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Hualien

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Hualien (花蓮; Hūalián) [1] is a city in Taiwan situated near the spectacular Taroko Gorge.

Culture and History

Located on a strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Central Mountain Range, Hualien is considered one of the most pleasant cities in Taiwan. Many tourists visit the city to enjoy the scenery and fresh air and also to tour the famous Taroko Gorge, which is located a few miles north of the city.

The Visitor Information Center for the Hualien area is located in front of Hualien Station (right side). Tel: 886-3-8360634, it is hosted by Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College, that has been authorized, by the Hualien County Government since December 2004, to operated and manage the Visitor Information Center (VIC) at Haulien Airport as well as the Hualien Railway Station. These two centers provide general services such as tourism guide and tour bus information, home-stay information, bi-lingual traveling brochure, travel inquiry, emergency handling and so on.

Travel to Hualien & Visa Requirements

By train

  • There are frequent trains from Taipei, and depending on the type of train, the journey can take between three and a half to four and a half hours. The train follows the coast for part of the journey, and the left side of the train offers the best views.

Flights and airtickets to Hualien

  • Domestic airlines connect Hualien with all of Taiwan's major cities. It a thirty minute flight to Hualien from Taipei's Sungshan Airport.

Tours & Getting around Hualien

  • The city center is small and easy to negotiate on foot, although scooters are available for rent several places around town for about NT$400 a day.
  • Hualien is a small city without an extensive public transport system, and so it is worth considering taking taxis to areas outside the city center. NB: Hualien station is at least a thirty minute walk from the center of town.

Hualien attractions and sightseeing

  • Beibin Seashore Park, Nanbin Seashore Park and Meilun Seashore Park. A scenic area of palm trees and landscaped greenery that runs the full length of the city's foreshore. The views over the Pacific Ocean are especially spectacular at sunrise.
  • The Abode of Still Thoughts. This small Buddhist temple at the foot of Mount North Jialiwan is the original facility of the world-famous Tzu-zhi Buddhist foundation. In keeping with the foundation's ideals, the temple is very simple, and incorporates a Japanese style garden. Information on Tzu-chi's international activities is also available at the temple.
  • Yenpin Prefectural Temple, near Zhongyang Road, sec 4. Established in the Qing Dynasty, this is the oldest temple in Hualien.
  • Pine Garden, Zhongmei Road (near the river). A peaceful garden with 63 pine trees.
  • Chishingtan, north of Hualien City (follow the bike path from Nanbin Seashore Park). Excellent vistas of the ocean, delicious seafood, friendly people, and a special goat restaurant specializing in goat milk coffee. The beach is popular for swimming, though as the tides and currents are quite dangerous it is important to stay near the coast.
  • Hualien County Stone Sculpture Museum[2] at the Hualien County Cultural Center displays both traditional and contemporary stone sculptures. Open daily 9am-5pm. Admission fee: NT$20.

Hualien city tours

  • Hualien Ocean Park [3]. Hualien's biggest man-made tourist attraction. As well as ferris wheel and cable car, the park contains eight zones that introduce different aspects of ocean and marine life. Kids, in particular, will have great time here but for adventuous travellers or people wanting a more viable experience, there are many places one can go that are much cheaper and provide a better experience of the 'real' Country of Taiwan. Open: Mon-Fri 9AM-5PM, Sat&Sun 8:30-5PM. Admission: adult 890NT$, under 19 790NT$

Learn

  • Mandarin at Tzu-Chi University, 701 Jung-yang Road, sec. 3. Tel:856-5501 Ex.7689. (email: [4]) [5]

Hualien souvenirs & shopping

  • Woven cloth. Hualien is a good place to pick up hand woven cloth in traditional aboriginal designs.
  • Muaji (mua-ji) This candy made of sticky rice is a specialty of Hualien.
  • Stone Hualien's stone market is near the old bus station on Mingyi Road, and they sell everything from jewelery to tea-pots all carved out of stone.

Hualien Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

  • Zhu tung fan (竹筒飯) - rice steamed in a bamboo tube is a specialty of the local aborigines.
  • Muaji (麻薯) - glutinous rice filled (or sometimes covered) with various flavors, such as peanut, sweet red and green bean paste, sweet sesame paste, coconut or fruit.

Budget

Mid Range

  • Tosca Pasta, 95-7 Jung Mei Road: European style restaurant with european prices

Splurge

Hualien nightlife, bars, clubs & pubs

Hualien has an abundance of tea houses, cafes and bars, and also many stores specializing in locally produced tea.

  • Cafe Jade (璞石藝文空間), 8 Ming-li Road (花蓮市明禮路8號) Tel:+886 3 834-5968. A spacious and very pleasant art cafe offering regular live music and art exhibitions. Open:Mon-Thurs 8AM-6Pm Fri-Sun 8AM-10:30PM
  • Wang Ji Tea House, 565 Jong-Shan Road (中山路565號).

