When you open the map of Taiwan, you can clearly see that there are three counties from north to south along the Pacific coast in eastern Taiwan, Yilan, Hualien, and Taitung. The Central Mountain Range in the middle of the island of Taiwan runs through the three counties. Along the 180-kilometer coast from Hualien City to Taitung County, there is a small mountain range called the Coastal Mountains. A narrow, flat "corridor" between the two mountain ranges is the Huadong Rift Valley. There are two roads to choose from Hualien City to Taitung, one is to take No. 11 Coastal Highway along the coast, and the other is to take No. 9 Huadong Rift Valley Highway. The distance between the two roads is almost the same (the difference is only two or three kilometers), but the scenery around the two roads is quite different. The coastal road is of course the scenery of the Pacific Ocean, while the surrounding Huadong Rift Valley is the rural scenery of Taiwan. The Tropic of Cancer runs through Hualien County, and a Tropic of Cancer sign tower was built in Fengbin Township and Ruisui Township on the side of the two roads. It is really difficult for tourists to choose which line to take, and tour groups will choose one of the two when they come to this line. We finally decided to hire a car from the owner of the homestay. On the first day, we went to the Huadong Rift Valley and then returned to Hualien. On the second day, we went to Taitung along the coastal road. Now I will introduce the scenery of various places in two routes.

Overlooking Huadong Rift Valley

Let me talk about the scenic spots in Huadong Rift Valley first. After driving away from Hualien City, the first scenic spot we came to in about half an hour was "Liyu Pond" located at the foot of Liyu Mountain on the north side of Chinan Village, Shoufeng Township. It is an inland lake, the lake area is slightly larger than the Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, and the lake is green and clear. There are two theories about the reason for the formation of this lake. One is that in history, the water diversion of Shanbengluoxi River was blocked by Liyu Mountain, and a lake rushed out here. The other is that a meteorite impact occurred here a long, long time ago, forming a crater where water from the Laoxi River was injected to form a lake. There is a bicycle road around the lake, with a circumference of about five or six kilometers. People on vacation can enjoy the beautiful scenery while exercising. On clear nights in summer, there will be overwhelming fireflies appearing in the woods on the hillside by the lake, which is also a scene of Liyu Lake.


Liyu Lake Scenery

Scenery by the pool

Next, Brother A Lin took us to one of his "private scenic spots" (travel agencies are not allowed), Baibaoxi in the Central Mountain Range. Yes, this mountain is the origin of Taiwanese jade. Going upstream along the small road by the river, the mountains and rivers are beautiful all the way, and the river is crystal clear. Brother A Lin parked the car on a river beach and told us to walk up the river beach and search carefully. Zi material dare not say that it is possible to pick up mountains and rivers. After walking not far, my elder brother picked up a rough stone and gave it to us as a souvenir, and went down the mountain contentedly. Baibao River flows down to Lao River, and finally flows into Hualien River into the sea.

Baibaoxi

roadside village temple

Taiwan jade stone picked up by the stream

Going south along the Huadong Rift Valley Highway, there is a holiday villa area called Yunshanshui. This place used to be the sugarcane field of Taiwan Sugar Industry Co., Ltd., but the international sugar price dropped year after year and it was sold to real estate developers. The developer took a fancy to the beautiful terrain surrounded by the Hualien River in the front and the central mountain in the back to develop the whole area into a holiday villa area. A central lake was built by introducing water from the Hualien River into the park. Mountains, blue sky and white clouds are reflected in the lake, and the rows of straight and tall betel nut trees by the lake are very beautiful, so this place is called "cloud landscape". The owner here buys a piece of land of 3,300 square meters, and the developer builds it for you free of charge according to the drawing of the house, so the villas here are also various and become a scene.

Going further south, Yushan National Park is in the mountains on the right, and there is a river called Xiuguluan River on the left. The road runs between the mountains and rivers. The subtropical plants are lush at the foot of the mountain, and the snow is capped on the top of the mountain. It is a wonderful landscape. In the slightly open area ahead, there is a ranch called Ruisui Ranch, which specializes in raising cows and ostriches imported from New Zealand, and it has become a paradise for children. The Tropic of Cancer passes through Ruisui Township, and a Tropic of Cancer Sign Tower Park was specially built beside the road for people traveling from south to north to watch and rest. There is also a Tropic of Cancer sign tower next to Highway 11 by the sea, and we will arrive there tomorrow.

