A Cycling Adventure along Taiwan’s Eastern Coast
Did you know that Giant Taiwan provides a fantastic point-to-point bicycle rental service. It is fairly priced, convenient, and opens up a whole new way of exploring Taiwan’s lovely countryside.
You could rent a bicycle with a basic repair kit and panniers - just pack light and go forth! These will need to be reserved in advance online. More on the bike later.
This is a 4 day itinerary heading south from Hualien and ending in Taitung. This journey can be extended northwards starting from Yilan or even Taipei, southwards to Keelung or even done as a round-island cycling tour - the possibilities are endless. I also saw cycling tours, organised by local groups or by Giant themselves.
I would say though that Taiwan’s cycling infrastructure and driver behaviour are world class. Cycling here is a breeze and anyone confident on a bike should be able to navigate the roads with minimal guidance.
For myself, in addition to the physical challenge, I was also expecting some language barriers, being armed only with elementary Simplified Chinese. (Taiwan and most other Chinese communities outside of China use Traditional Chinese or 繁体字) Honestly though, the Taiwanese are true gems. Those working in tourism could usually manage enough English for simple exchanges. A data connection, google translate and the local’s patience sufficed for the rest. The folks running both bicycle shops spoke some English too. All in all, I would not let language stop me from making this trip.
Day 0: Getting to the start
Train ride from Taipei to Hualien
Most International flights land in Taipei Taoyuan International Airport. From there, there are a number of ways to get to the city. You could take a taxi to Taipei Main station, or mere mortals like us take the AirPort Express MRT line (USD 5.00). Tickets are available at the counters at the station, or you could purchase a stored value card (Easycard).
From Taipei main station, Trains depart at least hourly to Hualien, where we will start our cycling adventure. Tickets can be purchased online or at Taipei Main Station. The trip takes 2.5-4.5 hours, depending on your type of train. The trains are generally relatively empty, barring evenings and weekends. Do note that the east coast of Taiwan is not served by the high-speed rail - you’ll need to purchase your tickets from the Taiwan Railways website.
In Summary, things to book in advance:
Your flights to Taipei Taoyuan International Airport
Train tickets to Hualien/your preferred starting point
Bicycle reservation (You will need to select your starting point, ending point and duration in advance)
At Hualien, I stayed at WOW Hostel near to the main station. It was clean and comfortable, and great value for money. (In Taiwan, the term CP is used to say something is of good value. If someone says CP Hao, it means that it has a favourable cost-to-quality ratio). The Hostel is located a short walk from Hualien main station, and importantly, a short walk from the Giant bicycle store in Hualien, where we collect our bikes tomorrow.
Hualien is relatively quiet. Most travellers pass through the town as a base to explore Taroko Gorge. If one has the luxury of time, you could find something to explore in town - temples or museums covering aboriginal culture would be my best suggestions.
To settle dinner, I walked for 20mins to 平行時空·小茶室 (ENG: Parallel Space & Time teahouse). They serve simple, local dishes that are easy on the palette. I had grilled Saba fish and rice with braised pork (卤肉饭) and it was everything I could ask for. If you get to Hualien early enough, in the neighbouring street, there are two vendors selling fried scallion egg pancakes from adorable little trucks. One from a blue truck and another from a yellow truck. Try both and let me know which you prefer.
Day 1:
Collecting the bicycle:
Giant bicycle store in Hualien
Giant offers a number of different types of bicycle for rent. You could rent hybrid/ touring bikes, or top up a little for a road bike with drop bars. After some thought I went for a hybrid bike with straight handlebars, given the long rides, I thought the upright seating position would be more comfortable. The bikes came equipped with panniers, a basic repair kit and lights. You will need to bring your own helmet, cycling gear, and water bottles. Two other items to consider bringing: a tube repair kit and a handphone holder. The former may not be necessary as most of the time we were not too far from a town, and the roads were in good condition. A handphone holder was a great tool for taking videos and navigation on the go.