Hualien cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels & lodging

Budget

  • Amigos Hostel, No.68, Guolien 2nd Rd. Tel:+886 3 8360243, Email: tim_chi@ms94.url.com.tw, [6].. Offers dorms - NT$450. Very clean hostel, free wireless internet, close to train station, complimentary breakfast, and incredibly friendly and helpful staff.
  • Formosa Backpackers Hostel, Place you can call home,600 books of English library,beautiful Art Deco living room with exhibition show all year around,and room with tropical garden,friendly staff.walking distance to Train station and conveniently located in the city.Even thought we still the cheapest hostel in town with best quality. NT$400 (Student NT$350). Free WIFI, Books, Tea, etc. Address 206 Jian Guo Road Hualien City. Call 0913-810828, email formosahostels@yahoo.com.
  • Hualien Student Hostel, 40-11 Kungyuan Road. Tel:+886 3 832-4124. Offers dorms and twin rooms.
  • Police Hostel, 15 Shuren Street (behind the main police station). Tel:886 3 834-9433~5. Officially for officers of the law, this clean and pleasant hotel is also open to the public. Twin room - NT$1,000, double bed with single bed - NT$1,300.

Mid range

  • Ching Yeh Hotel, 83 Kuolien-1 Road, Tel:833-0186. Near the train station. From NT$1,300.
  • Hua Tong Hotel, 165 Minkuo (Minguo) Street, Tel:+886 3 834-7568. A pleasant and centrally located hotel.
  • Your majest B&B(King Hotel), No.13, Jieyue St., Tel:+886 38 322-666, Email: joe.hi@msa.hinet.net, King Hotel. Opened in January 2008, featuring quirky rooms decorated in individualistic styles. Mid-week rate from NT$1,500 do not include breakfast. Close to night market and general downtown. Deep bathtubs good for soaking sore muscles. All rooms have ethernet, but wifi is limited. Friendly, helpful staff - if you have a Mandarin speaker in the party.
  • The Rosestone Inn, 48, Haibin Avenue. Tel:+886 3 854-2317, E-mail: rosestone@gmail.com, [7]. Built in the style of a traditional Chinese house with courtyard.

Splurge

  • Bellevista Hotel, 18 Shanling, Yanliau Tsuen, Shoufeng Shiang, Tel:+886 3 812-3999 Fax:+886 3 812-3988, [8]. A sprawling resort-style hotel offering spectacular views over the Pacific Ocean.
  • Parkview Hotel, 1-1 Lin-Yuan, Tel:+886 3 222-2111. One of Hualien's most luxurious hotels.

Get out

  • Taroko Gorge
  • Hehuan Mountain - About a four hour drive fron Hualien City, it is a fantastic journey through the wonders of Taroko Gorge and past, ending in a treeless, absolutely different ecosystem. Hiking available ranges from easy to hard, and can be hiked on one day or multiple days, depending on the route you choose. English literature is available but very basic. It is possible to just set out on a trail and see where it takes you. Being a (mostly) treeless environment, it is difficult to get lost, but beware of the dangers of high altitude hiking - most peaks are above 3000 meters.
  • River Valleys - The might of typhoons and heavy rains have, over millions of years, carved out of the soft bedrock magnificent river valleys. If you find a river valley (Mugua RIver, for example) and follow it and hike along some tributaries, you are in for a wonderful adventure. No gift shops or 7-11's here, just the wonders of Taiwan.
  • Tongmen - south of Hualien City, between Jian and Liyu Lake, lies Taroko's little brother. It is a village along the Mugua River, and boasts a 'scaled down' version of Taroko, but with scaled down geology also comes scaled down tourists and people. It is a very pleasant way to spend a day or weekend, and there are excellent swimming opportunities not available in Taroko. A lot of it is paved, or cement, so it is drivable. Stop at the entrance where there is a police guard (friendly and happy to see foreigners enter the pride of their village) show your passport and pay a fee (at this time it was about $150) no matter how big or small the group, and they wil direct you on your way. The road forks - one takes you to the Tongman hydro plant, the other takes you to a scenic and more rustic river valley where swimming and adventure await. Both are, however, well worth your time.
  • Highway 11 - Rent a scooter and hit the road. The beauty of the coastline in Hualien can be enjoyed from this gorgeous stretch of highway. Although many buses and cars are also drawn here and many cite this as a cause for safety concerns, this is by most accounts false. Take care, drive responsibly, and always be careful when around traffic, but do not let anyone deter you from this drive. Pack a lunch and picnic on the coast with the turquoise ocean lapping at the coastline below. Buses and Taxis will take you along this road also. Taxis are more personalble (they will stop when yousay 'stop') but buses are much cheaper. However, both pale in comparrison to the experience of driving yourself.

Contact

  • Area code: The Hualien dialing code is 03. For calls made from overseas, dial: +886 3 XXXXXXX

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This page was last edited at 17:12, on 10 November 2008 by Peter Fitzgerald. Based on work by Michael Bauer, David, Tim Sandell and Colin Jensen, Wikitravel user(s) Aude, Mrb, WindHorse and Episteme, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.

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