We stayed at Hualien for 3 days 2 nights. I’ll share with you guys what we did there for the 2 days, to decide if Hualien is worth staying.
The more popular attractions includes Qixingtan Beach, Hualien Night Market and of course the famous Taroko National Park.
Too long? Pin first.
Hualien was super chill, relaxing and nothing much to do.
If you understand mandarin, you’ll probably be able to understand,
好山好水，好花莲 Hao Shan Hao Shui, Hao Hua Lian
This is considered their tourism catchphrase. 山(shan) = mountain, while 水(shui) = water. It describe Hualien as a place with beautiful scenery. Indeed, when they have Taroko National Park right at their door step.
If you are looking for a place with bustling art or night scene, this is not for you. When we were there, 70-80% of the town was closed by dinner time. They have 1-2 shopping malls, but they were not big comparing to Taipei, The streets were almost empty by evening. If you are looking for a place to hang, it’ll be left with small pubs and restaurants. What surprises me was, we were able to to find international chain of fast food restaurants in this quaint little town.
How did we get into Hualien
We spent 3 nights with 2 full days in Hualien. We took a 8am flight from Singapore to Taoyuan airport with a 1 hour transit in Hong Kong before taking a TSR train for more than 2 hours to Hualien. By the time we reached Hualien, it was in the evening around 7-8pm.
List of places we visited were as follows
1. Taroko Gorge
You can read more about Taroko National Park here .
2. Dongdamen Night Market
3. Li Yu Lake
4. Hualien Railway Culture Park
5. Hualien Starbucks in Shipping Container
6. Meilunxi Riverside Park
We cut through this park to get into Pine Garden. You could definitely take an Uber from the main city area to get into Pine Garden. But we saw this on google map by chance and decided that it was too pretty to miss.
7. Pine Garden
If you think that Hualien has got nothing much to do, think again.
Most of the people would take a day trip from Taipei just for Taroko Gorge. But in my opinion, do give Hualien a try. I love the tranquility, nature and peaceful surrounding.
Would you visit Hualien just for Taroko National Park or just staying for a few days? Tell me in the comment section below.