In total, I paid around USD100 to rent the bicycle in Hualien and return it in Taitung four days later. The bicycle was smooth and honestly a joy to ride - definitely well manufactured and well maintained. (I was so enamoured by my bike that I wanted to buy one when I got home, but the model I rode cost 1,200 USD in Singapore) Did I also mention that my bike came in this lovely matte space gray paint job……
About the Journey:
For the route between Hualien and Taitung, you would have a choice between route 9, surrounded by rice fields, valleys, and mountains, or route 11, a coastal route along Taiwan’s eastern coast line along the South China Sea. The two routes are separated by a coastal mountain range. For my adventure, I did a hybrid, spending two days in the inland portion, and two days along the coastal potion. I would recommend starting along the inland portion before switching over to the coastal route, as this would allow you to visit Doulan, a quaint little surfing town, and various attractions along the coast on day 3 and 4. That being said, you can’t go wrong with either route - the views and scenery were lovely wherever I cycled. Taiwan’s East Coast is generally sparsely populated compared to it’s West Coast. I suspect this is a result of the rugged terrain and the constant threat of typhoons battering the coastline each year. It’s dotted with medium to large sized towns, and this is great because it gives you a lot of flexibility in your itinerary. You can opt to spread the ride out over more days to enjoy the scenery, or cut it shorter to save time. The entire route can vary between 170-200 km depending on how you plan it.
Day 1 brought us form Hualien to Guangfu, with a total of 62km, and around 500m of ascent and descent. This was because being an unintelligent thalassophile, I initially chose the coastal route because I saw waves crashing, but decided halfway to switch over to the inland route, traversing some sort of trunk road in between before landing up at Guangfu.
Along the way, I enjoyed the coastal views, got slightly sunburnt and quite dehydrated, cycled along a mangrove, got killed by the hills and found cycling along the serene rice fields within the valley, through peaceful rural towns, to be very relaxing.
Mountain views on day 1
I had read online people waxing lyrical about police stations along the way being heavenly bicycle pitstops where you could refill your waterbottle, but this turned out not to be the case on day 1.
Lunch was Family Mart Onigiri on the go. Just before reaching Guangfu, I stopped by Hualien sugar refinery, an old sugar mill, for some sweet treats (read: ice cream) to give me a final boost before I reached Guangfu.
The old sugar mill had some Ryokan-style accommodations available, but I was looking for something simpler. Actually, I had not booked my accommodations in advance. I literally rocked up to town, decided that I was done for the day, opened google maps and found a place with good ratings and went to ask if they still had vacancies.
I stayed here in the end, a reasonably priced room, homely place, super clean with a cute ahma who spoke no English, but was warm and friendly. Would recommend. You do not necessarily need to stay in Guangfu, especially if you had not booked your accommodations for the night. It is possible to stay in the town before, Feng Lin, or the town after, Ruisui, depending on how long you would like your first day to be.
Day 2
Between Guangfu to Yuli - 58km, with around 300m of ascent and descent.
The lovely cycle paths of Danongdafu forest park
The highlight of the day would be Danongdafu forest park, a vast, beautiful park filled with the most whimsical cycling paths I have ever ridden on (right up there with cycling along the dykes at Kinderdijk). I must have done 8km cycling around in circles in this place, and got some very nice pictures too. If anything, it was a form of therapy on a bike, cycling past symmetrically planted trees, their ash-coloured bark whizzing by your peripheral vision.
Once you manage to extricate yourself from Narnia, you would have a choice of following route 9, a larger inland road, or route 193, which was quieter and more hilly. I chose the latter and cycled past more rice fields, crossed bridges and observed the dry riverbeds criss-crossing the landscape.
Peaceful rice fields
Lunch was Japanese food near Ruisui train station.
At the township of Yuli, the main attraction was meant to be the Yufu bikeway. It’s supposed to be a stretch of old railway track that had been converted to a dedicated bicycle pathway, running across a bridge and along the riverbank and marshlands. However, when I reached there, I found that it was still undergoing repairs from the previous earthquake (and another severe one hit shortly after I left), so I was unable to enjoy it for myself. I can imagine it being quite a nice experience to ride along the bikeway through the natural landscape, with views of the mountains alongside you. (Since my visit, it seems that some parts have reopened!)
After that misadventure, I cycled uphill for a bit to stay at An Tong hot springs. The nicer accommodations beside the actual, natural hot spring were booked out, and I had to stay in an older (but still well-maintained) An Tong Hot Spring hotel. This place, while reminding me of a geriatric care center, was equipped with several hot spring pools of varying temperatures, salt rooms (where you could chill on different types of salt) and it’s fair share of octogenarians. The alternative would be to stay in Yuli township itself.
After a hard day on the bike, including my chain coming off while traversing up the hill, it was nice to chill in the hot spring with the rain and cold weather setting in. While the pools were nice and the hotel was generally acceptable (if slightly expensive), I would not recommend the hot pot restaurant on the premises. If there are no other options, there are cup noodles on sale in the lobby.
