Attractions :Hualien County

Hualien is the meeting point of the Central Cross-Island Highway, Suau-Hualien Highway, and highways leading south to Taitung. Apart from the natural beauty of the city, Hualien also offers tourists many other attractions: the waterfront Seaside Park; Nanbin Park with its numerous marine sculptures, the "Hawaii of the East" Resort built in Polynesian style, reef walking and rock collection at Chishingtan, and the Buddhist Jingsz Temple. At 108 meters in height, Mt. Meilun is the landmark of Hualien; it is also the site of Jungjeng Park, and this provides fine views of the city. Facilities in the park include a children's playground, footpaths, and an old railway locomotive. The park also contains an exhibition hall with displays of seismographs that were used to detect earthquakes beginning in 1933 but have now been replaced by more modern equipment.

Taroko National Park

Historical Background
Taroko became a national park in 1986, including Hualien County, Nantou County and Taichung County. It is the second largest national park in Taiwan. Taroko is famous for its spectacular mountains and marble canyons. Cliffs and canyons stretch along Li Wu River. Four million years ago, the island of Taiwan was formed by the collision of plates. After millions of years of wind erosion, the marble rocks were exposed and cut by Li Wu River, creating impressive grand canyons. From Tsing Shui to Nan Hu Peak, the drop height is 3,742 meters. Such special geography has also bred special flora and fauna in this area.
Cultural Highlights
The waterfalls characterized Taroko National Park and the most famous ones are Pai Yang Waterfall, Yin Tai Waterfall, Chang Chun Waterfall, and Lu Shui Waterfall. Yen Tze Kou and Chiu Chu Tung are the most impressive natural scenes in Taroko and the canyons here are the narrowest. Tourists can appreciate the natural beauty along the tour track. Swallows nest on the cliff, chirping and flying back forth. The Taroko monumental is designed in Chinese style and Chang Chun Temple is to remember those who sacrificed their lives for building the central highway.