Hsinchu

Hsinchu, the 'Windy City': City God Temple street food, Hakka old streets in Neiwan and Beipu, the 17 km coastline, and the giant sacred trees of Smangus deep in the mountains.

Hsinchu lies in northwestern Taiwan, about 70 km south of Taipei, and covers both Hsinchu City and the surrounding Hsinchu County. Hsinchu City, historically known as Zhuqian, is one of Taiwan's earliest-developed cities. Its strong autumn and winter 'jiujiang' winds have earned it the nickname 'Windy City', and it is also home to Hsinchu Science Park. Hsinchu County is predominantly Hakka, while its mountains are the homeland of the Atayal people. This destination uses Hsinchu City as a base and covers the city's historic sites, the coastline, and the county's Hakka old streets and mountain villages.

Areas to explore: ① City — the City God Temple and the food stalls in front of it, Yingxi Gate and the moat, the former Hsinchu Prefecture Hall, the Image Museum, Hsinchu Station, Beimen Street, and the zoo and Glass Museum in Hsinchu Park, all doable in a day; ② Coast — Nanliao Fishing Harbor, the 17 km Coastline bike path and Xiangshan Wetland, ideal for cycling at sunset; ③ Hakka foothills — the Neiwan Line train to Hexing and Neiwan Old Street, Beipu Old Street, Emei Lake and Green World Ecological Farm, Xinpu Yimin Temple and persimmon farms, and Hukou Old Street; ④ Mountains — Lavender Cottage in Jianshi, Mawudu Exploration Forest, Qingquan in Wufeng, and the sacred tree groves of Smangus and Cinsbu deep in the mountains (requires an overnight stay in the village).

Seasons: Mar–May is pleasant, with tung blossoms in Apr–May; Sep–Dec brings the jiujiang winds, the season for drying persimmons and rice noodles, and it gets very windy by the sea; summer is hot with frequent typhoons. Getting there: the TRA train or High Speed Rail from Taipei takes about 30–70 minutes. The HSR Hsinchu Station is in Zhubei, with shuttle buses and the TRA Liujia Line into the city; the Neiwan Line departs from Hsinchu Station. Beipu and the Hakka old streets are reachable by bus, but driving is recommended for the mountains. Allow 3 days, plus 1–2 more for Smangus. Must-try foods: rice noodles, pork meatballs, bawan (meat dumplings), Hakka lei cha (pounded tea) and dried persimmons.

