A Gentle Bike Ride in Taoyuan
I lived in Taoyuan for my first three years in Taiwan. Quite honestly, when I left, I thought the only reason I’d be back in the city’s urban areas would be to visit the in-laws. However, it seems that maybe I spoke too soon. In the intervening years, the region has made strides towards becoming a more liveable urban environment with the likes of Shimen Big Canal Path and kilometres of riverside trails functioning as green arteries running throughout concrete and traffic. Taolin Bikeway is another such pleasing green environment.
When I lived in Luzhu District, I’d often cross over the old coal railway on my journey to the market. Back then it was scruffy. After serving the community for fifty years, the old rails had just been left in situ when the line closed. Some parts had been claimed as allotments and others were basically a communal rubbish dump. The contrast to how it looks today is really quite remarkable. Now, it’s a shady, tree-lined corridor. The project has not been completed in one single push. Instead, local authorities have been chipping away at it not by bit over the past few years. And indeed, it seems like the whole route is still not quite complete because where I concluded my journey, there were signs of workers getting ready to lay a little more bike path. Despite that, I’d say the trail is already well worth a visit and is a gently enjoyable way to spend half a day.
Distance: About 14km one-way.
Time: Going slowly to look at everything and stop for a coffee, this took about 3 hours. However, when I’ve cycled it with the intention of getting from A to B quickly, it took me a little over an hour.
Difficulty: This is a very easy bike ride with almost no hills.
Total ascent: About 50-60m, but it’s barely noticeable.
Water: I was fine with a single refillable bottle on a hot day. There’s a water dispenser at the train station, and if you’re willing to go a little off-track to visit temples, then you’ll find more water dispensers along the way. Also, there are a reasonable number of coffee shops along the route.
Shade: Almost no shade for most of the journey.
Mobile network: Perfect network coverage throughout.
Enjoyment: For me, it’s lovely to see my original home in Taiwan transformed into something slightly nicer. I think the local authorities have done well to make use of this formerly abandoned space.
Route type: Point-to-point or there-and-back.
Permit: None needed.
Jump to the bottom of this post for a trail map and GPX file.
The Fuxing Road Zhaoyang Intersection YouBike stand (復興路朝陽街口) is not the closest YouBike Station to Taoyuan Train Station, but it’s the most convenient in terms of easy access to the bikeway and picking up a bike here will save you navigating through the worst of the traffic. Turn right out of the bike stand area onto Fuxing Street.
Ride straight under the raised structure or Taoyuan’s Bridge and then merge straight onto Wanshou Road.
Here you have a choice. The very first little stretch of the bikeway is actually not a bikeway. It’s pedestrian only. If you’re a completist like me and would rather push your bike than skip a section, turn right onto Lane 99 just past the 7-Eleven. (If you’re not fussed, then head straight for another 400m or so until you reach the point where the bikeway crosses over the road.)
Lane 99 winds its way through semi-industrial buildings.
Then at a junction, turn right onto Alley 3. The starting point of Taolin Bikeway is here.
If I’m being honest, I’m not really sure why this area has been designated pedestrian only. Maybe it’s a little narrower than other stretches, but not by much.
The track cuts between rows of houses and over several small roads.
Then once you cross back over Wanshou Road, you can finally hop on the bike and start pedalling.
I really love the way that this project has been realised. The tracks have been left in situ along the whole route and the trail has been painstakingly crafted around it. What makes it even more pleasant is that whether by design or just based on the whims of whoever was building on any given day, the trail is never the same for long. Some sections are exclusively wooden planks, others a mixture of wood and tarmac or gravel. It all feels very organic and the variety means you don’t feel bored as you ride.
In some communities, residents have decorated the wayside with paintings and sculptures.
Where the route crosses under Chenggong Elevated Road and over Nankan River, I passed Hutoushan Weekend Flower Market. We used to pass by here quite often when we lived in the area because one of our favourite dog-walking spots (Hutoushan Park) is nearby. Even the bridge has been treated with a variety of different materials and I enjoyed being able to see through to the water below.
Another thing I really like about how this path has been completed is how elements of the old infrastructure have been incorporated. In places, old mile (or kilometre) markers mirror the new ones, and one or two of the platforms have been built into the pedestrian walkway.
