Hualien at Dawn

Beautiful photos of a beautiful city

After we toured Taitung's Northern Coast and rode the train through the beautiful Huatung valley, we arrived in Hualien City at 4pm, which means we had the pleasure to experience the city's beautiful ambiance at dawn. Hualien is a truly amazing city. While the mountains at its back are covered with grim dark grey clouds, the ocean at its front is enjoying a beautiful symphony of the blue sky and white clouds. This was the time when we went out to find our hostel and later rushed off to see the Pacific and visit one of the most famous night markets in the region.

Let me share our photos with you:

Hualien Railway station at 4 in the afternoon.

The part near the station is a big public square with a park inside.

Right near the station is the information center for tourists. Get maps and info there.

The Green Hotel is one of the finest buildings in Hualien.

Right from the hotel are many scooter rental shops. We got one for 400NTD per day.

On the scooter off we go! This is Hualien's central part.

The colors were fascinating.

We had to go to the northern part of the city, that lays on top of a hill.

Our home stay was located next to an old house from the Qing Dynasty.

This was our luxurious bed. The room was small, but very cozy. And we had a little balcony as well. If you need info on the home stay, contact me and I will share with you.

It's a pity, that we had to rush out and see so many placed. If I'd stayed on that small balcony with a glass of wine and smell the Pacific ocean breeze, it could've been an equally awesome experience. But life in Taiwan is fast-paced and we had no choice but to go out there and explore this Eastern gem. It was definitely worth it.

Hualien's coastal avenue.

Bridge over the Meilun River.

The Meilun River at dawn.

A new wooden bridge for bikers and pedestrians is a pleasant way to cross the river.

We walked through a nice public part all the way to the Pacific ocean.

This is part of the Hualien port. That lighthouse is one of the city's landmarks.

View to the south.

The ocean was so wide, the views were breathtaking. 

I took some of the best photos of my East Taiwan trip! It's really a must see spot, especially if you're here at dawn. The sunset or the sunrise must be beautiful, too, but what we saw was one of the most beautiful grey colors nature could display.

See more photos of Hualien's gorgeous Pacific on my photo blog>>

We saw this cute graffiti on the way back (Ps: I will, too).

We jumped on the scooter and rode back into Hualien's center.

We stopped at the Jianxiang Cihuei Temple 吉安鄉慈惠堂.

A huge temple complex, which we saw briefly. We didn't have time, because...

We rushed off to one of the most famous night markets in Taiwan and really had fun.

More about that in my next post. And not only that. I will show you beautiful photos of a sunny Hualien City, introduce the best food and also show you how to go and what to see at the famous Taroko Gorge. Stay tuned.

[My TAITUNG TOUR MAP][My TAIWAN TRAVEL page][All photos by MKL, 2011]