Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 2. Taichung

Taiwan's best-preserved Qing Dynasty town and largest night market were can't-miss-attractions of the central region, our second stop on an 11-day round-island voyage by conventional trains.


Let's be frank -- the quaint historic town of Lukang was our main reason for stopping at industrial Taichung, a sprawling metropolis of 3 million best known for the gastronomic inventions of bubble tea and suncakes as well as the lively Fengchia Night Market. Starting from our previous stop of Taoyuan, Taichung was a comfy 90 minutes on an express train.


While we would have loved to stay in a guesthouse at picturesque Lukang on a longer trip, we continued our proven strategy of booking cheap hotels next to major train stations and relying on local transport or taxi for that last mile on our 11-day blitz. From Taichung Station we could easily access the Fengchia Night Market by taxi, and Lukang by local buses.


The jam-packed Fengchia is a legend among night markets for its astronomical revenue in ten of billions per year, beating entire towns nearby. That's just a rough estimate of course as 1) most stalls are grey market with limited taxation trail and 2) the market has no clearly defined boundary. There is no clear entrance, only an rambling district of late-opening eateries and Korean-influenced fashion retailers supported by the massive student body from the neighbouring Fengchia University.

BLACK TEA YEAST STINKY TOFU (Fengchia Night Market, Taichung)
Location Map

Every successful night market must boast a decent number of signature dishes, and Fengchia is no exception with its sausage rolls and fermented tofu. This tiny stall is actually one of several outlets for the oddly named yet immensely popular Hongcha Choudoufu, or literally Black Tea Yeast Stinky Tofu. In case you're slightly skeptical, let me say that it tastes much better than it might sound.


Behind the repulsive name are simply cubes of medium-soft tofu, fermented with Earl Grey tea powder for that coveted depth of flavor and distinct aroma, deep-fried for a crispy texture then drizzled with spiced soy and Korean kimchi. That's a mouth-watering combination to kick off a night of street food.

GUANZHILIN SMALL SAUSAGE IN BIG SAUSAGE (Fengchia Night Market, Taichung)
Location Map

This unassuming stall is Fengchia's most famous contribution to Taiwanese gastronomy, a cheap night market snack that has branched out not only to a dozen other food markets across Taiwan but as far as Malaysia. Just about every visitor to Fengchia will want a sausage from the flagship stall, so get here early or be prepared for a 30 minute queue.


This curious invention of Small Sausage in Big Sausage is actually a grilled Taiwanese pork smokie stuffed inside a larger "sausage" of glutinous rice, served with crunchy cucumbers and salivating pickles to balance the oiliness of the dripping fat and juices. Addictively charbroiled and filling enough as a meal on its own, this is the perfect night market food at just TWD 50 (CAD$2.1).

MINGLUN EGG CREPE (Fengchia Night Market, Taichung)
Location Map

Now operated by the third generation descendent, this 40-year-old institution boasts another perpetual queue for its one and only one item on the menu. Do it like the locals and take a number upon arrival -- the queue moves much quicker than one may expect with egg crepes churning out simultaneously from multiple hotplates.


What everyone lines up for is a thin, crispy crepe stirred in with green scallions and an egg, along with a secret recipe of yam starch mixture for the characteristic chewiness that the Taiwanese love.

Bill for Two Persons

Black Tea Yeast Stinky Tofu	TWD 60
Small Sausage in Big Sausage	TWD 50
Minglun Egg Crepe	TWD 45
Bitter Melon-Pineapple Juice with Honey	TWD 65
Sugar Cane Juice	TWD 45
TOTAL	TWD 265 (CAD$11.5)

Between the Stinky Tofu, Sausages, Egg Crepe plus two large cups of fresh-squeezed juice, our informal dinner for two cost TWD 265 (CAD$11.5), deceivingly cheap until we also factored in the TWD 600 (CAD$26.1) return taxi fare from Taichung Station! Oh well, I'll take that as our entrance fee to Taiwan's largest night market as well as the 20 minutes of traditional Nanyin Opera that our driver introduced us to during the 20 minute ride.


