Friday 2nd February, 2024.
Our previous walk (walk 20) had finished with dinner at a fantastic shrimp-fishing themed restaurant in the area of Xiang Shan (香山), just south of Hsinchu. That walk had started at Wai-Pu Harbour (外埔漁港) and we had walked northwards. For this walk we would walk northwards again, hoping to be with the wind (although that wasn’t to be the case), from Tong Hsiao, south of Miaoli, and finish where we started the previous walk – near Wai-Pu. I think it’s fair to say that we had set expectations quite low for this walk – but it turned out to be a very memorable route, with great ocean views, fascinating historical sites, a wonderful restaurant for dinner, and several NFT (Normal for Taiwan) oddities!
Tim took the HSR up from Tainan, whilst Rich, Elaine and Martyn travelled down on the HSR from Taipei. Everyone met up at the Miaoli HSR station (苗栗高鐵站) and we started a 30 minute taxi ride southwards to Tong Hsiao Train Station (通霄車站). The weather outside was quite cool and misty but conversation inside the cab was hotting up, with news that Martyn’s son had recently shot a short film in Taipei with Justin Chien (錢裕揚), star of the Netflix series The Brothers Sun. Our cab driver took us on a meandering route to our destination, first taking a dead end road in an industrial area and then giving us a scenic tour of the Tong Hsiao Pirate Ship Park (通霄海盜船公園), a recreational area that had definitely seen better days. We eventually ended up at Tong Hsiao Fishing Harbour (通霄漁港) as this was deemed the best place to start our walk. On disembarking from the cab, we found that the wind was stronger than we had anticipated, and we all donned windbreakers and jackets. The wind turbines looming over us on our walk were working overtime!
We walked for half an hour along a narrow road which was bordered by the ocean on one side and aquacultural fishponds on the other, before taking a turn right to move inland and escape the wind. We passed by several dried-up fishponds and encountered a black dog who hid from us in a large concrete pipe. We turned left onto a minor road called the Miao 41 (苗41) which would afford us expansive views of green and verdant agricultural land and small temples. Stomachs started grumbling and we took a break in a small temple pavilion (apparently related to the larger Ci Hou Temple) to enjoy a wide variety of snacks. Rich had brought some wax apples and Elaine spoiled us as always with a large bag of walnuts and sultanas. We never need much excuse for a pit stop and a snack – just one of the reasons why we seem to put on more weight than we lose!
Continuing our journey up the coast we crossed a small red bridge over the River Si Wo (四窩) and strolled along the sea wall heading to Hsin Pu (新埔). Walking along sea walls (“hai di” in Chinese – 海堤) is always a joy as the walker is elevated around three meters above sea level and thus the wall provides a great vantage point to take in the surrounding scenery. There are also special platforms (觀海台) along the way designed for taking in the sea views.
Looking inland we could see the local Hsin Pu train station (新埔車站). The Hsin Pu train station is just one of 18 train stations on the Kaigan-sen (かいがんせん / 海岸線), or the Coastal Railway Branch line, built by the Japanese in 1919 between Chunan (竹南) and Changhua (彰化).
We also saw our first NFT (Normal For Taiwan) oddity of the day: a park pavilion topped with a concrete half globe. We then passed the Hsin Pu Elementary School (新埔國民小學). Established in 1955, this school is famous for having the closest proximity to the sea of any school in Taiwan.
Our next destination was the town of Hsin Pu itself, and we followed a road which led us through a community called Neighborhood 9, Hsin Pu Village. We saw lots of examples of traditional houses (古厝) lining the road. These houses used woven bamboo and mud to create partition walls, bamboo and wood for the columns and braided bamboo tiles for the roof. Some of the remaining traditional houses had been renovated with red brick or were partially in ruins and some of the houses had decorative iron grille windows. A good indication of the remote area of the walk was that we didn’t see a single 7-Eleven or Family Mart during our entire stroll, although there was a convenience store in Hsin Pu (九瑩便利商店) that looked very well stocked.
Leaving the Hsin Pu community we caught sight of what appeared to be a factory up ahead but turned out to be signposted “The Way of Salt”. We were all excited, not least Elaine, as her family name is Salt. Imagine our disappointment when we discovered that it was not actually a tribute to the many historical achievements of the Salt family but was, in fact, a comprehensive collection of exhibits, artifacts and cultural relics pertaining to the salt industry in Taiwan.
