Hualien
Steel rebar, manacles and taps fashioned from old petrol pumps give a striking image to the ground-floor pub which plays high-volume rap music. Upstairs, the prison theme continues, but rooms are remarkably comfortable at prices that are astoundingly reasonable for quality beds and good ensuite bathrooms.
The beer list includes Samuel Smiths IPA on draft (NT$240). When owner Zax is on the bar, there are happy hours before 9pm with two Taiwan Beers for just NT$100.
1.7 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…
13.57 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…
13.84 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…
Aowanda National Forest Recreation Area
27.58 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…
15.5 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…
4.09 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…
21.82 MILES
An attractively set 'cultural village' and tour bus magnet, Lintianshan was founded in 1918 as a Japanese-era logging village. At its 1960 peak, it housed…
12.95 MILES
Picturesque for its setting, backed by toweringly steep mountainsides, this small shrine sits above a gushing spring that pours out onto the rocks below,…
1. Hualien Railway Culture Park
0.4 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…
0.95 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…
0.98 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…
4. Temple to the Lords of the Three Mountains
1.02 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…
1.7 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…
1.98 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…
2.98 MILES
An ambitious little gallery that showcases edgy and experimental works by Taiwanese, Asian and Western artists. Fogstand also has an artists-as-resident…
4.09 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…