| ABSTRACT: Once upon a time there was a PhD student who ran away from his work in the lab. He was too excited to celebrate his birthday that he left Taipei for a province in Eastern Taiwan called Taitung. Nobody knew what happened to him until he decided to tell everyone what he encountered along the coast in the Pacific Ocean. A dragon transformed itself into a bridge to connect a holy islet while caves kept the memories of its inhabitants who once lived there 50,000 years ago. Water is said to run upwards in a mysterious mountain. People get crazy of this phenomenon but they didn’t know that inside its forest was an empty stone coffin. There was also a burning island and it was surrounded by crystal clear waters. Travelling to this island was a challenge to most people because of the giant waves that can rock every passenger boat. Our protagonist had lots of fun in his four-day self-declared holiday and he is now back in the lab like nothing happened. He brought home unforgettable stories from Taitung. Its myth, origins and most specially its legends. |
According to folklore, three heavenly saints walk down to Earth and landed on an islet in the Pacific Ocean. Lyu-Dongbin, Li-Tieguai and He-Xiangu enjoyed the view of the sea that they stayed in the island and left three large rocks. The place is now called Sanxiantai which means Terrace of the Three Immortals. Going here was pretty easy from Taitung Station but the travel from Taipei to Taitung City makes one wonder whether the three deities chose the people who they want to see on their island.
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| The combo ticket which I bought from Taipei City Hall Bus Station. |
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| My train to Hualien - Taitung train ticket |
Getting train tickets going to Taitung province was very difficult. My experience in exploring the east coast of Taiwan prompted me to buy a bus-train combo ticket first to reach Hualien and then transfer to an express train going to Taitung. The six hour trip from Taipei allowed me to sleep until I suddenly woke up from the loud announcement that the train was getting nearer to Taitung Station.
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| Taitung Station |
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| waiting for the Taiwan Tour Bus East Coast Route |
Taitung together with Hualien forms Eastern Taiwan. It is actually in the south of Taiwan but the mountains spanning the island from north to south creates a natural barrier that the weather here becomes more similar to the Philippines. I have seen coconut trees along the way to Sanxiantai as I rode the Taiwan Tour Bus East Coast Route. I thought I would never see the tropical trees that reminded me of my country.
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| I bought this One-Day Pass from the bus driver. |
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| Jinzun |
A one-way ticket to Sanxiantai costs almost NTD 200 from Taitung Station so I bought a NTD 299 One-Day Pass from the Taiwan Tour Bus driver to save money. The travel time from the train station was 80 minutes and I was amazed of the view of the Pacific Ocean as the bus passes by Highway 11. It was my first time in Taitung and I tried to memorize the way because each stop of the tourist bus was an attraction. At the middle of the travel, the driver gave the passengers a 5-minute break in Jinzun which gave me the opportunity to marvel at the beauty of the ocean.
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Large stones can be seen at the beach at Sanxiantai and they were even larger than the one in Qixingtan Beach in Hualien. It was around 3pm and I reminded myself that the last bus going back to Taitung City will leave at 17:20. The weather was gloomy but the bridge with 8 arches was still eye-catching. It resembles a dragon that connects the holy islet of Sanxiantai to the main island of Taiwan.
Visitors were warned of the strong waves that came rushing to the beach but the beautiful rocks at the shore were really perfect for taking photos. I crossed the bridge and followed its path until it ended on a trail that goes around the Sanxiantai islet. Standing from the bridge, I can only see two large rocks and the other one might be hidden behind. There was something magical about the place with the eroded rocks keeping me astonished throughout the entire trip.
The recommended time for exploring the trail in Sanxiantai is two hours but it was slowly getting dark so I hurriedly walked around the place and took pictures. I looked closely into the rock formations that were thought to be the footprints left by the deities and I was not sure if they were just lava that cooled down. They might also be rocks that were uplifted by the forces of nature and slowly eroded by the powerful waves of the sea for thousands of years.
Before I decided to go back and walked for almost 2 kilometers, I found an interesting rock formation with a large opening. It was very wide and the ceiling was also high making it look like a huge wave that got frozen in time. I set up my tripod and camera and sat inside the rock formation for a great photo. Some areas were off-limits to the visitors but there was no feeling of emptiness as I wandered the place. The three deities of Sanxiantai might have been watching me as I go around their island. If they do, then they already knew that I have found the land of the immortals. (To be continued...)
