Travel Date: 2020/06/20~06/25
Our almost one-week-long holiday took us to the eastern part of Taiwan, exploring Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung. We started our journey by heading north from Tainan and made a stop at Fulong Beach in New Taipei to experience the Sand Sculpture Festival. The drive took us approximately 4 hours. From there, we continued to Yilan, where we visited various attractions such as Toucheng Town, Brick Kiln, Wine Museum, Confucius Temple, night markets, and the Nanfangao Lookout. We spent two enjoyable days exploring Yilan before moving on to Hualien.
During our visit to Hualien, we had the opportunity to experience the breathtaking Taroko National Park for the first time. The scooter ride along the winding roads next to the tall cliffs felt a bit thrilling but was absolutely worth it for the stunning views. We also explored some of the Japanese remains in Hualien, including the Manor House and Pine Garden. Although I personally feel that Hualien may be slightly less captivating than Yilan or Taitung, we still enjoyed our time there.
On our way to Taitung, we made a stop at a beautiful waterfall and also visited Luye Highlands. As we typically visit Taitung more frequently, we didn't plan to stay there this time and decided to drive back to Tainan. However, as it coincided with the beginning of a long weekend, accommodations were fully booked, and traffic started to get heavier. If you're interested, I have many posts introducing other attractions in these three counties, so feel free to check them out. The eastern part of Taiwan is truly a beautiful region to explore.
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Traveling with me can be tiring because I always want to visit numerous places and make the most of each day. I often forget to schedule breaks for rest or meals, which can be a bit challenging. At least my husband remembers to take breaks for meals. He often gets hungry while we're traveling.
Toucheng Old Street (頭城老街)
Toucheng Old Street, also known as Yilan First Street, stretches from the "South Gate Shrine" to the "North Gate Shrine." The old street is approximately 600 meters long. It used to be a bustling center for cargo distribution during the Japanese occupation period in 1924. Today, Toucheng Old Street is home to several monuments, old temples, and ancient banyan trees.
The Yilan area was once inhabited by the Kamalan Society. The Central Mountain Range acted as a barrier between the Ketagalans living in Sanjiaojiao and the Han forces, which prevented the Han people from settling in Wusha until 1796. Initially, transportation in the Lanyang Plain relied on shipping, and the Han people used Wushi Port as the main gateway, which officially became a port in 1826. Although land transportation eventually replaced sea transportation, Toucheng remained a significant political, economic, and railway transportation center in the northern Lanyang Plain. It was not until the floods in 1924 during the Japanese occupation period that its prominence declined.
新長興樹記
Built in 1921 and completed in 1924, New Changxing Shuji was a commercial firm engaged in the wholesale trade of goods from the north and south. It was the largest store in Toucheng during its heyday. The residents referred to it as the "big store," witnessing the rise and prosperity of Toucheng.
The architecture of the building is unique. It adopts a street house-style design to facilitate business. The facade features stone, wood, and painted tiles. The woodcarvings, though simple in appearance, are intricately detailed. The construction is well-proportioned and elegant, and the woodcarvings of the shop numbers and door couplets are particularly unique.
Lu Zhanxiang's Former Residence (盧纘祥故宅)
The construction of Lu Mansion was completed in 1928. Designed and supervised by Mr. Song Zuping, who was working in the Governor's Office at the time, it was the most magnificent mansion in Yilan County.
The mansion is a fusion of Japanese and Western architectural styles, featuring Japanese-style windows and cut-corner decorations on the roof. The pond in front of Lu Zhanxiang's old house used to be the inner harbor of Tauwei Port, which was later abandoned due to siltation. When the Lu family built the house in 1928, they transformed it into a Japanese-style "boat cruise" garden. On February 5, 2010, it was designated as a county monument.
The 13th Line of Toutong Town (頭城鎮十三行)
The 13th Line of Toutong Town date back to the Qing Dynasty, built during the Jiaqing period. It originally consisted of thirteen continuous row houses. Today, only two households remain, while the others have been rebuilt. On November 24, 2004, it was designated as a county monument.
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