Living Area Condition
Taitung City
Taitung City is the administrative center of the whole Taiutng county. You can find more food options and entertainment here, such as mall, theaters where all the shoppings happened!
Guanshan Township
Located in the north part of Taitung and lies between mountains! Guanshan and Chishang is known for its agriculture, especially rice. It always makes people feel cozy and relaxed when you see large areas of rice fields in harvest season. Guanshan has a really close community, people are friendly and welcoming here!
Taimali Township
Located in the southeast part of Taitung, which is famous for its magnificent coastline view and the sunrise! Most of the residents in Taimali are indigenous people. It is a small town so the people here are close to each other. You might bump into your school colleague and students on the road!
Transportation
Transportation in Taitung includes scooters, trains and taxis! Scooter is the most convenient transportation in Taitung.
Most ETAs’ future schools would take 15-20 mins scooter ride starting from the apartments, ETAs would ride a scooter as their daily transportation. It’s also a good tool to explore Taitung since we have a long and narrow terrain.
There is no HSR(High Speed Rail) on the east coast, thus the common transportation to travel to other cities is by train. Some ETAs sometimes take a roughly 30 minutes train to attend workshops.
Taitung's Scenic Spots
East Rift Valley
Stepping on the land of the East Rift Valley and taking a deep breath, you will find that the air is filled with the aroma of the earth. The smell is so familiar that makes people feel comfortable like home. It is because people and the land become closer. Looking up afar, you will find that sky,mountains and fields constitute a natural painting that slowly rolls off with travelers' footsteps.
Mr. Brown Avenue
Chihshang Township is the start of Taitung section of the East Rift Valley. A tract of border-less rice fields is very amazing. It is where a well-known advertisement was shot. Mr. Brown Avenue is the best location to see the scenery. Ride a bicycle along the ditch bike path, on which farmers usually go their rounds. Even though unable to cultivate soil in person, you can still follow farmers' footsteps and explore the reason why the rice here is so tasty.
Luye Plateau (Gaotai)
Luye is situated on the alluvial fan of Jianadian,Luliao and Luye creeks in East Rift Valley in Taitung,and the township extends eastward to the crest line of Coastal Range.Renowned as "the largest plain in Taitung," Luye is also famous of producing Fulu Tea. Since 2011, Taiwan International Balloon Fiesta has been annually held from late June to early September.
Zhiben Hot Spring
When you go to the south and reach Jhihben, the Baiyu Waterfall on the Leshan Industrial Road is worth visiting. Though not big, the waterfall looks graceful. Water coming from above and the air filled with vapor makes people refreshing and joyful. Then it is time for a forest bath. Enter the Jhihben Forest Recreation Area, choose your favorite forest trail and heartily enjoy the embrace of the nature. In winter, do not forget to take a hot spring that can heal your physical and mental weariness.
National Museum of Prehistory - map
NMP is the first state archaeological museum in Taiwan. Dedicated to the reservation and study of prehistoric and indigenous culture, it exhibits the relics excavated from Beinan site. NMP consists of two parts, the main building and Beinan Cultural Park. The main building and its 10-hectare museum area presents explicit introduction on the prehistoric development of Taiwan’s nature and culture as well as the Austronesian culture.
Jean-Zen Daylily Mountain Leisure Agricultural Area
(金針山休閒農業區)
It is about a 1.5 hour scooter drive from the city, and at an elevation approximately 1,340m, it is recommended that you bring at least a light jacket with you. Daylily Mountain is located in the mid-southern part of Taitung County, Taimali Township. The blooming period is from August to October. The mountain is covered with golden flowers during its peak of the blooming season. Daylily is an edible plant, so you can see lots of food stands at the bottom of the mountain selling food that is made from Daylilies.
Another iconic snack/ souvenir you should get in Taitung! The malt sugar covering the crispy potato chips makes you want to have one bite after another.
Wuling Green Tunnel
Turning into the old No.9 Provincial Highway, you will see Wuling Green Tunnel. Its dense shade composed of camphor and beefwood as well as leisure and tranquil tunnel can relieve travelers' fatigue. The owner of Mini Coffee House hidden inside the tunnel is also hospitable. What you taste is the carefully cooked coffee.
Taitung Forest Park - map
The dreamlike Taitung Forest Park covers an extensive area with plenty and towering trees.Travelers can rent bicycles to hang around in the forest trails by following the indicative signs, looking for the three beautiful lakes. The artificially constructed "Flowing Lake" is where "Austronesian Cultural Festival" is held. The annual dragon boat race and national triathlon also take place here. The naturally formed "Pipa Lake" is quiet and beautiful, like a piece of natural painting.
East Coastline
Provincial Highway 11, the most beautiful coastline in Taiwan Taiwan is surrounded by the ocean and features different characteristic coastlines. The coastline of Provincial Highway 11, in particular, transcends others with its primitive, natural, and beautiful scenery. Some people say that Provincial Highway 11 in eastern Taiwan has the most beautiful coastline all over the nation.
