yilan sightseeing Archives

In Taiwan

Next Station is…Happiness

Wang Long Pi is a little lake area where the lake was formed by heavy rain and landslide hundreds of years ago. “Wang Long” means “looking forward for the dragon” in Chinese, meaning that people were looking for good weather to maintain a good environment for farming. Located in the middle of the mountain area and relatively higher altitude, the water level depends on the rain. It was dried up and left abandoned in 80s. Since 2001, the local Recreation Agricultural Department was formed. With the cooperation of various departments, Wang Long Pi was rebuilt through diverting water from the “big stream”, digging up all the muds in the lake, planting trees, putting fish in the lake, adding a foot bridge and pavilion, turning this area to be a nice relaxing outing place in Yilan. Wang Long Pi has become a tourist attraction after a romanic local drama series called “Next station is…Happiness” was broadcasted in 2009. The official English name of the drama series was “Autumn Concerto” but I prefer the Chinese name, more catchy. The Lake Cafe was where the drama was filmed. You…

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In Taiwan

Memorial Hall of Yilan Administration

The Memorial Hall of Founding of Yilan Administration was the residence of the provincial magistrates (chief government official of Yilan) during the Japan occupation. The residence is a few buildings put together with a nice elegant garden, mainly Japanese style. The story began with a discussion of preserving an old champhor tree in the garden. That lead to a retention of the whole building and the neighborhood. When it comes to historical buildings of Taiwan, many of them are Japanese.

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In Taiwan

The Castle Cafe

If you drive from Taipei to Yilan, this Castle Cafe is a good coffee break option. Locating in the middle of the hill, Castle Cafe overlooks Pacific Ocean and the famous Turtle Hill Island (Guishan Island) of Yilan. A spectacular view! Built and owned by King Car Group, the Castle is open for public. There’s no obligation to buy coffee at Mr. Brown Coffee at the Castle. You are free to hang out and picnic outside and take pictures of the building. It is a tourist attraction and certainly a nice place to visit with great view.

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The World’s Best Whisky

If you visit Yilan, everyone recommends a visit to Kavalan Whisky Distillery. I am not a whisky fan but I went take a look anyway. Driving into (or through) the factory is surprisingly pleasant. It was spacious, clean, very green with rows of neatly planted trees, and there are lots of egrets in the yard. It takes a few minutes to drive through the factory to arrive at the Whisky Distiller building which is open for public. Kavalan Whisky is founded by King Car Group in 2002 when Taiwan joined the World Trade Organization. “Kavalan” is the name of the aboriginals from flatland which is Yilan today. It is a vast lush flatland facing Pacific Ocean with a backdrop of some tall mountains. The location was chosen because of the unlimited supply of pure fresh water from the snow mountain and the central streams. Water is critical to the success of the whisky business. Walking through the Whisky Distillery is self-guided. You just have to follow the signs and read the information in the exhibition halls. It was very interesting, even to people like me who…

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In Taiwan

The Plum Lake with no Plums

Just an hour away from Taipei, Yilan is a nice and calm county where you will see a vast area with green rice fields, farmlands, mountains, forests and lakes. The Plum Lake is a good place where you can spend time to relax by the lake, take a walk or paddle boat in the lake. There are a couple of restaurants and a few bed and breakfast place by the lake where you can spend a day or a weekend there. Don’t expect to see plums there! I’ve seen other posts saying that there are plums during the season (usually between end Dec and Jan/Feb). It was wrong! The name “Plum Lake” came after one of the senior government officials who commented that the shape of the lake with a little island in the middle looked like a plum flower. Not that there are real plum trees! I heard from a local that there were discussions about planting plum trees so that the name of the place ties in with “Plum” but it hasn’t happened yet. Who knows. May be there are some next time…

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