Day 3
Yuli - Dulan 64km, Ascent 600m descent 500m.
Starting from the hot spring resort, it was a hard slog up the mountain for the first hour. I observed that my body had conditioned itself well after two days of hard work - through better endurance and more conscious pacing, I was able to tackle this more intense ascent that I would not have survived on the first day.
Taken at the highest point of the ride. Summoning the rain that would fall on me for the rest of the day.
I took some pictures at the top as the rain cleared (this was by far the rainiest day of the trip), and enjoyed very much the ride downhill. The rest of the day was spent cycling through the rain, alongside the waves crashing into the sea. I took the chance to pause at viewpoints and at small towns, to grab a quick snack at 7-11s or other local stores.
Fish and chips so nicely done
On the way, there is a very pretty river gorge crossed by a red bridge (you will be on the bridge). This is just after the town of Chenggong (which means success in Chinese). Take a detour to the parallel bridge to catch some nice pictures of the bridge and the area.
Chenggong: Success!!!
Visions of paradise
If you would like to, you can stop here to envy the cows lying around in a paradise reflecting on life.
While I was there, there was a strong wind blowing North-to-south, so I noticed that I was riding at 22km/h and the tailwind cancelled out my velocity, but whoever was going in the opposite direction would be cycling through 44km/h of wind.
We would end our day at Dulan. Dulan, colloquially spoken in Hokkien refers to a feeling of resentment or annoyance with something that has irked you severely, like a guy who rides through your town giggling to himself about the name of the places in town. (Dulan elementary school, Dulan police station) Unfortunate name aside, Dulan (Doulan) is a quaint little town on the East Coast of Taiwan, just north of Taitung, that managed to attract it’s own international surfing community.
Dulan has a number of nice food options - I had pizza for dinner but there was also a BBQ place, sashimi place, fish and chips place, pasta place, bubble tea shop, and a local noodle shop near my accommodations. I stayed at Wagaligong hostel, run by a Taiwanese lady around my age. The hostel was very hippie in nature and had several folks staying there long term.
Would have loved to stay an extra day to try all the food.
Day 4
I had always wanted to try surfing and thought Dulan was a golden opportunity to do so, but due to the heavy waves blowing that day, they recommended I try stand-up paddle boarding instead.
Stand-Up Paddleboarding near to Chenggong
SUP was quite fun - we headed back to the red bridge near Chenggong and paddled up the river, while I learnt to balance on the board. It was relatively easy to do so in calm water. Following this, we did a short canyoning (traversing the giant boulders in the river), to hit a pool for a dip. It was a nice, peaceful morning in the river.
Back at the hotel, I packed up, took a quick shower and headed off on the bike towards Taitung, the last leg of this journey. Taitung was about 20km away from Dulan along the coastal road.
It was rainy at some bits but the scenery and contrast of peaceful countryside and spectacular waves more than made up for it. Along the way, there are a number of stops to rest the legs and stimulate the mind.
Jialulan, an art installation with a view
Xiaoyeliu, a cool rock formation, with good exhibits on the geology of the place and Taiwan in general.
The view back along the east coast - one hour of cycling from right to left.
Cycling into Taitung, I rode through Taitung forest park (USD3.00 for foreigners), a large garden which was pleasant to cycle through, before heading to the beach to end my ride.
Taitung has a pretty “Railway village” that was their old railway station, now converted into a lovely community space. I enjoyed people watching and spending the sunset hours here.
Along Zhengqi road, there is also a night market that one can visit for a snack. After that, I returned the bike at Giant Taitung station and they presented me with a certificate!
A lovely certificate to bring home and leave on my desk for eternity
The only issue with Taitung is that being a larger city, the Giant bike shop and train station were very far apart - about 20mins by bus and too far to walk (1hr+). I had to learn to take the bus, but thankfully the same easycard that can be used on the Taipei metro can be used to pay for the bus here. From Taitung station I headed back to Taipei, a 4 hour trip.
Yay done!!!
Reflections
I especially enjoyed this break from the chaos of city life, being able to ride a bike through the countryside for 6 hours a day without much of a worry was truly a privilege. Taiwan’s bicycle infrastructure and more importantly, culture exceeded my high expectations. Riding there was a breeze and I never once had an issue with another vehicle across four days of riding. This is an affordable way to travel (easily manageable with 80USD per day average, and possible to do with even less). Travelling on a bike lets you see a country differently, you are truly in it…you savour it, you suffer it, you feel every metre of it.