Top sights

• Hsinchu City God Temple – The highest-ranking City God temple in Taiwan, China, with a busy flow of worshippers. Around the temple square are Hsinchu's rice vermicel…
• Neiwan Old Street – A Hakka mountain-town old street at the end of the Neiwan Line, with an old theatre, a suspension bridge, wild ginger-flower zongzi and Hak…
• Beipu Old Street – Hsinchu's old street, steeped in Hakka culture. The national-designated historic sites Jin Guang Fu Office and Tzu-Tien Temple sit alongsid…
• Smangus – An Atayal mountain village deep in Hsinchu, known as the 'Village of God.' A hike of about 5 kilometers leads to the most spectacular red c…
• Yingxi Gate (East Gate of Hsinchu) – The only surviving gate of the Qing-era walls of Zhuqian, standing at a city-center roundabout. The surrounding moat has been converted int…
• Hsinchu Prefecture Hall – A Japanese occupation period prefecture hall completed in 1927, with red-brick walls and a well-preserved Mansard-style roof. It is now the…
• Hsinchu Image Museum – Built in 1933 as Youle Hall, once Taiwan's first air-conditioned cinema. It is now a museum devoted to film and the moving image.
• Hsinchu Railway Station – Completed in 1913, one of Taiwan's oldest surviving station buildings still in use. Its Baroque-style clock tower and façade are Hsinchu's…
• Hsinchu Zoo – Opened in 1936, Taiwan's oldest surviving zoo. Reopened in 2019 with naturalistic open enclosures, it is compact and well suited to familie…
• Hsinchu City Glass Museum – A glass art museum housed in a 1936 building from the Japanese occupation period. It showcases the craftsmanship of Hsinchu, the 'City of G…
• Beimen Street & Changhe Temple – Zhuqian's oldest commercial street, lined with Qing-era shophouses, old herbal shops, and Changhe Temple, a Mazu temple. It is quieter than…
• Nanliao Fishing Harbor – Hsinchu's 'Old Port,' with a fish market, seafood restaurants, a large lawn for kite flying, and sunset views. It is the starting point of…
• Hsinchu 17 km Coastline – A coastal bike path running from Nanliao Fishing Harbor to Nangang, linking Gangnan Canal, mangroves, Xiangshan Wetland, and sea-viewing sp…
• Xiangshan Wetland Crab-watching Boardwalk – An important mudflat wetland on Taiwan's west coast. At low tide, boardwalks reveal vast fields of fiddler crabs and waterbirds, and sunset…
• Eighteen Peaks Mountain – A suburban hill park southeast of Hsinchu's urban area with gentle loop trails. Cherry blossoms and azaleas bloom in spring, and it is wher…
• Qingcao Lake & Lingyin Monastery – An old reservoir lake on the south edge of Hsinchu City with Lingyin Monastery and a lakeside path. Once one of the Eight Views of Hsinchu…
• Hexing Station – A small turnback station on the Neiwan Line, with a wooden station house and an old train car known as the 'Love Train Station.' It is a fa…
• Emei Lake – A lake formed by Dapu Reservoir, with a towering bronze Maitreya Buddha statue, a loop path, and a suspension bridge on its shore. It pairs…
• Green World Ecological Farm – A large eco-farm in the hills of Beipu with a bird park, butterfly garden, aquatic plant park, and grassland animal area. It is great for a…
• Cinsbu Giant Trees – An Atayal village across the stream from Smangus, with giant tree trails in Zones A and B. Ancient red cypress and primeval forest make a s…
• Leofoo Village Theme Park – A large theme park in Guanxi, Hsinchu, combining rides with a wildlife park. Thrill attractions include Giant Drop and Laughing Eagle.
• Lavender Cottage Jianshi – A garden café tucked into the Jianshi mountains. Wooden cottages, flower fields, and forest trails create a fairy-tale mood, making it a po…
• Mawudu Explore Forest – A planted cryptomeria forest in the Guanxi mountains. Forest trails and pond reflections look like a fairyland, earning it the name 'Green…
• Xinpu Persimmon Drying Farms – When the autumn-winter Nine-Fold Wind blows, the drying yards at Hankengli in Xinpu fill with orange-red persimmon cakes. It is a striking…
• Xinpu Baozhong Yimin Temple – The spiritual center of Taiwan's Hakka community, honoring the righteous militia who died in the Qing-era Lin Shuangwen Rebellion. Its Yimi…
• Hukou Old Street – A well-preserved red-brick arcade street from the Japanese occupation period, with Baroque-style facades in a row. It is quieter than Neiwa…
• Qingquan (Zhang Xueliang Former Residence) – A Atayal village in a mountain valley in Wufeng Township, where Zhang Xueliang was once held under house arrest and Sanmao also lived. It a…
• Xinwawu Hakka Cultural Preservation Area – A cluster of Hakka ancestral houses from the Lin family in Zhubei city, with well-preserved sanheyuan courtyards, communal houses, and publ…
• Nanzhuang Old Street (Osmanthus Lane) – A Hakka old street in Nanzhuang, a mountain town in Miaoli, with Osmanthus Lane snacks, the old post office, and a laundry pit. It is often…

Where to eat

• Dongmen Rice Noodle Soup – A Bib Gourmand-recommended rice noodle stall in Dongmen Market, serving thick rice noodles in a clear chicken bone brot…
• Jiu Tian Fu Beef Noodle Restaurant – A Bib Gourmand-recommended beef noodle shop near the City God Temple, serving a rich, naturally sweet braised broth sim…
• He Jih Hsiang (Minzu Road) – A Bib Gourmand-recommended braised pork rice joint in a bright, compact shop, where the 10-hour slow-simmered braised p…
• Yuan Wei Duck Noodle – A 30-year-old duck noodle stall operating under an arcade, where the lightly smoked duck and sour, savory stir-fried du…
• Garden Shanghai Restaurant – A Jiangzhe restaurant operating for over 20 years, featuring a bright and airy three-story space and generous portions…
• Nung Wei Hsiao Chu – A family-style Hakka restaurant in Xiangshan District, where the head chef has over 40 years of Chinese culinary experi…