Hualien Attractions —
Marble Gorge to Pebble Shore

One of Asia's most spectacular natural sites: the Liwu River has cut a sheer-walled gorge through marble and granite, exposing cliffs of blue-grey and white that plunge hundreds of metres to the riverbed below. Highlights that have generally remained accessible include Swallow Grotto (Yanzikou), the Tunnel of Nine Turns, Eternal Spring Shrine (Changchun), and the Buluowan Tribal Village — each a masterpiece of scale and colour in its own right.

Marble and granite walls soaring up to 1,000 metres from the Pacific — nearly vertical, with a deep-cobalt sea at their base. The effect is one of Taiwan's most arresting natural images. The cliff is best seen from the train (book a left-hand window seat travelling south from Taipei) as it glides through coastal tunnels, or from sightseeing boats departing Hualien harbour. Roadside viewpoints along the old coastal highway provide close-up angles on clear days.

A 5-kilometre crescent of smooth black pebbles — worn round and flat by millennia of Pacific surf. The name means "Seven-Star Lake" despite being a beach, a leftover from the harbour-dredging era. Cobalt waves break on the shore while the Central Mountain Range rises as a backdrop. Sunrise here is extraordinary: golden light catches the cliff faces and the deep blue sea simultaneously. One of the few pebble beaches in Taiwan — genuinely unlike anything else in the country.

Hualien County's largest freshwater lake, named after the surrounding Liyu ("carp") hills. The emerald water sits in a valley of forested ridges, perfectly calm and surprisingly clear. The highlight is the 14-kilometre cycling path that circles the entire lake — flat, shaded and doable for all fitness levels in about 90 minutes. Kayaks and paddleboats are available for hire at the lakeside dock. Arrive before 9 am for the glassy-water mirror reflections before the wind picks up.

The largest night market on Taiwan's east coast, divided into four distinct zones: Amis Aboriginal, Taiwanese, International, and Fresh Produce. The Aboriginal zone is the real draw — this is one of the very few places in Taiwan where you can eat food cooked by and for the Amis people, including millet-based dishes, indigenous pork sausages (different in texture and spicing from mainland-style variants), grilled fish in mountain herb marinades, and betel-nut-leaf tea that is purely cultural, not intoxicating.

A 1943 Japanese-era wooden villa set among 100-year-old pine trees on a hillside overlooking the Pacific. Once the command headquarters of the Imperial Japanese Army, today it functions as an arts venue, café and cultural space. The walkways between the ancient pines are cathedral-quiet in the early morning. The ocean-facing veranda — framing a panorama of coast, mountains and sea — is one of the loveliest viewpoints in Hualien without the crowds of Qixingtan.

A cluster of Japanese-era warehouses (circa 1913) repurposed into studios, galleries, indie shops and workshops. Local designers, ceramicists and Amis artisans sell their work directly here — it's the best spot in the city to buy authentic Hualien marble products (the region's signature stone), aboriginal fabric art, and small-batch tea at fair prices. Entrance is free, making it an easy detour if you're already near the train station.

Highway 11 traces 175 kilometres of coastline from Hualien south to Taitung — one of the great coastal drives of East Asia. The road hugs the Pacific, weaving between fishing villages, Aboriginal communities and headlands that drop straight into the sea. Key stops: Fongbin Stone Steps Beach, Jici Beach (surfable waves), Baxian Caves (prehistoric), and Pangcah Park. This route is best done over two or three days to appreciate each pull-out — but even a single afternoon south of Hualien City is unforgettable.

The brand-new road link that replaced the notorious old Suhua Highway — a notoriously dangerous single-lane cliff road that caused dozens of fatalities. The Suhua Improvement (蘇花改) opened in 2020, cutting the Su'ao–Hualien journey from two-plus hours of white-knuckle cliffside driving to a safe, modern 30-minute route through purpose-built tunnels. Several viewpoints along the road offer glimpses of Cingshui Cliff and the open Pacific. Scenic stopping points make it worth slowing down.