It turned out that this salt museum was part of a tourist park, complete with foot spa and restaurant, set up in 2011 by the Tong Hsiao Salt Refining Factory (臺鹽通霄精鹽廠觀光工廠). This salt refining factory was established in June 1964 and was the first in Taiwan to introduce Japan’s advanced technology “ion exchange membrane electrodialysis salt production method”. It is the only salt factory in Taiwan that uses this high-tech salt production method to produce edible salt.
Wending once again on our merry way, it wasn’t too long before we encountered another NFT oddity. Besides the path, inside a private compound, were two disused train carriages, one blue and one orange. It seems that these comprised a railcar restaurant called “Shi-Lian Yuan”. The railcars were bought by a man called Luo Shi-Lian for the price of scrap metal and transported back to Miaoli from Kaohsiung. According to the story, Luo hired two 50-ton cranes to lower the carriages into place. The restaurant appeared closed, though, when we passed.
After passing some random cacti alongside the path, and after a quick pitstop for snacks, we arrived at the town of Bai Sha Tun (白沙屯) and walked past the Bai Sha Tun Fishing Harbour (白沙屯海港). The town is best known for its Gong Tian Temple (供天宮). Each year, on the birthday of the sea goddess Matzu (媽祖) , in the third lunar month, the faithful come from all over Taiwan to walk alongside the goddess on her procession to Chao Tian Temple in Beigang, Yunlin County, and then all the way back to Bai Sha Tun. The journey covers more than 400 kilometers and has no fixed itinerary, with the twists and turns along the way all being decided according to Mazu’s will.
Having left Bai Sha Tun, we proceeded along a fairly long oceanside walk with stunning sea views until we arrived at a rather quaint little park called the Cape Amusement Park (海角樂園). There wasn’t much in the way of amusement here except for a rather lonely looking rainbow-coloured arch and a mascot figure that looked like Mr. Whippy standing on a starfish (another NFT moment). After some more snacks we continued on our way, venturing into an area of sand dunes – lots of Lawrence of Arabia impersonations then ensued. After crossing the Hsi Hu cycle bridge (溪湖溪自行車鐵橋) we wandered off down a side road that seemed to be a dead-end road, until we noticed a small path leading to dunes overlooking the beach. After bounding down the dunes, we made it safely onto the beach where the wind was whipping the sand into our faces. I think it’s safe to say that everyone had sand in their most private nooks and crannies by the end of the walk.
After leaving the beach we emerged onto a road that led us into a small fishing town called Gong Si Liao (公司寮). After navigating a railway crossing, we tramped for quite a while down Highway 6 before taking a left turn onto a long stretch of road called Shi Ba Keng (十八坑) which was flanked on one side by a temple and on the other by a public crematorium. By this time Tim’s feet were aching so badly he thought he might have to check in there early.
After crossing the bridge over the Hou Long River we entered the town of Hou Long (後龍) and made our way through what was evidently a “one horse town” with hardly a resident in sight. This town may not have been Las Vegas but it did have one very special attraction. Elaine had done her research into local eateries brilliantly, as usual, and had picked out a seafood restaurant called Ah Shui Restaurant (阿水飯店).
Ah Shui Restaurant was a very cosy spot with fresh fish laid out in a fridge at the back of the restaurant. We dined on delicious seafood dishes that included three-cup squid, pineapple prawns and salt-baked snapper. The food was so good that we ordered most of the dishes again! All this was washed down with ice-cold (and it really was ice-cold!) Tiger beer. We ate our fill, chatted for hours and laughed long and hard. It was a wonderful evening. A cab was called to Miaoli HSR station and Tim headed off back to Tainan, whilst Elaine, Rich and Martyn headed northwards back home. Another great day in the Walking Taiwan adventure!
Total Distance Walked 24.5km.
End of Day 21. Tim Greenwood (aka DJ Timmy Tim).
Oh how I wish I had walkable knees. What a joyous walk at the end hour of Rich’s birthday day!
And the Tiger Beer looked ice cold and delicious. I had a glass in spirit with you all.
Hi Mark, thanks for following us in spirit.