We booked into Chance Hotel right in front of Taichung Station, 3 minutes from the train platforms and offering a free Taiwanese breakfast of congee and noodles before our quick regional train to Zhanghua the next morning. Instead of leaving our luggage with the hotel we would bring them along to Zhanghua Station where a luggage room was available.


Historic Lukang was 45 minutes from Zhanghua Station via Bus 6900, which dropped us off at the former station of the defunct Taiwan Sugar Railway. Back in the day such private railways, well-utilized for both industrial cargo and foot passengers, filled the important niche of connecting these remote towns to the national rail network.


No first-time visitor would miss the stunning Longshan Temple, widely considered the best-preserved Qing Dynasty architecture anywhere in Taiwan after surviving more than 200 years of major and minor earthquakes. Unlike most Buddhist temples the most impressive sight is not inside the main hall where the deities dwell, but out in the courtyard.


Behold Taiwan's most iconic heritage building from the early 1800s, an extravagant outdoor opera stage featuring a sunken coffer ceiling with an intricate series of octagonal crossbeams known as Zaojing, or Algae Well. Not only did the auspiciously named structure contribute to fire prevention according to folk superstition, but it also provided a lovely canvas for its generation's best artists in paint and sculpture.


West of Longshan Temple exists a famously narrow alleyway known as Moruxiang, literally the Alley of Touching Breasts according to a naughty local legend. Some serious acrobatics would have been required to avoid an uncomfortable situation with a member of the opposite sex traveling in the opposite direction.


Many of the local residences date back to the Qing Dynasty, including one belonging to a Mandarin scholar who excelled in the national examination and brought honour to his hometown as an Emperor-appointed official. On display inside the Ding Family Mansion are traditional wedding palanquins, calligraphy and other artifacts from a bygone era, perhaps a better era according to the townsmen.


Unlike the highly commercialized Tamsui or Jiufen, the archaic 18th century alleyways of Lukang remain largely occupied by descendents of the original Qing Dynasty colonists, testimony to a glorious time when Lukang ranked ahead of modern day Taipei as Taiwan's second largest non-aboriginal settlement.


Highly prized as Karasumi to the Japanese or Bottarga di Muggine to the Italians, these pressed mullet roes sun-drying outside a specialty store are locally revered as the undisputed king of Taiwanese gastronomy at TWD 1600 (CAD$70) a piece.


Scattered around the historic quarter are multiple shrines devoted to Mazu, the Celestial Mother and protector of seafarers. Imported by Minnanese immigrants across the Taiwanese Straight, this Southern Chinese folk religion was especially popular at this former fishing town before its harbour became silted in the 19th century.


Tigers, dragons and phoenixes grace the curving rooflines along with statues of the popular icons of Fulushou, the trio representing prosperity, status and longevity.


I won this grilled Taiwanese sausage for a cheap TWD 10 (CAD$0.4) from an old 1950s pinball machine.

That's right -- TWD 10 per game for four pinballs. I racked up only 70 points with my first three shots and needed at least 60 points to win anything. I ended up hitting 100 with the final shot for a sausage that tasted ever so sweet in jubilation.

That was just a snack. For a more filling lunch we decided to visit two of Lukang's time-honoured gastronomic institutions, each famous for its own special variety of meat dumplings.

Introducing my favorite "hidden gem" eatery anywhere in Taiwan ...

HANBIN CRYSTAL DUMPLINGS (Lukang)
Location Map

You are looking at one of Taiwan's oldest eateries, established in Year 11 of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, a decade before the arrival of the Japanese colonists. Look past the shop's grimy, hole-in-the-wall appearance and you'll notice the constant arrival of local housewives and grandmothers buying frozen dumplings in bulk. After all that's all they make, with loving hands and 130 years of tradition.


This is the epitome of East Asia's traditional eateries -- focus on making one item and do it better than anyone else. A bowl of Assorted Dumplings costs a measly TWD 40 (CAD$1.7) and comes eight dumplings in various forms. Pictured are the Crystal Dumpling (Shuijing Jiao) with a semi-translucent wrapping of sweet Mochi rice, and the Bianshiyan consisting of a pork meatball folded inside an impossibly paper-thin wrapping of painstakingly flattened meat.


