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Visitors climbing the steps to the carved and gilded front of the Hsinchu City God Temple

Things to see

Things to see and do in Hsinchu

The City God Temple and its snack stalls, the East Gate of the old walls, Taiwan’s oldest station and zoo, a coastline made for sunset bike rides, and the Hakka towns and giant trees of the hills. Here are the places worth your time.

The old city

Hsinchu grew up as Zhuqian, a walled town. The walls are gone, but the East Gate, the moat and the temples still mark the old centre, and everything here is within a 15-minute walk of the railway station.

Incense smoke in front of the carved and painted hall of the Hsinchu City God Temple Temple

Hsinchu City God Temple

Taiwan’s highest-ranking City God

A temple founded in 1748, home to the highest-ranking City God in Taiwan, wrapped in a covered maze of snack stalls selling rice noodles, meatballs and spring rolls.

The East Gate of Hsinchu, a two-tiered tower on a stone gateway, with steps down to the sunken plaza Landmark

East Gate (Yingxi Gate)

The last gate of the old city walls

The stone gate tower finished in 1829 for the city walls of Zhuqian. It is the only gate still standing, on a plaza at the heart of the city, and is lit up at night.

The ornate stone front of Hsinchu Railway Station with its clock tower Landmark

Hsinchu Railway Station

Taiwan’s oldest station building

Opened in 1913, the oldest railway station building still in use in Taiwan, with a grand stone front and a clock tower, five minutes’ walk from the East Gate.

Trees leaning over the old Hsinchu city moat, with a path along the bank Park

Hsinchu Moat Park

A green walk around the old walls

The moat of the old city walls, turned into a long, shady park with paths, pools and bridges that link the East Gate with the station and the City God Temple.

Parks, museums and the coast

Hsinchu Park, a short walk from the station, has the oldest zoo in Taiwan and a glass museum. To the west, the city meets the Taiwan Strait at Nanliao Harbour and a 17 km coastline of cycle paths, wetlands and sunsets.

A Japanese-era wooden teahouse beside the lake in Hsinchu Park, among tall trees Park

Hsinchu Park and Zoo

Taiwan’s oldest zoo

A large park east of the station, with a lake, a Japanese-era teahouse and the Hsinchu Zoo, opened in 1936 and the oldest zoo in Taiwan, rebuilt and reopened in 2019.

The low Japanese-era building of the Hsinchu City Glass Museum among palm trees Museum

Hsinchu City Glass Museum

Glass art in a Japanese-era hall

A museum of glass art in Hsinchu Park, in a building from the Japanese era. Local sand and natural gas made Hsinchu the centre of Taiwan’s glass industry.

Calm water at Nanliao Fishing Harbour, with white and blue buildings on the far quay Harbour

Nanliao Harbour

Seafood, kites and sunsets

Hsinchu’s fishing harbour on the Taiwan Strait, with a seafood market, a grassy waterfront where families fly kites, and the start of the 17 km coastline cycle path.

The curving crab-viewing boardwalk at Xiangshan Wetland, reaching out over the tidal flats Coast

The 17 km coastline and Xiangshan Wetland

Cycle paths and tidal flats

A coastline running south from Nanliao, with a cycle path, lookouts and the Xiangshan Wetland, where a curving boardwalk leads out over tidal flats full of crabs and wading birds.

Hakka towns and the mountains

Hsinchu County rises from the coast into green hills, where Hakka towns such as Neiwan and Beipu keep their old streets, teas and food, and on into the high mountains of the Atayal people.

Shops and food stalls under a pointed wooden roof on Neiwan Old Street Hakka village

Neiwan

A railway town in the hills

A Hakka village at the end of the Neiwan branch railway, about an hour from Hsinchu, with an old street of snack stalls, a suspension bridge and an old cinema turned restaurant.

The old street of Beipu leading to the Citian Temple, lined with market stalls Hakka town

Beipu

Temples, mansions and pounded tea

A Hakka town in the hills south-east of Hsinchu, with the Citian Temple, 19th-century mansions and teahouses serving lei cha and Oriental Beauty tea.

A giant red cypress with a huge twisting trunk in the Smangus forest Forest

Smangus

Giant cypresses and an Atayal village

An Atayal village at about 1,500 metres in Jianshi Township, run as a community cooperative, with a trail to a grove of giant red cypresses, some more than 2,000 years old.

White domes and minarets of the Arabian area at Leofoo Village, behind fountains Theme park

Leofoo Village Theme Park

Rides and a safari park

A theme park in Guanxi, about 40 minutes from Hsinchu, with themed lands, roller coasters, a summer water park and a safari park of African animals.

Planning your route

Hsinchu’s old city lies between the railway station and the City God Temple, and you can walk across it in 15 minutes. Plan a day for the city and the coast, and add day trips for the Hakka towns and the mountains.

The old city

  1. Start at the East Gate, five minutes from the station.
  2. Follow the moat park west along the line of the old walls.
  3. Walk to the City God Temple and eat lunch at its snack stalls.
  4. Return past the station to Hsinchu Park, the zoo and the Glass Museum.

The coast

Nanliao Harbour is about 20 minutes from the centre by taxi or bus. Go in the late afternoon, hire a bike for the coastline path and stay for the sunset.

Beyond the city

Neiwan and Beipu make a good day trip together. Smangus is best with a night in the village, and Leofoo Village is an easy day out with children.

Good to know

Temples open early and close late. The zoo and many museums close on Mondays, and the Hakka towns are much quieter on weekdays. Our one-day Hsinchu itinerary puts the city together.

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Plan your Hsinchu trip

Temple snacks, sea wind and Hakka hills

Eat rice noodles and meatballs by the City God Temple, cycle the coast at sunset, ride the little train to Neiwan or walk among 2,000-year-old cypress trees. Compare tours and book in a couple of taps.

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