The city itself is not very big. The best way to explore the city is by cycling. My cycling tour started from the hostel in downtown toward a morning market, where I was surprised to get a good quality winter shirt at a very affordable price. Then the cycling adventure continued toward the outskirts where I could see private vegetable farms sprouting in front and backyard of houses with a nice hilly backdrop.
Next, a temple and another local market to look for the famous tiny Chinese steamed bun (pau) before going for some mini sight seeing shopping around the city.
In the evening, cycling at Nanbin Park along the sea coast with the breezing wind was indeed a relaxing pass time. The day ended with a visit to the famous Dongdamen Night Market for food hunting.
Another attraction in the city is Liyu Lake, at the foot of Liyu Mountain, not far from the city. One can walk around the lake which takes about 30 minutes. After walking, I decided to hike Liyu Mountain, just besides the lake. There are 3 main trails to go up and down the mountain. I hiked up from one trail and down through the other. It took about 1 hour to reach the peak. It was quite scary to hike up alone, as there are many signs along the trail with snake pictures. Besides, during my hike, I was alone, upon reaching the top, I had to walk on a tarred road toward the other end before I entered another trail to the peak. I was lost on the direction and nervous as it was shady with loud dog barks from a house near the mountain top. Luckily, there was a man riding a motorbike and I waved for direction. The peak was a plank with some view. I hurriedly walked down through the other trail as there was no one and the snake pictures only added to my suspense. I would not recommend to hike alone in Liyu Mountain.
Overall, Hualian itself is a nice tranquil city with friendly people. Many people visit Hualien because of the iconic Taroko National Park. That would be in another story...
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