charlesl864

2018-03-17 07:39:28

It's a breathtaking scenery. We love the rice fields. The local shops are interesting. The people are friendly and helpful. We learned so much of local history, the so called mountain people.

jameshuang

2018-03-07 08:30:09

Suhua Highway (蘇花公路) is the most popular, scenic, and challenging road in Taiwan, located on the east coast of Taiwan. This road starts from Suao (蘇澳) of Yilan County to Hualien City (花蓮市) of Hualien County. There are four ways that you can go from the west coast to the east coast in the north of Taiwan – air, ship, train and road. None of the other ways can compare with the breathtaking journey of the road trip. The history of the Suhua Highway can be traced back to 1874 during the Qing Dynasty where it was used for horse carriages. From 1916 to 1932, when Japanese occupied Taiwan, they renovated and broadened it several times and finally allowed cars to pass through. After WWII, government changed the name to Suhua Highway, and the name is still used today. In the beginning, some of the sections allowed only one way traffic by using the traffic control. It finally became a two-way road in 1990.The 118 kilometer-long (73.3 mi) Suhua Highway is a part of the Provincial Highway No. 9. The road was almost impossible to build due to very steep cliffs on some sections of the highway. The famous Qingshui Cliff (清水斷崖, Chingshui Cliff) is located at the southern part of the Suhua Highway. This section between Heping (和平) and Chongde tunnel (崇德隧道) covers 21 km (13 mi) of 800 m (2,625 ft) above sea level coastal cliffs. The cliffs run alongside a fault line and are comprised of marble, gneiss, and green schist. The highest peak of Qingshui Mountain is 2,408 m (7,900 ft) from the Pacific Ocean. This is the most winding and stunning section of the Suhua Highway.We started our adventure early in the morning from Taipei. My younger brother’s family and we drove 2 cars via National Highway 5 to Suao in less than 1 hour. The weather changed from sunny in Taipei to rainy in Suao. When we entered the Suhua Highway, rain started pouring down, and we could not stop at some of the stops we have planned. We were lucky the sun was coming out when we approaching Qingshui Cliff. We stopped at the 168.7 km marker where the sign of Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園) stands. We took some photos of the coast and the nearby natural rock arch tunnel. There was a rest area at the 171.7 km marker where we stopped for a bathroom break. Before the last tunnel, Chongde tunnel at the 176.4 km marker, there was another rest area where we saw the Qingshui Cliff and the road we passed appeared to be just a small line in the vertical precipice. At this rest area, we found the Chongde trail that can bring us to the beach. Unfortunately, the trail was damaged and closed due to the last typhoon. After the Chongde tunnel, we were only 8 km (5 mi) to the Taroko National Park. On the way back from Hualien, we visited one additional must-see stop at Huite Recreational Area (匯德休憩據點) at the 174.4 km marker. It is the old road to the old Qingshui Tunnel (清水隧道); it was abandoned due to a serious collapse. From here you also have a very good view of the beautiful coastline of the Suhua Highway. If you are taking a bus and sit on the top section of the ocean side, you will experience a very unique journey with the precarious drive between the cliffs on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other side. That is why whenever there is a typhoon, heavy rain, or an earthquake the road will be closed due to rockslides.This well-known scenic highway is not used only for sightseeing purpose. There are many trucks which carry marble, limestone, gravel, and other industrial raw materials from east coast. It is quite a challenge to drive on this highway with those trucks and the winding road. There is an ongoing project to build a freeway based on the expansion of the existing highway. It is scheduled to complete in 2017, but delays are expected due to the unexpected weather, earthquakes, and geology conditions. The plan is to straighten wherever possible using old tunnels and to avoid the frequent rockslide and washout areas. After it is finished, the old road will be used for trucks and sightseeing while the new one will be used for pass through traffic.

HelenaGuerra

2018-03-05 18:16:53

We rented a car in hualien and drove down theCoast and also on the Rift Valley. It is a fantastic thing to do and I strongly recommend you rent a car since you'll see a lot of sights that are either not bus accessible or that have very infrequent service. The views towards the pacific on one side and the tall mountains on the other are unforgettable. You can find accommodation although you'll have to research a bit. Well worth it.

William211

2018-02-12 07:57:24

We hired someone to drive us from Taipei to Yi Lan, Hua Lian and then back.The scenic highway was definitely a highlight of the trip.The trip took about 4 hours each way, winding along the coast on the mountain.So will be quite dangerous if it rains and landslides are common in typhoons.However still highly recommended to include this in your trip, maybe once down south and return by train or the other way round.

Mikael999

2017-11-23 08:34:41

We took this road on our way south to Kenting. It was a beautiful day and he scenery was just stunning. The colors you get on photos are amazing and I really don't regret not having taken the train. Road is not dangerous, just similar to a mountain road.