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Taichung

Taichung (台中; Táizhōng) is a transport hub of western Taiwan and you are likely to stop over or even spend a night or two here, especially if you plan to head inland. The city center has several attractions and it's a good base to make side trips to the outer area, which has a lot to offer.

Today the name Taichung tends, among locals anyway, to conjure up visions of great weather and unfortunately, increasingly, air pollution. Taipei and Taichung may have similar average temperatures but Taichung is much drier, receiving around 1700mm of rain per year compared with Taipei’s 2170mm.

Under Japanese, and later KMT, economic planning, Kaohsiung became the center of heavy industry, Taipei the center of colonial administration...and Taichung? The centre of light industry. If your image of 'Made in Taiwan' still conjures up visions of cheap toys, shoes and electrical goods, then you’ve got old Taichung in mind.

Explore Taichung

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National Museum of Natural Science
A fantastic place for kids and botany fans, this massive museum has over 50 exhibit areas covering space, the environment, rainforests, gems and minerals,…
Gaomei Wetlands
Beautiful wetlands teeming with life rendered surreal by the sight of wind turbines on the horizon. It is especially photogenic at sunset and makes for a…
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National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Taiwan's top fine-art museum features the works of both established and upcoming Taiwanese artists, as well as famous foreign creators such as Japanese …
P
Pi-Lu Monastery
Built by a devout Taichung family in the 1920s, Pi-Lu Buddhist Monastery looks more like a mansion than a monastery, with its red-bricked facade, Doric…
Q
Qianyue Building
Highly Instagrammable semiderelict building with large areas covered by awesome graffiti. In the abandoned spaces of this former shopping mall, you may be…
T
Taichung Park
A historical landmark, this beautiful 20-hectare park was designed by the Japanese in the early 1900s. The elegant Japanese pavilion was a later addition …
A
Audit Village
An attractive example of the old building-turned-artsy-marketplace formula, the handful of old civil-servant dormitories known as Audit Village are now…
Z
Zhongxin Market
There are only a few outlets left in this once-busy market – meat and vegetable operators are around from 4am to 10am; food stalls in the periphery open…
P
Paochueh Temple
This Buddhist columbarium-and-temple complex has a few unusual monuments – a giant golden laughing Buddha with oddly placed windows, and an old temple (c…

N
National Museum of Natural Science
A fantastic place for kids and botany fans, this massive museum has over 50 exhibit areas covering space, the environment, rainforests, gems and minerals,…
Gaomei Wetlands
Beautiful wetlands teeming with life rendered surreal by the sight of wind turbines on the horizon. It is especially photogenic at sunset and makes for a…
N
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Taiwan's top fine-art museum features the works of both established and upcoming Taiwanese artists, as well as famous foreign creators such as Japanese …
P
Pi-Lu Monastery
Built by a devout Taichung family in the 1920s, Pi-Lu Buddhist Monastery looks more like a mansion than a monastery, with its red-bricked facade, Doric…
Q
Qianyue Building
Highly Instagrammable semiderelict building with large areas covered by awesome graffiti. In the abandoned spaces of this former shopping mall, you may be…
T
Taichung Park
A historical landmark, this beautiful 20-hectare park was designed by the Japanese in the early 1900s. The elegant Japanese pavilion was a later addition …
A
Audit Village
An attractive example of the old building-turned-artsy-marketplace formula, the handful of old civil-servant dormitories known as Audit Village are now…
Z
Zhongxin Market
There are only a few outlets left in this once-busy market – meat and vegetable operators are around from 4am to 10am; food stalls in the periphery open…
P
Paochueh Temple
This Buddhist columbarium-and-temple complex has a few unusual monuments – a giant golden laughing Buddha with oddly placed windows, and an old temple (c…

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Taichung.

See
National Museum of Natural Science
A fantastic place for kids and botany fans, this massive museum has over 50 exhibit areas covering space, the environment, rainforests, gems and minerals,…
See
Gaomei Wetlands
Beautiful wetlands teeming with life rendered surreal by the sight of wind turbines on the horizon. It is especially photogenic at sunset and makes for a…
See
National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Taiwan's top fine-art museum features the works of both established and upcoming Taiwanese artists, as well as famous foreign creators such as Japanese …
See
Pi-Lu Monastery
Built by a devout Taichung family in the 1920s, Pi-Lu Buddhist Monastery looks more like a mansion than a monastery, with its red-bricked facade, Doric…
See
Qianyue Building
Highly Instagrammable semiderelict building with large areas covered by awesome graffiti. In the abandoned spaces of this former shopping mall, you may be…
See
Taichung Park
A historical landmark, this beautiful 20-hectare park was designed by the Japanese in the early 1900s. The elegant Japanese pavilion was a later addition …
See
Audit Village
An attractive example of the old building-turned-artsy-marketplace formula, the handful of old civil-servant dormitories known as Audit Village are now…
See
Zhongxin Market
There are only a few outlets left in this once-busy market – meat and vegetable operators are around from 4am to 10am; food stalls in the periphery open…
See
Paochueh Temple
This Buddhist columbarium-and-temple complex has a few unusual monuments – a giant golden laughing Buddha with oddly placed windows, and an old temple (c…

Guidebooks

Learn more about Taichung

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