Taitung - Guanshan Bicycle Trail | Hakka Affairs Council

© Tourism Bureau (Photo credit: Peng Rung-tsai)

Guanshan Bicycle Trail | 關山自行車道
The Guanshan Bicycle Trail is the first road in Taiwan designed for bicycle tours. It has a total length of 12 kilometers and it takes about an hour to complete the entire trail around Guanshan Town. The road is mainly made of cement pavement. The median is made from red bricks, which separate the two lanes. Both sides are accessible. There are wooden railings on both sides. The whole road is separated from the main vehicle traffic lanes. It is safe and free from pollution. Tourists can walk or ride bicycles on this trail to sightsee in Guanshan and enjoy the rare rural scenery.

The bicycle trail surrounds Guanshan, and the road conditions are flat and comfortable. The trail is divided into two parts including the “creek section” and the “mountain section.” First enter the creek section and you’ll see the Guanshan Water Park. Follow the trail along the shallow Guanshan platoon and the Red Rock Creek, visitors will see many buffaloes resting next to the Red Rock Creek. There are neat rows of paddy fields on both sides of the creek. The scenery from the rice fields varies each season based on the farmers’ planting. You can enjoy the green seedlings, large waves of rice, rich and abundant rice about to be harvested, or golden yellow rape seed blossoms after the rice has been harvested. In addition, along the way, you’ll pass through the betel nut trails, bushes and other attractions. Greenery allows travelers who come to Guanshan to fully experience the different rural atmosphere during the four seasons.

After leaving Red Rock Creek, the trail enters the "mountain section." As the terrain becomes higher, the trail begins to gradually go uphill. At the highest point of the trail, there is a “Sun & Moon Viewing Pavilion” built by the East Rift Valley National Scenic Area Administration Office, where you can take a rest and enjoy the panoramic view of Guanshan Town. It’s quite refreshing. After leaving the Sun & Moon Viewing Pavilion, there is a mahogany area along the road, and the shade created by the trees makes this part of the trail cool. If you bike along the bank of Beinan River, you can return to the water park where you had started out from.

Guanshan Waterfront Park is the first environmental protection park in Taiwan. The bicycle path inside the park surrounds the whole park. Combined with the Guanshan Bicycle Trail, visitors can enjoy riding the bicycle to visit Guanshan and watch the wild birds and natural ecology. The Guanshan Waterfront Park is an ideal place for recreation and leisure.

Guanshan Waterfront Park covers a large area. It uses Xinwulu Creek and abundant underground water sources. It is planned as a water activity space filled with a rural atmosphere, which is not only pollution-free, but also amazingly cool. Visitors can take off their shoes and socks, roll up their trousers, and enjoy the fun of getting close to the water in a safe and clean artificial water course, water fountain square and water play area. In addition, the park also provides parking, rest areas, food and beverage services, gathering places, park information, educational displays, explanations and other related services. The main facilities include viewing pavilions, stargazing stations, bird watching houses and so on. The most special feature is a strip-shaped artificial lake about 800 meters long. The lake is covered with grass and shaded by trees. It provides intimate shelter for the wild birds that inhabit the lake area. It is also a good place for tourists to watch wild birds and the fish in the water. If you climb up to the tall observation deck, you can look at the idyllic rural scenery in Guanshan Town.