Martyr's Shrine

Hualien


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 attractive scene.

It honours Kuomintang soldiers who died during the Chinese Civil War, but before WWII the site had been home to the 1915 Japanese-style Karenko Shrine (花蓮港神社; Huālián Gǎng Shénshè).

The access stairway climbs up through a paifeng (ornamental gateway) where Linsen Rd reaches a T-junction at its northeastern end after crossing the river.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Hualien attractions

2. Pine Garden

0.34 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…

3. Hualien Railway Culture Park

0.72 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…

4. Jing Si Hall

1.4 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…

5. Gangtiangong

1.55 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…

6. Fogstand

2.12 MILES

An ambitious little gallery that showcases edgy and experimental works by Taiwanese, Asian and Western artists. Fogstand also has an artists-as-resident…

7. Qixingtan

3.14 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…

8. Farglory Ocean Park

5.81 MILES

This family-oriented theme park combines Disney-style 'castle', cable car, Ferris wheel, log flume, rollercoaster and pirate ship along with some ocean…