PLACES TO VISIT IN TAITUNG (台東) - EAST RIFT VALLEY (花東縱谷)
Sakura Series - Taiwan
2025 Forecast
Taipei 101 first flowers
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Taipei Flower Test Center
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Broadwood Park
Sunshine Sports Park kawazu sakura
Wuling Farm (武陵農場)
SYS kawazu sakura
Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village
CKS Memorial Hall
Shibafen Yoshino Sakura
Hope River
Dongfang Temple
Tianyuan Palace
Neicou Stream Trail
Orange Garden Cafe
Yangming Park Visitor Information Center
Yangming Park Service Center Bus Stop
Huashan Road
Qianshan Park
Zhongshan Hall Entrance
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Flower Test Center Shōwa Sakura
Neihu Creek Trail
Shulin Land Office
Xióng Kōng Cherry Blossom Forest
Lung Yen Sakura Forest
Yangming Park cherry stream
Yangming Park fountain
CKS Memorial Hall Tairyō sakura
Wugu District Tianyi Road
CKS Memorial Hall yaesakura
Loving Farm
Yong Long Farm
Zhongbaling Sakura Road
Sun Link Sea
Tai'an Police Station
Cherry Hill Slope
Hsinchu Park
Taipei 101
Kāng Gào Kēng Creek
New Garden City
Broadwood Park
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Alishan Ranger Station
Alishan House
Alishan Police Station
Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Station
Alishan Entrance
Alishan Gou Hotel
Alishan Magnolia Garden
Wulai tour
Wun Chang Elementary School
Bishanyan
Sanzhi Sansei Trail
Sakura Series - Taiwan
Nei Cuo Stream
Orange Garden Cafe
Sansei Trail
Tenglong Sakura Farm
Yangming Park Cherry Stream
Yangming Park Fountain
Flower Test Center
Broadwood Park
New Garden City
Yinghua Park
Pingjing St. Lane 42
Yangmingshan Visitor Center
Taipei 101
Tianyuan Palace backyard
Sakura Series - Japan
Kamonyama Park
Near the Nippon Maru Memorial Park
Shinko Park
Minato-mirai 21 area
Tokyo Tech Suzukakedai Campus
Onda River
Tenryuji
Byodoin
Kiyomizudera
Himuro shrine and Yakushi-ji Temple
Hōryū-ji Temple
Nara Park attractions
Tokyo Tech Ookayama Campus
Sumida River
Tsuruma Park
Gion
Maple Series
Taipei Aowanda
Shimen Dam
Alishan
Aowanda
Shanlinxi
Taoyuan Valley Garden
Fushoushan Farm
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| Yehliu to Jiufen? Yehliu to Shifen? Cheaper than yellow taxis |
The "Taipei kong mahal" (My beloved Taipei)
Always in my heart
MRT birdman
Valentine's Day
Tulips Festival
2018 Taipei Lantern Festival
City of Azaleas
Linji Huguo Temple
Nanjichang Night Market
Gudetama Chef restaurant
Dalongdong Bao'an Temple
Shilin hollyhocks
Ningxia Night Market
Ximending graffiti
Discovery Center of Taipei
Chunghwa Postal Museum
Double-Decker Bus
Shilin Cold Balls
Jingimoo
GomanMango
mud volcanic ice
Fire and Ice Dumpling
Opium Fen-Yuan
Ichiran Ramen
Liu Shandong Beef Noodles
hydrangea flowers
National Palace Museum
Other attractions in Taipei
Taipei on a budget
Japanese buildings
Dāoxiāomiàn beef noodles
Presidential Office Building
Yongkang St. and Elephant Mountain
CKS and SYS Hall
City tour
Beitou ramen
MRT Monopoly Game
Winter city tour
Zhicheng Park
Shilin Plum Blossom
Art museums
Shopping in Taipei
Summer desserts
Qingtiangang
Qixingshan hiking
2015 Calla lily
2016 Calla lily
Beitou tour
Beitou-Zhuzihu tour
NTU
Confucius Temple
2015 Dadaocheng Festival
Puppet Museum
Fantasy Ice World
2016 Bread Show
Strawberry picking
2015 Rose Garden
Modern Toilet
Shilin Night Market
NASA Exhibit
Raohe Night Market
Longshan Temple
2013 Taipei Zoo
Maokong Gondola
Lupin flowers
Taipei 101 day visit
Taipei 101 night visit
Tiger Mountain
Din Tai Fung
Taipei Story House
2014 Flower Show
Chrysanthemum Show
Miramar Ferris wheel
Miniatures Museum
Archery
1600 Pandas
Wulaoguo hot pot
Upside Down House
2016 101 Fireworks
New Taipei
Tamsui Pumpkin Tunnel
Shifen Waterfall
2017 Sand Sculpture
Dragon Caves
New Taipei tour
2016 Kite Festival
Pingxi Crags
Bitou Cape
2016 Sand Sculpture
2015 Christmasland
Juming - Jinshan
Houtong - Pingxi
Sandiaoling Waterfall
Jiufen foodtrip
Guanyinshan hike
Yehliu Ocean World
2014 Kite Festival
Pingxi Rail tour
Jinguashi tour
Vigor Kobo Pineapple
British Consulate
Yehliu Geopark
2014 Sand Sculpture
Paragliding
2014 Christmasland
2014 Pingxi Lantern
firefly watching
Yingge Ceramics Street
Jiufen tour
Nice pice man! I am glad you ran away from the lab to enjoy yourself. I just got back from Taitung last weekend. Everytime I go, I want to return.
ReplyDeleteHi!! Can this be done as a day trip from Taipei? Or one must need to stay overnight?
ReplyDeleteHi Joel! No. Taitung is located on the east coast of Taiwan. You need to travel for 3 to 6 hours from Taipei to Taitung and then ride a bus for maybe an hour to reach Sanxiantai. You will definitely stay for a few nights here in Taitung if you want to explore this province.
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