One of the best beaches in New Taipei City is found at this little bay that’s sometimes called White Haven Beach. The Chinese name translates as ‘white-sand bay’. The entrance to the beach is down a side road 100m or so off Hwy 2 (there are English signs around the 23km mark). Swimming is permitted from May to September, as …

Just north of Wai’ao is this small seaside park with beautiful cuesta and ‘tofu’ block rock formations, and lookouts down the coast. You can snorkel here in summer. Beiguan Tidal Park is also known as Lancheng Park, a tourist attraction in the Northeast Coast of the National Scenic Area, and also one of the best attractions when taking the North …

In year 2000,thousands of people were attracted to Taimali beach to celebrate with 25 other countries for the first aurora shining upon the Pacific Ocean. This palm-studded beach running up the emerald coast seems to stretch on and on. There’s no swimming but the crashing surf, soft sand, green mountains rising to the west and long coastline sweeping north make …

Caves of the Eight Immortals, aka Baxian Cave, has both the geologically and archaeologically interesting. It is located on the cliffs that face the Pacific Ocean in Shanjian Village in Changbin Township. There are dozens of natural sea caves. These sea caves were originally in the sea. Now they are scattered in 150 meter high cliffs. This is because the …

The famous Shifen Waterfall is a NT$230 cab ride from the train station or a straightforward 30-minute walk past villages and ponds into which sky lanterns have fallen. The waterfall is quite pretty if a little underwhelming and wooden staircases allow you to view it from different angles. Shifen Waterfall lies between Dahua Station and Shifen Station on the Pingxi …

About 4km past Wulai Waterfall is this forested area popularly known as Wawagu (Valley of the Frogs). With its hiking trails through broadleaved and cedar forests, bird and insect life, river views and rushing waterfalls (especially the three-tiered Hsinhsian Waterfall; Xìnxián Pùbù), this place is worth a dedicated trip. It’s particularly enchanting on a misty winter’s day. At the time …

Yingge Old Street, with its (new) cobbled roads, traditional street lamps, red-brick facades and walk-in kilns, was Yingge’s earliest ceramics hub. Pottery shops and stalls flanking sections of Wenhua Rd, Jianshanbu Rd and Chongqing Rd compete for your business, and you could spend hours just browsing. Note that the majority of items you see do not come from Yingge, or …

The lighthouse, built in the 19th century by British engineers and restored in 1918 by the Japanese, offers killer views of the Port of Kaohsiung. Situated atop Cihou Mountain, the snow-white, dazzling Cihou Lighthouse which watches over Kaohsiung Port is a symbol of Kaohsiung. The square lighthouse was built by the British to provide ships with illumination in 1883. An …

Almost all big cities have a beautiful river passed by, this is especially true in Kaohsiung. Love River lies across Kaohsiung for times of sunrises and sunsets. Love River, known as Dagou River in Qing Dynasty, was renamed by Japanese as Takao River. Love River was once an open sewer and it has seen a remarkable transformation in recent years. …

Not the place you want to be during an earthquake, this was the tallest building in Taiwan before Taipei 101, with a look inspired by the Chinese character 高 (gāo), meaning ‘tall’.  The 74th floor View Deck provides spectacular panoramic views over the city and harbor. Take the world’s 2nd fastest lift, which reaches the 74th floor in only 43 …