Background

Located on a strip of land between the Pacific Ocean and the Central Mountain Range, Hualien is considered one of the most pleasant cities in Taiwan. Many tourists visit the city to enjoy the scenery and fresh air and also to tour the famous Taroko Gorge, which is located a few miles north of the city.

The Visitor Information Center for the Hualien area is located in front of Hualien Station (right side). Tel: 886-3-8360634, it is hosted by Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College, that has been authorized, by the Hualien County Government since December 2004, to operated and manage the Visitor Information Center (VIC) at Hualien Airport as well as the Hualien Railway Station. These two centers provide general services such as tourism guide and tour bus information, home-stay information, bi-lingual traveling brochure, travel inquiry, emergency handling and so on.

Activities

• Hualien Ocean Park. M-F 9AM-5PM, Sa-Su 8:30AM-5PM. Hualien's biggest man-made tourist attraction. As well as ferris wheel and cable car, the park contains eight zones that introduce different aspects of ocean and marine life. Kids, in particular, will have great time here but for adventurous travelers or people wanting a more viable experience, there are many places one can go that are much cheaper and provide a better experience of the 'real' Country of Taiwan. Adults NT$890, children NT$790.
• River Tracing and Hiking in the Hualien area (Hualien Outdoors), 2 Guo Lian 3rd Street, Hualien City (Near Train station). Hualien has one of the best terrains in the world for river tracing and hiking. Ample rain and deep river valleys make it an outdoor enthusiast's playground. Several wild hot springs also make the area a great place to get into the woods and mountains. Hualien Outdoors(www.hualienoutdoors.org) is based in Hualien City and offers trips to some of the wilder places. They also offer help with hiking permits and do river tracing equipment rentals.

Food

• Zhu tung fan (竹筒飯) - rice steamed in a bamboo tube is a specialty of the local aborigines.

• Muaji (麻薯) - glutinous rice filled (or sometimes covered) with various flavors, such as peanut, sweet red and green bean paste, sweet sesame paste, coconut or fruit.

• Wonton (餛飩) - Hualien's wontons are very famous throughout Taiwan

Budget

• Laguardia. Good breakfast shop across the street from the big post office near the train station on Chung Shan Rd. Amazing Hamburgers. Try the bacon cheese beef burger or the cod burger.

Mid Range

• Tosca Pasta, 95-7 Jung Mei Road: European style restaurant with european prices

• Irrawaddy Myanmar Restaurant, 11-1 Min Chuan Rd, ☎ 03-831-0077. Favorite restaurant of many foreigners in Hualien. Awesome food!

白俄羅斯餐廳~傳統菜餚 KALILASKA BELARUSIAN CUISINE Belarusian restaurant, serving traditional Russian and Belarusian food. 營業時間:12.00 - 21.00 電話:0963-413744 蘇小姐 地址:花蓮市大同街54號 http://www.facebook.com/groups/SLAVIC.CUISINE.YARD/

Drinks

Hualien has an abundance of tea houses, cafes and bars, and also many stores specializing in locally produced tea.

• Cafe Jade (璞石藝文空間), ☎ +886 3 834-5968. 8 Ming-li Road (花蓮市明禮路8號). A spacious and very pleasant art cafe offering regular live music and art exhibitions. Open:Mon-Thurs 8AM-6Pm Fri-Sun 8AM-10:30PM

• Wang Ji Tea House, 565 Jong-Shan Road (中山路565號).

Shopping

• Woven cloth. Hualien is a good place to pick up hand woven cloth in traditional aboriginal designs.

• Muaji (mua-ji) This sweet made of sticky rice is a specialty of Hualien.

• Stone Hualien's stone market is near the old bus station on Mingyi Road, and they sell everything from jewelery to tea-pots all carved out of stone.