Hualien, Taiwan by Gautam Khattak
Last updated: April 15, 2013
Disclaimer: These are notes I’ve written or gathered from various sources. I have not experienced all things in this document nor is it intended to be a definitive guide.
General Tips
Currency: The currency in Taiwan is the New Taiwan Dollar or NTD or TWD.
Conversion Tool: https://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS341&q=100USD+to+NTD&btnG=Google+Search&safe=active (Update for current rates)
$100 USD = 2992.50 TWD
$1 USD = $29.95 TWD
100 TWD = $3.34 USD
1 TWD = $0.03 USD
Tipping:
No need to tip
Travel Tips:
Transportation
From Airport: I took a taxi to get to Taipei Main Station which is in the center of town and convenient (there is a Dunkin’s nearby) the taxi cost me about 1000 TWD. The Taxi’s at the airport are all monitored by a desk and all used meters. There were no scamming that I’m aware of.
From Taipei – The most convenient way to get to Hualien was to take the high speed train from Taipei Main Station. You can see time tables and book advance using the Taiwan Railwayswebsite. You’ll see there are lots of trains that go to Hualien, keep an eye on the duration of the train as you don’t want to end up on an 8 hour one when you can take the 2.5 hour train. Sometimes the seats sell out but you can still buy tickets, you just need to find a seat on your own and sometimes have to move around (as people get on/off the train)
In Hualien
You can walk around most of major areas of Hualien within 20-30 minutes but that gets old after some time. To get around Hualien we rented scooters or took taxis if we were going out at night. Scooters were cheap. You can also do tour buses (see Useful Links) or hire a car to go to Taroko Gorge (an hour from the city) but I very much enjoyed going on my own via scooter. It’s fun on the windy roads and you can bypass LOTS of traffic by just going past all the cars and buses. There are a bunch of scooter rental places right on the roads outside the Hualien Train station. We went to the one that has a facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/maykuay They were reasonable and fair. Don’t drop your scooter in a ditch or you’ll have to pay for whatever part you scratched to be replaced!
Tourist Destinations & Itinerary
The majority of what we did was outside and a decent drive away from Hualien. There are other things like Whale Watching, Rafting, Sky ParaGliding as well, go find the tourist section near the Hualien train station or the links below to get more details or your hotel should have it.
Taroko National Park – We spent one day going to Taroko Gorge. It is about 1 hour ride from Hualien and then you can spend most of the day in the park stopping at various spots for pictures of the mountains, waterfalls, bridges etc. There is also alot of hiking and river trekking in the National Park. The Trail Conditions is kept up to date on the website. Some trails require permits but we didn’t need them for the trails we went on. The website is very useful and has a good map to follow. I recommend picking up a copy at the Visitor center to take with you. We started at the visitor center, near the Changchun (Eternal Spring) Shrine on the map and scootered til just past Tianxiang where you can see Xiangde Temple above the Liwu River to the Water Curtain and Baiyang Waterfall. The ride was 85km (53 miles) round trip and it took us 8 hours with a lot of stopping and hiking. If you go far enough you can walk down (stairs and a bridge) to a hot spring and go for a swim.
On another day we came back and went to Wu Peak near Wuling and Hehuanshan (Hehuan Mountain) which was an elevation of 3400+ meters (11,200 feet) so above the tree-line. This was a long trek that was 222km (138 miles) and took us 10 hours round trip on the scooters but was a beautiful ride as you go above the clouds and tree line. Highly recommend setting out very early (like 7-8am) because you want to get to the top before noon as that’s when the clouds come rolling in (at least in February).
Qingshui Cliffs (or Cingshui Cliffs) – A scenic spot on the coastal road road in Taroko National Park. We just parked our scooters on the edge of the highway right before a tunnel, just north of the turn off into the park when you’re coming from Hualien past mile marker XX. The old Su-Hua Highway coastal road along the edge of Qingshui Cliff has become a fascinating sight-seeing path.
East Coastal Highway Drive – This scenic drive is great, especially on a scooter. The road conditions are fantastic. We went down Route 11 from Hualien, stopping at the Baqi Viewing Platform, Jiqi (Jici) Beach, the town of Shitiping, to the Tropic of Cancer and stopping at the Bashian Caves then back to the Tropic of Cancer and then West to Route 9. Then we headed back up North to Hualien on Route 9 a valley road cutting through the mountains where you can see the farmlands. You can keep going to Antong Hot Springs which is a bit down the road first but we saw Rain coming and it was dark so we headed back north. The total distance was 175km (109 miles) and it took us 9 hours but that was with a lot of stopping, eating, pictures, and the Tropic Monument and Caves. If we had more time we could have stopped at the the Wuhe Tourist Tea Plantation, Ruishui Dairy Farm and Ruishi Hot Springs along Route 9.