Also floating in the pork bone broth are the meatier, flavorsome Steamed Meatball (Zhengwan) and the white and sweeter Watery Meatball (Shuiwan) made with water chestnuts. My own favorite was the Crystal Dumpling with its chewy Mochi wrapping while my wife preferred the crispiness of the Watery Meatball.

Hanbin Dumpling House is open only for breakfast and lunch, so plan to arrive before they close shop at around 14:00.

Bill for Two Persons

Assorted Dumplings x 2	TWD 80
TOTAL	TWD 80 (CAD$3.5)

A bowl of dumplings was of course not filling enough after a half day of exploring Lukang's labyrinth of little alleys. For the second half of our lunch we had a choice between Noodles in Thick Broth (Mianxianhu) or Squid and Meat Dumplings (Youyu Rougeng), both recommended by the locals. My wife picked the latter.

LONGSHAN SQUID AND MEAT DUMPLINGS (Lukang)
Location Map

A 60-year-old institution situated on the main drag of Zhongshan Road, Longshan Youyu Rougeng specializes in meat dumplings of an entirely different form compared with the small rotund variety served at Hanbin. Instead of rolling a paste of marinated pork into a meatball, Longshan follows a different tradition of mincing its meat coarsely and hand-shaping into loose skinless sausages that could be boiled or battered and deep-fried.


Arriving in a thick broth of pork bone was an assortment of meat dumplings made from pork and shrimp paste, along with generous chunks of chewy calamari, black fungus and julienned bamboo shoots. Most impressive was the batter of the deep-fried meat dumplings which stayed remarkably crunchy even after a 10 minute soak in the broth.

Bill for Two Persons

Assorted Squid and Rougeng	TWD 70
TOTAL	TWD 70 (CAD$3.0)

The trusty Bus 6900 returned us to Zhanghua Station after lunch, reuniting us with our luggage ahead of the next afternoon train of our 11-day round-island tour. We would be traveling from the second largest town of Qing Dynasty Taiwan to the island's historic capital of Tainan.


IF YOU GO

Taichung is 50 minutes from Taipei by High Speed Rail which stops at the city's outskirt (thus requiring another transfer to reach city centre) or 2 hours by conventional trains to Taichung Station. The rapid buses numbered 300 to 309 connect between Taichung Station and Maple Garden where Fengchia Night Market is a 20 minute walk away. Or if budget allows, a taxi costs around TWD 300 each way.

The town of Lukang is accessible from Zhanghua Station via buses 6900/6901/6933/6934/6936. Zhanghua Station is a quick 20 minutes from Taichung on frequent regional trains, and features an attended luggage room to keep your large suitcases if you're on a round-island trip like us.

Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 1. Taoyuan

Some of Northern Taiwan's most picturesque -- and underrated -- townscapes are hidden in the vicinity of Taipei's suburban Taoyuan Airport, the default gateway for most international visitors to Taiwan. We visited two of these historic towns on Day 1 of our 11-Day round-island voyage.


This article is a rebuttal against the bad rap of Taoyuan as an uninspiring suburb of Taipei, deemed trivial to tourists except for its disproportionally enormous airport. Try mentioning Taoyuan to a typical foreigner and it most likely evokes dreaded images of dilapidated housing blocks and monotonous factories, much like Tokyo's Narita or London's Gatwick.


Those 99.9% of visitors are regrettably missing the old school charm of Taipei's ultra-traditional backyard, merely 30km from the 21st century metropolis yet stuck in the Japanese colonial era due to isolation from Northern Taiwan's ever-expanding metro networks. With brand new metro stations being planned for both towns within the next decade, now would be the time to visit before they become the next Tamsui.


Visually distinct from the traditional Minnanese architecture dominant just about everywhere else in Taiwan, the towns of Daxi and Sanxia are renowned for their eccentric Baroque-esque architecture fitted with Chinese calligraphy plaques and auspicious totems in the local custom.