Just before you cross over Chenggong Road, you’ll see the original signage for Taoyuan Senior High School Station.
The trees along the bikeway are still quite young. I imagine that after a decade or so, this is going to be an even prettier shady green corridor.
Something else this route has done that I haven’t seen elsewhere is that there electric wheelchair charging points spaced at regular intervals along the track. It is great that it has been constructed with the needs of wheelchair users somewhat in mind. (That said, it falls down on other fronts from an accessibility standpoint. The bathrooms are all located away from the path up steps and at some of the road crossings, the button you need to press to stop the traffic would be hard to reach if you were in a chair.)
Another point in favour of this route is that it has quite a lot of coffee shops dotted along its length. I parked my bike up at the Dayou Junior High School YouBike stand and headed through this gap at the edge of the bikeway to stop off at The Good One Coffee Roaster.
It was only myself, the shop’s owner and her son in there when I visited. I ordered a latte using their fully online ordering and payment system, which seemed a bit weird considering there was literally no one else to serve. Regardless, the iced coffee and air conditioning were both very welcome.
When I was ready to continue, I returned to pick up a bike from the same stop before carrying on in the direction of the coast. For a short stretch, there’s a little stream that runs beside the trail. It would be very pretty if the water were a little less chemical-tinged.
On the junction of Zhishan and Xiangshan Streets, I passed an imposing facility with high, barbed-wire topped walls and an observation tower. I assumed that it was probably military in nature, or else a prison, but a quick look at Google Maps reveals it to be Dunpin High School. Formerly Taoyuan Reformatory School, it was rebranded in 2021 to bring it more in line with the norms of the modern age. Kids who find themselves going down the wrong track in life are sent here to continue their studies in an environment that’s equipped to handle some of their other behavioural challenges. Interestingly, its Google Maps presence seems to mostly have been contributed by former students who check in using their graduation year and student numbers.
A locomotive sculpture sits on the grass outside the ginormous Nippon Express Facility. It’s modelled on an R64, which apparently is one of the engines that used to shunt coal along the tracks.
The next little stretch takes you past a CPC refinery. Disconcertingly, the air along this portion smells of freshly baked bread.
Cross under National Freeway No.1.
The short portion after the freeway is the only point at which the rails are no longer in place.
It was around here that I found myself covering ground that I must’ve passed hundreds of times before. If you turn right off the bikeway just beyond a driving school, you’ll find yourself at Nankan Wufu Temple. This is where my other half’s family comes for their new year blessings, and bizarrely, it’s also home to a bloody big snake. I decided against paying the snake a visit on this occasion and kept pedalling.
Before long, I was passing under the towering concrete struts of the HSR.
Beyond that, the going gets a little scruffier and it seems like perhaps this end of the project is receiving the same attention to detail by as the earlier sections got. That said, it’s still easy to follow, and the surfaces are at least pleasant to cycle.
One of the last pockets of nice design with an elegant sail-like shelter.
Crossing a bridge, I sent a flock of egrets flying. The water here is sadly quite grubby. I saw more fish floating on the surface than swimming in it.
At the far end of the bridge, you’ll reach the airport MRT line. Later I would return here to catch a ride back to Taipei.
The remainder of the bikeway passes through some farmland.
Then just beyond a little temple, the trail ends abruptly. There’s sign of the work continuing though, so maybe next time I pass through, it’ll be finished. From here, I turned back and made my way back to the Shanbi MRT station.
How to get to Taolin Bikeway
Google Maps address: I picked up my bike from Fuxing Road Zhaoyang Intersection YouBike stand (復興路朝陽街口) and dropped it off at the one outside Shanbi Station (山鼻) on the AirPort Express line. At the time of writing, both stands have the original YouBike 1.0s.
Public transport: I took a train from Taipei to Taoyuan Station (every southbound train from Taipei will stop at Taoyuan), slow trains take 50 minutes or so, fast trains are only about 10 minutes faster. You can walk from the train station to pick up a bike. To head back, you can take the AirPort Express from Shanbi back to Taipei.
Further reading: There isn’t yet any other English info about this route online, but plenty has been written in Chinese.
Nearby trails:
Taolin Bikeway Trail Map
GPX file available here on Outdoor Active. (Account needed, but the free one works just fine.)
Taiwan Trails and Tales 