Suao
Suao (่ๆพณ; Sลซ'ร o) is a city in Ilan County. It is famous for seafood and cold springs. Apart from that it's a rather small place and it doesn't seem to be frequented by western tourists. There is a large port and some industry.
Get in
By rail
There is a train station in Suao. It's on a fork from the railway line connecting Hualien and Taipei, so most probably you have to change in Suao-xin station. The line Suao-xin - Suao seems to be served by local trains only. If you travel from far you might want to buy a separate ticket (with reservation) to Suao-xin and then an ordinary ticket to Suao.
By road
By car, it is at the southern end of National Highway 5.
Get around
There is no local public transport, but as the place is fairly small, walking is not a problem. Alternatively you can always use a taxi.
See
- ๐ Nanfangao Lookout (ๅๆนๆพณ่งๆฏๅฐ), โ +886 3 997 3421. An observation platform offering views of the surrounding mountains, sea, and settlements.
Culture and history
- ๐ Su'ao Fortress (่ๆพณ็ ฒๅฐ), โ +886 3 997 2610. 06:00-19:00. A fort built in the late 19th Century to defend the area from invasion by the French.
Museums
- ๐ Coral Museum (็็ๆณ็ๅ็ฉ้คจ), No. 220, Nan'an Road, โ +886 3 996 3355. A small museum dedicated to coral, the coral industry, and artwork made from coral.
- ๐ Zhu Dayu Culture Museum (็ฅๅคงๆผ็ฉ็ขๆๅต้คจ), No. 52-2, Jiangxia Road, โ +886 3 995 1050. 09:00-17:00. A museum dedicated to marine life and fisheries in the area.
- ๐ The Mountain Highway Museum (ๅพๅฑฑๅ ฌ่ทฏๆ็ฉ้คจ), No. 3, Section 2, Zhongshan Road, โ +886 3 996 2501 (#1102). 09:00-16:00. A museum dedicated to the construction of the highway network in Taiwan.
Parks and nature
- ๐ Neipi Beach (ๅ งๅคๆตท็), Xuefu Road, โ +886 3 995 3885. A large beach facing the pacific ocean which has coral reefs offshore.
- ๐ Tofu Cape (่ฑ่ ๅฒฌ), โ +886 3 995 2852. The cape got its name because the rock on the area resembles tofu.
- ๐ Wulaokeng Scenic Area (ๆญฆ่ๅ้ขจๆฏๅ), โ +886 3 995 2852. The park spreads across 400 hectares of area and features camping grounds and barbecue areas.
Temples
- ๐ Dingliao Chenghuang Temple (้ ๅฏฎๅ้ๅป), No. 1, Dingxing Road, โ +886 3 990 9826. A medium-sized temple in the norther part of the township.
- ๐ Jinan Temple (่ๆพณๆๅฎๅฎฎ), โ +886 3 996 4692. The oldest temple in the area which is dedicated to the god of Fujian province, which is where most of the settlers who built the temple originated.
- ๐ Nanfang'ao City God Temple (ๅๆนๆพณๅ้ๅป), No. 146, Neipi Road, โ +886 3 996 3598.
- ๐ Nanfangao Jinan Temple (ๅๆนๆพณ้ฒๅฎๅฎฎ), No. 81, Jiangxia Road, โ +886 3 997 1239. 06:00-20:00.
- ๐ Nanfang'ao Nanxian gong (ๅๆนๆพณๅไปๅฎฎ), No. 70, Xinhua Ln, โ +886 3 996 3973.
- ๐ Qing'an Shrine (้่ทฏๅ ้็บๅป), โ +886 3 997 3421. A small shrine by the side of the mountain highway with views directly out over the Pacific Ocean.
Do
Cold springs
- The famed cold springs are a quick walk from the train station.
- There are two publicly accessible places where you can bath in the spring: the "main" areal and the so-called "Alishin spring". To get to both: from the train station walk straight to reach the main road, turn left and eventually it will be on your right side, first the main areal, then the Alishin areal (both are not far from the station).
- The "main" area: Entrance fee is NT$70 for adult with discounts available for kids, seniors, etc. (as of Aug 2011) It's possible to both swim in the spring in an open-air (though covered with light roof) pools and in private (indoor) pools. It's also possible to drink the spring from a tap provided in the areal.
- The Alishin spring is probably less-known and from the outside looks less fancy.
- ๐ Su'ao Cold Spring (่ๆพณๅทๆณ). The cold spring was discovered by the Japanese army in 1928. It has a spring water temperature of 22 ยฐC and is both batheable and drinkable, and it has a pH of 5.5.
Fishing
- ๐ Fenniaolin Fish Port (็ฒ้ณฅๆ).
- ๐ Nanfang'ao Fishing Port (ๅๆนๆพณๆผๆธฏ). Built in 1923 and expanded several times since, the port supplies almost all the mackerel to Taiwan.
- ๐ Neipi Fishing Port (ๅ งๅคๆผๆธฏ).
- ๐ Zhaoyang Fishing Port (ๆ้ฝๆผๆธฏ), Zhaoyang Road, โ +886 3 998 1342.
Buy
- Clogs - both modern and traditional from Baimi Clog Village.
- ๐ Yilan Cake Factory (ๅฎ่ญ้ค ็ผๆ้คจ), โ +886 3 990 5999. 08:30-18:00. A small cake factory with a series of exhibits related to traditional cake-making and a store where visitors can buy the produce of the factory.
Eat
There are many cheap eateries along the main street close to the train station. English is a problem though.
- ๐ Mediterranean CASA (ๅฐไธญๆตทCASA), No. 94, Zaochuan Road, โ +886 983 819 800. 08:00-20:00. A mediterranean-themed restaurant styled to look like a Santorini villa.
Sleep
As of Aug 2011 it's difficult to find any hotels in Suao with websites in English. Taking into account the size of Suao it might be enough to stay elsewhere (e.g. Hualien) and make a daily (or shorter) trip, as there's not that much to see.