Alishan Forest Recreation Area
Western Taiwan
Visiting Alishan may almost feel like a cliche, but do not lose heart. There may be equally beautiful and less-visited places in Taiwan, but Alishan, with…
Must-see attractions in Western Taiwan
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Western Taiwan
This holy structure was renovated in 1936, a high period in Taiwan's temple arts. The woodcarvings are particularly fine in the front hall, and the high…
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National Museum of Natural Science
Taichung
A fantastic place for kids and botany fans, this massive museum has over 50 exhibit areas covering space, the environment, rainforests, gems and minerals,…
Taichung
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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Western Taiwan
In the southern foothills of Baguashan is this bizarre temple and haunted house where parents used to take their children to scare them into obedience. It…
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Western Taiwan
Located 2km south of Changhua Train Station, this remarkable temple is one of the stops on the Mazu Pilgrimage. The distinctive character of the complex…
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National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
Taichung
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 …
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Western Taiwan
The Baguashan slopes were for centuries a military observation zone. The area affords views over the whole city and far out to sea. It’s a pleasant place…
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Taichung
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…
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Taichung
Highly Instagrammable semiderelict building with large areas covered by awesome graffiti. In the abandoned spaces of this former shopping mall, you may be…
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Western Taiwan
The heavy roller mills, boiling vats and centrifuges you see in this large and photogenic refinery once produced the largest volume of sugar per day in…
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Taichung
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 …
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Western Taiwan
Lukang's old commercial hub, Yaolin and Butou Sts, is now a protected heritage zone. The narrow, century-old lanes are worth checking out for their red…
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Taichung
An attractive example of the old building-turned-artsy-marketplace formula, the handful of old civil-servant dormitories known as Audit Village are now…
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Western Taiwan
This 1726 beauty ranks as one of the oldest Confucian temples in Taiwan and as a first-class historical relic. Inside the ancestral hall, there's an…
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Western Taiwan
The handsome building of this museum was designed by a Japanese architect (who also designed the Presidential Office Building in Taipei) and built in 1919…
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Western Taiwan
At the top of Baguashan is a large black Buddha statue sitting on a golden lotus. You can go inside the 22m-tall structure which has five floors featuring…
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Western Taiwan
This beautifully restored Fujian-style house, founded in the Qing dynasty, is the last remaining imperial scholar's home in Lukang. The Dins were…
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Taichung
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…
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Taichung
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…
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Western Taiwan
Great for families with children, the fan-shaped train garage is the last of its kind in Taiwan. In essence, a single line of track connects with a short…
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Taichung
To the west of the city, an ageing village has been transformed into an art piece with vibrant colours and drawings on every inch of the walls by Mr Wong,…
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Western Taiwan
The museum sits in a lovely heritage building, and on its grounds is the 300-year-old Hongmao Well (紅毛井; Hóngmáo Jǐng). This is the last of the original…
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Taichung
Adjacent to Taichung Broadcasting Bureau is a piece of interesting nostalgic sports architecture. This old stadium (1935) was once the home of several…
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Western Taiwan
A remarkable structure standing inside the coastal park 8km west of the old town, this Lukang attraction is built with 70,000 pieces of glass, while the…
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Western Taiwan
Don't bother counting the turns as you wend your way past some of the oldest and most charming residences in Lukang on Nine Turns Lane. The number nine…
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Taichung
An early work (1963) of the late IM Pei, the chapel that resembles a tepee is the landmark of Tunghai University. It stands on a lawn, one of many on the…
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Western Taiwan
Lukang's City God Temple has roots in Fujian's Quanzhou and was probably built in the mid-18th century. Paying your respects here is believed to be…
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Western Taiwan
This now-filled well sits half inside the wall of a residence and half outside. The arrangement is a remnant of humbler days when not everyone could…
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Taichung
The park is divided into several sections but most of the interesting material is to the far right as you enter. Don't miss the collections of folk…
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Taichung
To the east of the city is a hilly area known as Dakeng. If you're going to spend any time in the city, Dakeng is worth exploring, as there are pleasant…
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Western Taiwan
This splendid southern-style temple, founded in 1763, boasts elegant, swallowtail rooftop eaves and a wealth of fine interior woodcarvings. The resident…
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Zhongshan Road Furniture Shops
Western Taiwan
Zhongshan Rd from No. 100 up features a number of old furniture shops.
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Western Taiwan
An ecological park that's celebrated more for its success at revival than its beauty. It's inside Shanmei village (山美村), a Tsou settlement. Tanayiku or…
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Taichung
Not far from Taichung Park is this leafy complex with a quaint western-style building, a small lily pond and some lovely trees. The bureau was built in…
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Western Taiwan
Perched among tea fields, 1300m above sea level, this tourist-friendly showcase of Tsou culture that will give you a taste of tribal architecture, history…
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Western Taiwan
The pond is situated in a semicircular plaza reachable via a flight of stairs to your left when you finish your ascent to the top of Baguashan. Above it…
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Western Taiwan
Enshrined here is a deified folk hero of the Ming dynasty – General Liu, known for his valour in fighting the Manchus. When a statue of the general was…
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Western Taiwan
The narrowest alley in Lukang gets its comical label from the fact that a man could not pass a woman down the narrow inner passageway without her breasts…
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Western Taiwan
A small temple originally raised by Hakka migrants who treated it as both a place of worship and a compatriots' association. The resident gods are three…