Mizuho Ranch

The Tropic of Cancer Marking Monument in Huadong Rift Valley

There is also a scenic spot in the coastal mountains to the east called Liushishi Mountain Daylily Flower Sea. Daylily is what we call daylily. Every September and October, daylilies bloom all over the mountains and fields like a golden ocean. It's a pity that we came at the wrong time, so we didn't go up the mountain.

When you drive here, you will arrive at the junction of Hualien County and Taitung County. Across the county boundary is Chishang Township in Taitung County. The relatively open terrain here is the main rice producing area in eastern Taiwan, and the rice produced is the most famous in Taiwan. This season, most parts of the mainland are still frozen and snow-covered, but rice planting here is ready. There is a famous idyllic scenic spot here, which is Brown Avenue. An asphalt road stretches across a large paddy field. On one side is a field that has been plowed and filled with water for planting. The sun reflected on the water calmly looks like a mirror. On one side is a field full of rape blossoms that has not yet been plowed. These rapeseed flowers are not to be harvested to extract oil, but to be plowed and fertilized. At one end of this road, there is a big tree by the side of the road. Takeshi Kaneshiro shot a commercial for Taiwan Airlines under this tree. This luxuriant tree is called "Takeshi Kaneshiro Tree". At the other end of the road, there is a man-made landscape, a large oblique photo frame, through which the mountains in the distance and the fields nearby attract many people to take pictures here. The well-known locally produced coffee in Taiwan - Brown Coffee has filmed advertisements here and brought very good sales performance. This road is called Brown Avenue. There is a bicycle and electric tricycle rental office at the entrance of the village. We rented an electric tricycle and took a tour around the fields and the village, admiring the idyllic scenery of Taiwan. Rice is harvested twice a year in Taiwan. In mid-May and late October, when the ears of rice are full and the straw turns yellow on the eve of harvest, a bumper harvest is in sight.

Chishang Village

Takeki Kaneshiro

I saw the smoke rising from the kitchen, and the twilight covered the earth

Brown Avenue

Village car rental company

Because the rice in Chishang Township is famous, there is a unique restaurant named "Chishang rice bag" (rice bag means our boxed rice, rice bowl), and the restaurant's main focus is not the exquisite dishes but the mellow rice. The dining table is arranged in a train carriage of an abandoned railway, and the kitchen and dining area are arranged in a wooden house imitating a small station next to the railway. Diners are in an endless stream, we also stopped to visit, bought a boxed lunch and took it to a seat in the carriage to eat. According to reports, this restaurant has been here for more than 80 years. In Hokkien dialect, it means "ancient flavor".

Ikegami rice bag (box lunch) shop

Taitung is also rich in a kind of fruit - Sakyamuni. This fruit originally produced in India got its name because the bulge covered with bumps on the skin looks like the bun on the head of the Buddha Sakyamuni. It was later introduced to Taiwan and successfully planted. Today, 80% of Sakyamuni is produced in the world. in Taiwan. Taiwan's custard is the best and sweetest in Taitung. Every January is the harvest season for Sakyamuni. As soon as you enter Taitung, you will see a large area of ​​Sakyamuni orchards, with heavy fruits hanging all over the branches. Each fruit is covered with a paper bag. Because the sweetness is too high, mosquitoes and insects love to bite. In order to keep the harvest in their hands, the fruit farmers also work tirelessly to care for each fruit. There are two types of custards in Taiwan, one is the traditional custard tree, and the other is the grafted pineapple custard tree that has been cultivated in recent years. The pineapple custard has a faint pineapple fragrance in the mouth, and it can be stored for a longer time. The custard custard that is eaten in the place of production is definitely not the same as the one bought in the supermarket in Beijing. My wife loves custard food very much, this time it is really "Taiwan Unlimited Data Mobile SIM Card - All You Can Eat". It is really a kind of torture for me as a diabetic. At first, my wife told me to "smooth my mouth", but later on I could only "smelt my eyes". It is better for tourists who have a special preference for a certain fruit to choose to travel to the place of origin during the ripening season of the fruit. If we travel to Taiwan next time, we will definitely choose Wendan (a pomelo unique to Taiwan) when it is ripe.

Taitung's custard custard is extremely sweet

Roadside Shakya Vending Cart

Identification of the main place of origin