The historical townscape of Japanese era merchant houses and covered porticoes has been preserved largely through geographic isolation over the past century when the business district of Taoyuan gradually shifted away from these old river ports. The easiest way to access either town today is by direct buses from the regional bus terminal (see map) located one block south of Taoyuan Station.


Our strategy for the entire round-island trip was simple. Book a cheap hotel (the pictured Audi Garden in Taoyuan's case) within walking distance from a major train station, and leave our luggage with the hotel or at the train station's lockers or luggage rooms (both available at Taoyuan Station) while we go sightseeing. Pick up the luggage when we're done and take an express train to the next major station. Repeat.


A 45 minute ride on Bus 5096 transported us to Daxi's bus terminus and back to the reign of Japanese Emperor Taisho in the 1920s, when the colonial government backed the town's full renewal in neo-Baroque, then-fashionable in the Japanese mainland for major projects such as the pre-war Tokyo Station.


Like its downstream sibling of Sanxia, Daxi started as an inland port on the Dahan River on the old trade route with Qing Dynasty China, shipping its precious achiote timber downstream to modern day Taipei en route to Quanzhou and the Fujianese coast. Even today furniture manufacturers and wood carvers still dominate the town's narrow alleys.


Baroque facades of the historic quarter are remarkably embellished with Minnanese motifs such as carps and peonies in an exceptional fusion between East and West. This immaculate preservation of a bygone era is what you won't likely encounter in metropolitan Taipei.


In a complete contrast of architecture, the southwestern quarter of town features a series of Japanese Machiya houses from the Taisho-era, now renovated and reopened as the Woodart Ecomuseum.


Aside from the pictured former residence of the town's Tokyo-appointed school principal, the Japanese neighborhood also features the remnants of a Shinto shrine and an outdoor ring for sumo wrestlers. Nowadays the neighborhood has become largely occupied by artisan furniture workshops alongside contemporary teahouses and shaved-ice shops.


On Heping Road we came across this photogenic storefront featuring old-fashioned candies and toys from the 1950s, along with Japanese-influenced soft drinks and other objects of nostalgia targeting domestic Taiwanese visitors.


Aside from artisan furniture, Daxi's other claim to fame is its traditional recipes for tofu derivatives ranging from the silky soft dessert of Douhua to the extra firm, soy-marinated Dougan, evidenced by the town's overabundance of specialty soybean product shops. But instead of purchasing the ubiquitous pre-packaged Dougan as a souvenir, we sat down at one of the town's renowned Dougan specialists for a second breakfast.

LAO'ABO MARINATED DOUGAN (Taoyuan)
Location Map

At a town synonymous with the old peasant favorite of Dougan -- literally desiccated tofu -- this unassuming shop has ascended to the pantheon of Tofu specialists through decades of backbreaking perseverance. Boasting prized photos from numerous appearances on TV programmes and magazine interviews, Lao'abo has slowly evolved from a cheap mobile food cart prowling the neighborhood alleys to a bonafide restaurant and souvenir outlet based on the success of one time-tested recipe ...


... their signature 50-year-old soy-based marinade married to an assortment of tofu derivatives from Dougan to Vegetarian Tripes (Sudu) to Tofu Skin (Baiye Doufu), all simmering away inside a series of steel platters. Aside from the soft-boiled Golden Eggs, every item was vegetarian.


Our small order of signature Dougan, marinated Kombu kelp and Golden Egg came with a dollop of green scallops and the optional complement of garlic chili paste for just TWD 40 (CAD$1.7). A full order of assorted Dougan would have cost TWD 120, though we would rather save some stomach room for our next town.

Bill for Two Persons

Marinated Dougan + Kelp	TWD 20
Golden Egg	TWD 20
TOTAL	TWD 40 (CAD$1.7)

Our next destination wasn't technically within Taoyuan anymore, but the neighboring conglomerate of municipalities collectively known as New Taipei City. Sanxia could be easily accessed from Daxi via Bus 9103, though somehow we complicated the journey by taking a bus to Yingge train station before transferring to Bus 702 to Sanxia.


