Suhua Highway
Route 9 along the coast from Suao in Yilan to Hualien. It is known for the Pacific cliffs, including the Qingshui Cliff, and the Suhua Upgrade tunnels, which opened in 2020.
The Suhua Highway is the section of Route 9 running from Suao in Yilan to Hualien. It covers about 118 km. It was originally the Northern Road, an ancient route opened in the Qing dynasty. During the Japanese occupation period, it was built as a coastal highway. The road was carved into cliffs where the Central Mountain Range plunges directly into the Pacific. The most famous section is the Qingshui Cliff, where the rock face rises nearly 1,000 m and falls almost vertically into the sea. It is one of the most spectacular sights on eastern Taiwan’s coast.
To reduce the frequent rockfalls and traffic accidents, the “Suhua Upgrade” replaced the most dangerous sections with a series of long tunnels and bridges. The full route opened in 2020, shortening the drive from Suao to Hualien to about 1.5–2 hours. To see the coastal cliffs today, you can stop at the Qingshui Cliff viewpoint or around Chongde, or ride the North Link Line of Taiwan Railway. At the northern end, Suao has cold springs, Doufu Cape and the Funiaolin Fishing Port. At the southern end, the road connects to the entrance of Taroko National Park and to Qixingtan.
The road is a two-lane expressway with many tunnels and heavy truck traffic, so keep your distance. After typhoons and heavy rain, the road is often closed by rockfall or reduced to single-lane traffic, so check the Highway Bureau’s road conditions before setting out. It can be combined with the Central Cross-Island Highway and the Hualien–Taitung Coastal Highway as an eastern Taiwan, China self-drive route.