which covers an area of more than 9,000 square meters, was formerly a pig farm. In 2000, due to local residents’ opposition, plans to build the Meinong Reservoir was stopped. The homestay site became a water quality protection zone in Kaohsiung City. As a result, the pig farm has been abandoned for 8 years. Song Yong-song (宋永松), the owner of the farm, noticed the accommodation needs of visitors to Meinong, so he converted the farm into a guest house. Song and his son Song Bo (宋柏) later joined forces to turn the deserted land into a beautiful garden of dreams, accompanied by the distant Meinong mountain scenery reflecting in the large pond of the B&B. These are the characteristics of the homestay.

The Homeinn homestay

(Photo: Homeinn Facebook page)

There are no five-star hotels in Meinong, but the local homestay operators have each used their own creativity to create homestays that retain the unique flavor of the town, and combined them with the beautiful natural landscape, so that visitors can enjoy their stay in this simple and peaceful farming community.