Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Like most spa areas in Taiwan, Jiaoxi (Jiāoxī) is overdeveloped and crowded but land-
scaping impovements are proceeding to make it a more attractive place. The hotels road-
side are cheapest, while those further back towards the mountains have the best water
quality and facilities. Midweek the area is quiet and with the new Taiwan Tourism
Shuttle Buses (
www.taiwantrip.com.tw
)
you can make a good day trip here, visiting the
three-layered
Wufengqi Waterfall
(Wǔfēngqí Dà Pùbù) and the 6.5km
Paoma Historic
Trail
(Pǎomǎ Gǔ Dào) before you soak. Buses (NT$20) run on weekdays - hourly, on the
hour - starting at the train station.
For a cheap, fun place to hot spring try
Art Spa Hotel
(Zhōngguàn Jiāoxī Dàfàndiàn; 6 Dey-
ang Rd; per person unlimited time NT$250; 7.30am-11pm)
, which features the only hot-
spring slide (that we know of) in Taiwan. To get here walk straight out of the train sta-
tion, turn left on Zhongshan Rd and then right on Deyang Rd. If you fancy Japanese-
style nude bathing (segregated) try the stylish
Tang Wei
(Tāng Wéi Gōu Gōngyuán; 99-11 Dey-
ang Rd; per person NT$80; 8am-11pm)
further up Deyang Rd. This is the main spring area
in town, with dozens of places big and small as well as myriad seafood restaurants,
noodle shops and cafes.
There are frequent trains to Jiaoxi (fast/slow NT$199/128, 1½/two hours) from Taipei.
If you want to explore the county, you can rent scooters outside the train station (NT$300
to NT$600) with an international driving permit.
TOP OF CHAPTER
National Centre of Traditional Arts
9am-6pm; )
occupies 24 hectares along the scenic Tongshan River and is a venue for
the research and performance of folk music, opera, dance, toy-making and temple decor-
ations. For visitors there is an exhibition hall loaded with artefacts and informative dis-
plays (in English), that change regularly but could be on everything from family shrines
to the life of students under a Confucian education system.
Along the river sits a genuine traditional scholar's house that was rescued from the
wrecker's ball and reassembled on the centre's grounds. The folk-art street shops sell
good-quality glassware, paper cuttings and glove puppets in what is rather oddly a re-cre-
ation of the various touristy 'old streets' one finds around Taiwan.
Trains to Luodong (fast train NT$238, 1½ hours, slow train NT$153, 2½ hours) leave
Taipei about every half-hour. Once in Luodong, it's a short taxi ride to the arts centre or
catch a Taiwan Tourism Shuttle Bus (
www.taiwantrip.com.tw
)
from the station. Buses
(NT$22) run every 30 minutes.
