December 2012, Hualien, Taiwan

Hualien was completely different from Taipei. There were fewer people and more natural sceneries. We took a day tour with a friendly English speaking guide to Toroko National Park.  He told us about the history of Hualien and Taiwan. His stories were quite interesting, especially that of the headhunters who inhabited this island (see photo below).

this sign is for the men's restroom. I mistakenly went into it :(

signs for restrooms in Taiwan are different than the States. They are more creative!

inside one of the many tunnels built by Chiang Kai-Shek's veterans. The writing is of the names of hundreds of veterens who died from the construction of these tunnels

aboriginal statue

eternal shrine

gorge

eternal shrine

one of the many bridges

view from our hotel  room

the gorge

lots of tunnels

tour bus!

Cimu Bridge(Motherly Devotion Bridge), built by  President Chiang Jing-guo, in memory of his mother

head hunters in 1904

entrance

climbing the tower

we traveled to Hualien via train

view as we headed back to Taipei