Liyu (Carp) Mountain - map
Shaped like a carp, Liyu (carp) Mountain is an isolated 75-meter-high hill on Taitung Plain. Despite the insignificant altitude, it offers a great view overlooking downtown Taitung City. The thick woods make it the largest green space in the City. It is a popular place for morning exercise for locals, who stretch and do moves on well developed trails at the back. At the foot of the hill, the Liyu Mountain Park, Dragon-Phoenix Temple, Dragon-Phoenix Pagoda, and the Martyrs' Shrine are attractions of this 22-hectare scenic area. The 8-story octagonal pagoda is a distinctive landmark of Liyu Mountain.
Lisong Hot Spring
It is roughly 2.5 hours by scooter from the city, and you should prepare yourself for an extremely difficult ride. Best if you make friends with someone who has a car.
Lisong is seasonal, so you can only go during winter because there is less rainfall. The walls of the gorge are covered in natural brown, green and dark gray colors caused by moss and iron oxidization and other reasons, the colors complementing the milk white spring water and the green forest. Lisong is known as the most beautiful wild hot spring in Taiwan.
Tiehua Village
This is an artsy place to take a stroll in the center of downtown. You can see live music and buy handmade crafts here. At night, you can find yourselves drifting through the hot air balloon lanterns, adding to the appeal.
Food
Dining Out
Lunchboxes are common throughout the city, and a buffet take-out typically ranges from NT$50 to NT$100 (USD $1-$3). The dishes you can choose from often include a mix of vegetables, fried foods, and meats. The popular 7-Eleven convenience chain stores have tea eggs, hot dogs, packaged beverages and junk food. Pre-packaged, microwaveable meals are also available, including dumplings, spaghetti and curry rice. In addition to restaurants and food stands providing local food at reasonable prices, there are numerous coffee shops, bakeries, and two McDonalds.
Night markets are a great place to pick up cheap local foods, including stinky tofu, oyster omelets, red bean pancakes and the like. Don’t forget to give your stomach some time to adjust before you plow into all the fried stuff at the stands. Most fruit is safe to eat from the night markets, just be sure to check the cleanliness of the seller and stand before eating. If they cut it and hand it to you in a bag with sticks for eating, then you can go ahead and give it a try.
Abai (阿粨)
It is the name the aboriginals call the traditional sticky rice dumplings. It is presented as a long square shape with millet as the main ingredients and other spices with stewed pork in it. It’s wrapped with the leaves of the shell ginger, which imparts a particularly floral scent when cooked. Abai is an essential snack served in many aborigines festivals.
Snacks
Mochi
One of the iconic snacks in Taitung. It is made out of glutinous rice, which gives a sort of gummy bear texture. It is usually presented with sweet paste such as red bean, green bean, peanut butter, sesame...etc. A savory mochi-sailfish floss is an option as well if you are not a big fan of sweets.
Sweet Potato Chip
Another iconic snack/ souvenir you should get in Taitung! The malt sugar covering the crispy potato chips makes you want to have one bite after another.
Cooking by Yourself
You can buy groceries at the following locations:
(1) Chuan Lien (全聯) and Carrefour (家樂福)
These stores sell most of your basic necessities: meat, eggs, tofu, drinks, chips, etc. as well as clothes, shoes, kitchen supplies and just about everything else for that matter. Most of the food items are Taiwanese, but they do sell a decent variety of American snack foods and candy. Look around and find what you like.
(2) Traditional Markets Traditional markets can be found in neighborhood everywhere selling fresh vegetables, meat, rice, beans, noodles, etc. They are great places to buy vegetables and meat, but you need to speak some Mandarin Chinese or even Taiwanese there. Check it out and decide for yourself. There are small fruit markets in Taitung. Most of the fruit they sell is very fresh, especially local seasonal fruit. You can’t miss them; try it! A big afternoon market (4pm on) is on Hanyang Road.
Transportation
Scooter
Scooter is the most convenient transportation in Taitung.
Train (Taiwan Railway Administration, TRA)
There is no HSR(High Speed Rail) on the east coast, thus the common transportation to travel to other cities is by train. Some ETAs sometimes take a roughly 30 minutes train to attend workshops.
Agriculture
Rice
East Rift Valley is an important rice production area in Taiwan. Chishang Township, Guanshan Township, and Luye Township in Taitung provide the best quality rice in Taiwan.
Sugar Apple
Sugar apple has its unique texture, containing more sugar and less water. The harvest season is around January~February, August~ December. Taiwan is considered to have the world’s largest sugar apple cultivation area, in fact, Taitung has the best quality compared to other areas in Taiwan. Sugar apple is called the green gold among the fruits.
Millet
Taitung has the biggest millet cultivation in Taiwan. Millet is the oldest crop grown by Taiwan’s aborigines. It can be served as a main meal like rice in Taiwan, or it can be turned into products such as millet wine, rice cakes, millet donuts...etc.
Roselle
The harvest season is around October~November. It grows in warm climates. Taitung is the largest roselle cultivation area in Taiwan. It is usually being made into jam, tea or picked as a side dish for your meals.