Tropic of Cancer Monument – The monument marks 23.5 degrees North. Every summer, on June 22, the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer. This “shadowless” effect takes place at noon is an astronomical phenomenon unique to the Tropic of Cancer
Lodging
When I went to Hualien it was Chinese New Year and almost all the hotels were booked out so I had to stay at Hostels. They were decent and clean. Good way to meet people and not spend a lot of money. I booked mine through Hostel World and the two hostels I stayed at are:
The Amigos Hotel
No.68, Guolian 2nd Road, Hualien, Hualien, Taiwan
GK Editorial: This hostel was dormitory style with 4-6 in a room. As much as I like my own private room and bathroom this place was great. – The staff at the hostel made the experience. They were extremely friendly and generous. Hands-down they were very accommodating and the rates were about $20 a night.
Surfing Formosa Backpackers Hostel
206 Jian Guo Road, Hualien City, Hualien
GK Editorial: I had to switch rooms one night to the Surfing Backpackers Hostel. Because of CNY, and everything was booked out I had to pay for 2 beds in my 2 bedroom room which I wasn’t very happy about but at least I had my privacy. I still had to share a bathroom but since I was on the 4th floor and there was only 2 other 2 bedrooms up there it wasn’t a big deal. The crowd at Surfing was quieter than at Amigos but the rooms & bathrooms were nicer. I checked in for the one night and then went back to Amigos to hang out because I had met so many people there from the previous nights.
Dining & Nightlife
Along Zhongshan road there is plenty of places to stuff your face with food (especially dumplings!)
Gongzheng Baozi
Address: No. 199-2 Zhongshan Road, Hualien City, Taiwan. Opens 24 hours. ??????100-2?.
Xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) from Gongzheng Street is bigger and has thicker skin than the standard xiaolongbao. It’s like a cross between a meat bun and your traditional xiaolongbao. These suckers are huge, filling and delicious! They also have amazing water dumplings and both are very cheap, about 30TWD per basket.
Yixin Bubble Ice
Address: No. 16 Zhonghua Road, Hualien City, Taiwan. ??????16?.
http://038346179.tw.tranews.com/
Tzen Mochi Store – a famous Bubble Ice place that’s been around for 20 years.
Address: No. 161 Zhonghua Road, Hualien City, Taiwan. ??????161?.
http://tzen.good.tw/
Mochi is a type of dessert made with glutinous rice that has various types of fillings such as red bean, peanut, sea-weed and more. It’s often a souvenir visitors bring home.
GK Editorial: I did not try this
If you came to Haulien to party, look no further! I mean seriously, turn around and go back to Taipei because it was dead! Granted it was Chinese New Year so most everyone was on holiday and a lot of businesses were closed. There were actually a lot of night markets to go place arcade and carnival like games. We mostly stayed at the Amigos Hostel for drinks sourced from the local 7-11. Actually there are a few bars in Hualien but because of the holidays not all were open.
NanBin Night Market – It’s not really comparable to markets in Taipei or other major Asian cities but worth checking out for some food and a walk about.
Tze Chiang Night Market – at the Night market I found plenty of culinary delights such as the Taiwanese Spring Roll (it’s more like a Burrito in size!) and more dumplings special to Taiwan. You can also find ‘Coffin Toast’ which is deep fried toast similar to French toast but with savory fillings like black pepper chicken/pork, prawn, sweet & sour fish and more.
The River Bar: Probably the most famous pub in the area. Lots of locals and the expats hang out here. It was good fun but we didn’t stay long because we had an early morning ride ahead of us.
Helpful Links
- Taroko National Park Home Page
- Taroko Trail Conditions
- Taroko National Park Wiki
- http://alwaystravelicious.com/2012/05/29/tze-chiang-night-market-hualien-taiwan/
- Taiwan – The Heart of Asia
- Taroko Tourist Shuttle – 1 Day Pass $250, 2-Day Pass $400
- Taiwan Trip
Itinerary
Day 1: Strolled around Hualien and mostly ate large quantities of dumplings downtown
Day 2: Left the hostel around 10am and went to Taroko Gorge, drove from the entrance until Guanyuan and hiked a few trails. Rode for 85km (53 miles) round trip and it took us 8 hours with a lot of stopping and hiking. Would have been better to have left around 8 or 9am to get out of the gorge before it got dark (and because it seemed to rain around 6pm every night during that season).
Day 3: Left the hostel at 9:30am and rode down the Eastern costal highway. We went down Route 11 from Hualien, stopping at the Baqi Viewing Platform, Jiqi (Jici) Beach, the town of Shitiping for lunch and pictures on the rocks (get the Chargrilled squid and the Taiwan Fried Chicken if you see it!), to the Tropic of Cancer Monument and stopping at the Bashian Caves. Then heading back north and then west at the Chanhong Bridge (north of the Tropic of Cancer) to Route 9 to drive through the valley and farmlands back to Hualien. The total distance was 175km (109 miles) and it took us 9 hours but that was with a lot of stopping, eating, pictures, and the Tropic Monument and Caves.
Day 4: Back through Taroko Gorge until we got to Wu Peak and Hehuan Mountain. Then on the way back we stopped by Qingshui Cliffs which is right outside of Hualien. This time the trek was 222km (138 miles) and took us 10 hours round trip and we got back just as it was getting dark.
Day 5: Back to Taipei for lunch at the original Din Tai Fung, Dunking Donuts, touristy stuff at the top of Taipei 101 observation deck (it’s a loooooong wait) and some late night partying at Club Myst.
