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Northern

Why Go? TAIPEI ...... 111 For many travellers, heading outside Taipei gives them Wulai ...... 111 their fi rst taste of what many consider to be the ‘real Tai- wan’. To some this means rural , where hard- HIGHWAY 2 ...... 124 working tea farmers in straw hats sing under the midday Jiufen & Jinguashi . . .128 sun. To others it’s Smangus, a self-suffi cient aboriginal THE SU-HUA hamlet a four-hour drive up a crumbling mountain road. HIGHWAY ...... 135 In the north, art lovers fi nd their niche in temple-dotted NORTH CROSS-ISLAND towns devoted to traditional industries such as pottery, HIGHWAY ...... 136 glass and woodcarving. Birdwatchers set goals for spotting endemic species, and as often as not reach them. Sheipa National Park . .143 Y ou’ll fi nd that the real Taiwan is a pretty diverse place. HSINCHU & MIAOLI . .145 Like hiking? Like cycling? So do the locals, and if your idea Shitoushan ...... 150 of a fun weekend is climbing the Snow Mountains, or rid- ing across the rugged North Cross-Island Hwy, you’re go- Taian Hot Springs . . .152 ing to fi nd plenty of company. For real..

Best Places to Eat » Keelung Miaokou (p 126 ) » City God Temple Market When to Go (p 145 ) Keelung » Shenlin Shui An (p137 ) °C/°F Te m p Rainfall Inches/mm 40/104 20/500 » Aux Cimes de la Foun- 16/400 taine (p 154 ) 30/86 12/300 » Osmanthus Lane (p151 ) 20/68 8/200 Best Places to 10/50 4/100 0/32 0 Stay J FDNOSAJJMAM » Sunrise Hot Spring Hotel (p 154 ) April Youtong September– December Start flowers in bloom. December Best of hot-spring » Full Moon Spa (p114 ) months for season. » Chuanhua Tang (p 150 ) cycling and » Shi Shan Shui Chan (p130 ) hiking. » Shui Yun Jian (p152 ) 109

040 km E A S T C H I N A 0 20 miles S E A

Fuguei Cape Baishawan 18 Lords Beach 2 Temple Juming Jhong-jiao Bay

Museum NORTHERN TAIWAN Yangmingshan Yeliu Keelung National Park Green Island Danshui Bay Jiufen/ Bitou Jinguashi Cape 15 Yangmingshan Keelung Longdong Yenliao CKS International 1 TAIPEI Jingtong Pingxi Airport 2 1 Caoling Taoyuan Banciao 106 Fulong Xiaogetou Historical Taoyuan 3 Trail Fulong Chungli Yingge 9 Pinglin Beach 15 Xindian Sansia 2 3 (Bitan) 1 Dongyanshan Wulai Daxi 5 Wai-Ao FRA Wushih Harbour Manyueyuan FRA 4 Cihu Turtle 7 Fusing Fushan Jiaoshi Hsinchu Hsinchu Island Shimen Xiao Wulai Neiwan Small Reservoir Waterfall Ilan Rail Line North Daguanshan Jhudong Cross-Island 9 (Lalashan; 7 Hwy 2030m) Beipu Neiwan Baling 1 Emei Lake Smangus Miaoli Shitoushan Mingchih Chilan FRA Suao Cingyuan FRA Mingde Nanzhuang (Qingquan) Jioujheze Miaoli Dam Dabajianshan Guanwu (3492m) Wangyangshan (2050m) y Nanao FRA w 1 Taian H Syueshan (Snow Nanhutashan

Sanyi ien Mountain; 3886m) (3740m) l

3 Sheipa Wuling Hua National Park FRA - ao 7 Su P A C I F I C Central Chungyangchienshan Qingshui 9 O C E A N Cross-Island Taroko (Chingshui) Hwy (Closed) 8 National Park Cliffs Taroko 8 Gorge To Hualien (20km)

Highlights 1 Explore the quaint 4 Enjoy wild vistas and 7 Soak in top-quality hot- mining villages of Jiufen and natural hot springs on the spring water in Taian (p152 ) Jinguashi (p128 ) North Cross-Island Highway 8 Hike for days along the 2 Hike, swim and cycle (p136 ) Holy Ridge’s vertiginous paths under a jungle canopy in Wulai 5 Cycle coastal and in Sheipa National Park (p 111 ) mountain routes all over the (p143 ) 3 View the work of Taiwan’s north of Taiwan master carver at the Juming 6 Spend the night in a Museum (see boxed text, temple on the slopes of p125 ) Shitoushan (p 150 )