Hualien

The town is within walking distance of the dock, a distance of 5 km.

When a cruise ship calls, city Bus 308 adds two port services carrying passengers to and from nearby Hualien City and TRA Hualien Station. Alternatively, board buses 308, 105 or 1123 at Shalom Mennonite Center opposite the port's main entrance for places in and around Hualien City.

A printable map is available to bring along.

Hualien occupies a narrow strip between the Pacific Ocean and Central Mountain Range and is regarded as one of Taiwan's most pleasant cities. Visitors come for its scenery and clean air, as well as tours to celebrated Taroko Gorge a few miles north.

The Hualien-area Visitor Information Center stands in front of Hualien Station on the right. Tel: 886-3-8360634. Taiwan Hospitality and Tourism College operates it, having been authorised by the Hualien County Government since December 2004 to manage the Visitor Information Center (VIC) at Hualien Airport and Hualien Railway Station. Both locations offer tourism guidance, tour-bus details, home-stay information, bilingual travel brochures, travel enquiries, emergency assistance and related services.

• Beibin Seashore Park, Nanbin Seashore Park and Meilun Seashore Park form a landscaped, palm-filled area along the full city foreshore. Views over the Pacific Ocean are particularly impressive at sunrise.
• At the foot of Mount North Jialiwan, the Abode of Still Thoughts is a modest Buddhist temple and the original base of the internationally known Tzu-zhi Buddhist foundation. Reflecting the foundation's values, it is simple and incorporates a Japanese-style garden. Details of Tzu-chi's work overseas are also provided.
• Yenpin Prefectural Temple, near Section 4 of Zhongyang Road, dates to the Qing Dynasty and is Hualien's oldest temple.
• Pine Garden on Zhongmei Road, close to the river, is a peaceful space containing 63 pine trees.
• North of Hualien City, Chishingtan can be reached by following the cycle path from Nanbin Seashore Park. It combines fine ocean views, seafood, welcoming people and an unusual goat restaurant specialising in goat-milk coffee. Swimming is popular, but dangerous tides and currents make it essential to remain near the coast.
• Hualien County Stone Sculpture Museum, inside the Hualien County Cultural Center, exhibits both contemporary and traditional stonework. It opens daily from 9am-5pm and admission is NT$20.

Central Hualien is compact and straightforward to explore on foot. Scooters can also be hired at several locations around town for about NT$400 per day.

Ensure your guidebook maps label places in both English and Chinese characters, allowing you to communicate with a cabdriver by pointing. Cabdrivers speak only Chinese.

Taroko Gorge is a dramatic canyon stretching 19 km through Taroko National Park. The park encompasses about 92 thousand hectares of springs, caves, waterfalls and high cliffs. Key sights include Eternal Spring (Changchun) Shrine and Shakadang Trail. Behind Changchun Shrine, steps rise to Kuanyin Caves, Taroko Tower and Bell Tower, then cross a suspension bridge along the so-called "Heaven Trail" to Changuang Temple.

Night markets are central to Taiwanese shopping, dining and entertainment, as they are in many Asian countries. These open-air markets normally occupy a street or alley, with stalls selling all kinds of goods on either side.

Taiwan uses the New Taiwan Dollar, abbreviated NTD and also called TWD. As a rough guide, NT$100 is approximately US$3, and ATMs are plentiful.

Credit cards are taken by most department stores and hotels, but not by most small shops or restaurants.

English is spoken only sporadically.

Many cafés provide customers with free WiFi, although finding one may require some searching. In Taiwan, these venues would more accurately be described as gaming cafés.

Shops appear to have no fixed opening times and tend to stay open while customers remain. Chinese New Year lasts 6 days, when Taiwanese people travel widely and transport can become extremely busy.