Hualien County · Nature & Scenery

Ruisui Ecological Education Center

瑞穗鄉 · Nature & Scenery

Through a variety of interpretive media and exhibition design, this center helps visitors learn about the results of Hualien’s National Green Network initiative and gain a closer look at the rich flora and fauna of the Yuli Wildlife Refuge. The center also actively carries out school outreach programs, using lesson-based teaching materials to promote conservation topics, and extends related activities into nearby communities and trails, building strong partnerships with local residents. It introduces common plants and animals found in the Yuli Wildlife Refuge. Because the refuge has complex vegetation types and steep, rugged terrain, it has created a vibrant and diverse ecological environment. The center offers guided tours, ecological film screenings, and free DIY courses. Visitors are welcome to apply and make reservations, and schools are also welcome to book on-campus outreach services.

Lintianshan Forestry Cultural Park

鳳林鎮 · Nature & Scenery

Hidden in Hualien’s Fonglin, Lintianshan, formerly known as Morisaka (the Japanese pronunciation of “Mori-zaka,” meaning “forest slope”), was renamed Senrong after Taiwan’s retrocession. It is the most complete and distinctive surviving logging base in Taiwan, and in both scale and significance it stands as one of the most important sites and witnesses to Taiwan’s forestry development history. During the Japanese colonial period, a hot spring was discovered in the Wanli River area within the forest concession, and a guesthouse was built to utilize the spring water for operations and management. In 1939, the area began developing pulpwood resources, marking the start of its forestry era. At the peak of logging in the 1960s, Lintianshan was bustling with activity and earned the nickname “Little Shanghai.” It was one of Taiwan’s four major forest farms. Later, as the government implemented forest logging bans, the logging workers gradually left, taking the former prosperity with them, but Lintianshan still preserves the most complete logging scenes and imagery.

Chinan Nature Education Center

壽豐鄉 · Nature & Scenery

Step into the forest time capsule of Hualien’s forestry heritage and experience the beauty of a low-elevation forest landscape and waterside scenery while practicing an eco-friendly way of life. Located inside Chinan National Forest Recreation Area, this site lies in a fault valley between the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range. The nearby Liyu Mountain forest remains largely intact, and the waters around Liyu Lake have nurtured rich plant and animal life. In its early days, the area served as a timber production and transshipment station, and traces of that forestry history can still be seen throughout the site, preserving a lasting memory of the industry.

Danongdafu Flat Forest Park

光復鄉 · Nature & Scenery

Danongdafu Flat Forest Park is located in Guangfu Township, Hualien County, in the Hualien–Taitung Valley, with the Central Mountain Range on one side and the Coastal Mountain Range on the other. Traveling south through the valley, around the middle section after passing the chimney of Hualien Sugar Factory, you will come upon a vast, continuous forest. The land around the forest bears history written by many ethnic groups. Taiwan is a beautiful island covered with forests, but centuries of development pushed native forests out of the plains. Since the early 21st century, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency has actively promoted flatland afforestation, and after years of growth, Hualien gained the nation’s first flat forest park: Danongdafu Flat Forest Park. Set between the Central Mountain Range and the Coastal Mountain Range, this 1,250-hectare park is equivalent to 48 Da’an Forest Parks and can truly be described as a super carbon sink and oxygen producer. Nearly 20 kinds of low-elevation tree species, numbering more than one million trees, have been planted here. They are beautiful, useful, and closely connected to human life. They nurture the land and supply the daily needs of people and other animals; their grace and colors form one of the most beautiful poems of the earth. The overall planning of Danongdafu Flat Forest Park combines surrounding agriculture, urban and rural culture, community building, and environmental education to create a design oriented toward ecology, energy saving, carbon reduction, and health. It aims to form a diverse, intellectually enriching travel destination, link up with other recreational spots in the valley, provide high-quality visitor services, and bring new momentum for the sustainable renewal of flat forest landscapes, local ecology, community life, public well-being, and environmental industries.

Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area

瑞穗鄉 · Nature & Scenery

Fuyuan National Forest Recreation Area is bisected by the Fuyuan Creek and features an extensive network of mountain trails. Its deepest highlights include Longyin Suspension Bridge, Fuyuan Suspension Bridge, and Longyin Waterfall, creating a quiet and scenic setting that combines birdwatching, butterfly viewing, forest bathing, and hot-spring soaking for a diverse visitor experience. About a little over an hour from Hualien City, this area known as the “Butterfly Valley” offers a rich mix of recreation and ecology. Nearby once stood the eastern endpoint of the Qing-dynasty Guanmen Ancient Trail, and the park now contains a large 40-year-old camphor tree plantation with a pleasant landscape. The original forest also preserves characteristic low-elevation species such as xiangcai and monkey-relief trees, while abundant epiphytic plants give the area an Avatar-like forest beauty. Located in the foothills of the Central Mountain Range, the park is rich in birdlife and is one of Hualien’s best-known birdwatching spots, including species such as the Taiwan minivet, Chinese barbet, yellow-bellied flycatcher, Taiwan blue magpie, ashy minivet, and the crested serpent eagle circling overhead at times. Spring and summer, especially from March to August, are the best seasons for butterfly watching, and the park’s diverse butterfly resources have earned it the nickname “Butterfly Valley.” Its moist, unpolluted environment also supports a wide variety of fireflies, with the black-winged firefly appearing from March to June and the Taiwan mountain firefly from October to December, making it a popular firefly-viewing destination in recent years.

Chinan National Forest Recreation Area

壽豐鄉 · Nature & Scenery

If you are interested in history, Chinan National Forest Recreation Area is a place you should not miss: an old locomotive, logging machinery, and countless historical artifacts and old photographs in the Forestry Exhibition Hall are preserved in this small park on the shore of Liyu Lake in Hualien, making it feel like a snapshot of the 1960s. Chinan is one of the three legendary sites in Hualien’s forestry history and the starting point of the Halun mountain logging railway. Beginning in 1930, it was planned by the Japanese and expanded by the Republic of China government, creating a forestry railway empire in Hualien that stretched nearly 50 kilometers. After all logging was banned in 1989, the remote Halun work station was shut down and became isolated from the outside world; only Chinan Transfer Station was preserved and transformed into a forest recreation area, allowing visitors to remember this era of forestry. Beyond its history, Chinan’s forest is mainly made up of mulberry and camphor trees, mixed with plantation species such as Formosan ash, and the endemic brown-eared bulbul of eastern Taiwan is often seen here, making it a great place to connect with nature. At Chinan National Forest Recreation Area, you can enjoy forest bathing in an atmosphere shaped by history and understand how forestry management has changed and what lies ahead under different historical circumstances.

Hehuan Mountain National Forest Recreation Area

Xiulin Township · Nature & Scenery

When it comes to snow and high mountains, Hehuan Mountain is the top choice for many people in Taiwan, and that is exactly what makes Hehuan Mountain National Forest Recreation Area so uniquely scenic. Hehuan Mountain National Forest Recreation Area is Taiwan’s first national forest recreation area. It earned this honor as early as 1963 because of its exceptional scenery and alpine ecosystem. Here you can see vast Yushan bamboo grasslands, experience temperatures that are about 18°C colder than lowland areas, easily hike three of the park’s famous peaks that are all over 3,000 meters high—Hehuan Main Peak, Hehuan East Peak, and Shimen Mountain—and stay at Songxue Lodge to enjoy a magnificent sea of stars at night. The area is also home to many birds found only at high elevations, including the alpine accentor, Vinaceous rosefinch, and fire-tailed sunbird, waiting for you to visit. Snow scenery is one of Hehuan Mountain’s signature features. In winter, the pure white snow is one of the most enchanting dreamlike sights in subtropical Taiwan. Every May, the elegant Yushan rhododendron flower sea covers the green mountain slopes with red and white patches, almost like a fresh snowfall, creating one of the area’s most stunning seasonal scenes and showcasing the beauty of Hehuan Mountain National Forest Recreation Area throughout the year.