Central East Coast
This family-oriented theme park combines Disney-style 'castle', cable car, Ferris wheel, log flume, rollercoaster and pirate ship along with some ocean-based educational elements. While hardly state of the art, queues for rides are modest (outside major holidays periods) and there are sweeping sea views.
It's around half-an-hour's drive south of Hualien. Exact timings can vary by season.
6.46 MILES
Built in 2000, this gigantic temple-cum-performance venue has a simple yet striking, white-and-grey exterior. At its tallest point, the building is…
18.5 MILES
This 18km marble-walled gorge is Taroko National Park's crown jewel. It's a must-see attraction whether you're hiking its trails, peering at its…
18.73 MILES
Nearing completion at the time of research, a breathtaking new suspension footbridge at Bulowan will soon cross the gorge, dizzyingly high above the river…
Fuyuan Forest Recreational Area
26.6 MILES
Fuyuan takes an area of serene natural beauty and tames it just enough to make accessible the abundant birdlife and multitudinous butterflies that flit…
Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area
27.78 MILES
Located along the scenic Hwy 14 near Wushe, this national park is famous for its maples. The park ranges in altitude from 1100m to 2600m, making it a cool…
28.86 MILES
One of Taiwan's most beautiful areas of unspoilt coastline runs south from Fengbin, culminating at a headland beyond Shitigang fishing harbour, known as…
20.36 MILES
Very steep rock-and-forest mountainsides north of Taroko descend directly into the sea from several hundred metres' altitude. That means that roads and…
8.79 MILES
Qixingtan (Chihsingtan) is a former fishing hamlet whose few remaining, old, tin-roofed shacks are outnumbered by a gaggle of small but fanciful hotels…
1. Hualien Railway Culture Park
5.1 MILES
Worth a five-minute look, this area's main sight is a 1932 wooden courtyard building containing a fairly basic history of the East Coast Railway since…
5.67 MILES
Set in a graceful garden that's all a-twitter with birdsong, this 1940s concrete building was used by the Japanese military to wine and pleasure their…
5.81 MILES
Designed like an antique Chinese palace, this colourfully gabled 1980s complex is set amid lush foliage on a small rise overlooking Hualien's single most…
4. Temple to the Lords of the Three Mountains
5.91 MILES
This temple may look quite ordinary, but it is the hub of Hakka religious life in Hualien. When the Hakkas migrated to Taiwan in the Qing dynasty, they…
6.46 MILES
Built in 2000, this gigantic temple-cum-performance venue has a simple yet striking, white-and-grey exterior. At its tallest point, the building is…
6.78 MILES
Climb through a dragon's mouth into one of two spiral staircases that front this gigantic Matsu temple – the biggest in Hualien. There is particularly…
7.91 MILES
An ambitious little gallery that showcases edgy and experimental works by Taiwanese, Asian and Western artists. Fogstand also has an artists-as-resident…
8.79 MILES
Qixingtan (Chihsingtan) is a former fishing hamlet whose few remaining, old, tin-roofed shacks are outnumbered by a gaggle of small but fanciful hotels…