A sister town downstream from Daxi, Sanxia was another 19th century river port that thrived on Qing Dynasty trade with Mainland China, swapping its raw camphor and indigo cloth in exchange for cultured goods from Quanzhou. And similar to Daxi, Sanxia's historic quarter is an immaculate specimen of Japanese-Taiwanese Baroque in colonial era red bricks, now lined with loose-leaf tea stores and complemented with an indigo dyeing exhibition.


Guarding the old town's entrance is a Qing Dynasty shrine with the unmistakable parabolic rooflines and ornate stone sculptures that speak of its Minnanese heritage. This Zushimiao is dedicated to Zenmaster Qingshui, a Song Dynasty monk who became deified into the expansive pantheon of Taiwan's folk religions.

TAOYAN QINGSHUI MIGAO (Taoyuan)
Location Map

Half a block from the Qingshui shrine we found lunch at an informal eatery offering the peasant snack of Qingshui Rice Pudding -- named after the town of Qingshui in central Taiwan and not the Qingshui shrine 50m down the street. I don't care for the opinion of Google Maps reviewers who rate it 1.7 out of 5 at the time of writing; the fact that this little eatery has stood for 30 years testifies that it must be doing at least one thing right.


And this is what they're doing right -- the signature Qingshui Rice Pudding, a mini tub of steamed glutinous rice mixed with soy-marinated pork belly and the pungent essence of dried shrimps. Drenched in a fragrantly sweet-and-spicy sauce of Taiwanese red wine yeast, this cheap and filling snack was definitely worth of my recommendation.


On the other hand, the watery Spare Ribs Noodles showed why the reviews tended to be polarized. In retrospect we should have ordered a Rice Pudding for each of us and saved more stomach room for the town's famous Golden Bullhorns.

Bill for Two Persons

Qingshui Rice Pudding	TWD 40
Spare Ribs Noodles	TWD 90
Steamed Water Spinach	TWD 40
TOTAL	TWD 170 (CAD$7.4)

What are Golden Bullhorns you ask? Sanxia's famous edible souvenir is not a croissant despite the physical resemblance, but a harder, crunchier shell that may come with external sprinklings (custard crumble, cheese etc.) or internal fillings (Azuki beans, Matcha cream etc.) for around TWD 25 to 30 each. Three popular bakeries (Kangxixuan, Jinsanxia, Sanxia) seem to have divvied up souvenir market, though I've been told that they all taste nearly identical. Don't expect any gastronomic miracles, but as a snack it's really not bad.


No pickled radish and firm tofu as souvenirs for us -- we still had to bring our luggage onto Taiwanese trains and circle the island over the next 10 nights. We took Bus 702 (15 minutes) back to Yingge Station, then a 7-minute ride on the frequent local train back to Taoyuan to pick up our luggage from the locker. Our express train to Taichung would depart at about 16:30, taking 90 minutes to bring us from the North to Central Taiwan.

IF YOU GO

If you're planning a round-island trip like us, Daxi and Sanxia are both accessible by bus from Taoyuan's bus terminal (see map), a quick 5 minute walk south of Taoyuan train station. Take Bus 5096 to Daxi or Bus 5005 to Sanxia and get off at the final stop, within walking distance of their respective historic towns. To travel between the two towns, take the infrequent Bus 5005.

Taoyuan train station is a major stop on the Main Line between Taipei and Changhua, served by Express Trains. Or if you're going to Taoyuan Station directly from TPE Airport, take Bus 706 from the UBus counter.

Taiwan Round-Island by Train - Itinerary

If you're reading this, you're probably considering this legendary 2-week route for your next vacation.

To the Taiwanese themselves though, the Round-Island Trip is much more than a vacation. It is a once-in-a-lifetime, bordering-on-spiritual journey often undertaken by young adults as a coming-of-age rite, vaguely akin to Route 66 for Andy Warhol and his generation of Americans. For the bragging rights that you get, transportation for the circular route is effortless and very cheap by Taiwan Railways and the occasional highway bus for about TWD 2500 (CAD$110) at the time of writing.

Day 0: Arrival at TPE Airport in Late Evening - Taoyuan Station (Bus 706, 45 min)

Day 1: Taoyuan Station - Store Luggage - Daxi (Bus 5096, 45 min) - Sanxia (Bus 5101 then Bus 702, 1 hr) - Taoyuan Station (Bus 702 then Local Train, 45 min) - Taichung Station (Express Train, 1.5 hr) - Fengchia Night Market

Day 2: Taichung Station - Changhua Station (Local Train, 15 min) - Store Luggage - Lukang Township (Bus 6936, 40 min) - Changhua Station (Bus 6936, 40 min) - Tainan Station (Express Train, 1.5 hr) - Dadong Night Market

Day 3: Tainan Station - Store Luggage - Anping (Bus 88, 40 min) - Tainan Station (Bus 88, 40 min) - Kaohsiung Station (Express Train, 35 min) - Liuhe Night Market

Day 4: Kaohsiung - Store Luggage - Qijin Island (Metro then Ferry, 30 min) - Pier 2 Art Center (Ferry, 15 min) - Kaohsiung (Metro) - Kenting (Highway Bus, 2 hr) - Kenting Night Market

Day 5: Kenting - Private Tour (Taxi, 4 hrs) - Hengchun Town - Kenting (Local Bus, 15 min) - Hit the Beach

Day 6: Kenting - Fangliao Station (Bus 9188, 1 hr) - Taitung Station (Express Train, 1.5 hr) - Store Luggage - Taitung Town (Bus 8186A, 20 min each way) - Hualien Station (Express Train, 2 hr) - Dongdamen Night Market

Day 7: Hualien Station - Store Luggage - Taroko National Park (Bus 1133A, 45 min) - Hualien Station (Bus 1133A, 45 min) - Ruifang Station (Express Train, 2 hr)

Day 8: Ruifang Station - Store Luggage - Jingtong Station (Local Train, 1 hr) - Pingxi Station (Walk, 20 min) - Shifen Station (Local Bus, 15 min) - Ruifang Station (Local Train, 30 min) - Jiufen Town (Bus 788, 30 min)

Day 9: Jiufen Town - Keelung Station (Bus 788, 45 min) - Store Luggage - Yehliu Geopark (Bus T99, 1 hr) - Keelung Station (Bus T99, 1 hr) - Taipei Station (Local Train, 45 min) - Ningxia Night Market

Day 10: Taipei - Shopping Day - Shilin Night Market

Day 11: Taipei - Store Luggage - Shopping Day - Depart from TPE Airport in Evening (Taipei Metro then Taoyuan Metro, 1 hr)

Taiwan Round-Island by Train in 11 Days

For readers interested in a round-island, self-guided tour of Taiwan by public transport, the following list of articles documents our 11 day journey, mostly by train and occasionally by bus where trains do not reach. If you need more reasons to visit Taiwan, here are my top three:

1. Easy public transport. Booking train tickets online in English is a breeze and just about everything can be paid for using a smart card available and rechargeable at any convenience store.

2. A most courteous people, almost approaching the Japanese level of politeness.

3. Cheap Authentic Local Cuisine. That's why we visited 7 night markets in 11 nights and countless locally-renowned street vendors.

Our destinations included Taoyuan's Sanxia and Daxi historic townships, Taichung and the Qing Dynasty town of Lukang, Tainan and historic Anping, contemporary Kaohsiung, tropical Kenting, Taitung, Hualien and Taroko National Park, the old-fashioned rail line from Ruifang to Shifen and Pingxi, the hill town of Jiufen, the Yehliu coastline and finally Taipei.


Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 12. Classic Taiwanese Dishes at Taipei
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 11. Yehliu
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 10. Jiufen
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 9. Ruifang to Pingxi
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 8. Taroko National Park
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 7. Hualien
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 6. Taitung
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 5. Kenting
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 4. Kaohsiung
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 3. Tainan
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 2. Taichung
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - 1. Taoyuan
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Taiwan Round-Island by Train - Itinerary
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ASIDE ...

For fellow travelers on a layover at Taipei's Taoyuan Airport, here is our recommendations for optimizing a few short hours for authentic food and essential sights.

Essential Taipei Eats on 11-Hour Layover
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