More than a Surfer’s Paradise: Life on the Taitung Coast.
After kicking off my 2-day tour of Taitung by stopping at Taromak (達魯瑪克) and Duoliang (多良) and getting a glimpse of the indigenous cultures permeating eastern Taiwan, day 2 was all about the coast.
Sometimes even standing is a talent.
An early-morning stand-up paddleboarding session is not usually how I kick off my days, but I do like to make a fool of myself every now and then, and it actually turned out to be way more fun than I expected.
Given my history of getting horribly sunburnt within minutes of stepping out in the sun, waking up early was a good call to make sure we wouldn’t end up sizzling on our boards. Realising I could paddle my way around while keeping my balance on a board without looking visibly distressed was a welcome self-confidence boost too.
After a couple of hours on the water and a quick breakfast, we headed up, north of Taitung City, driving through the top coastal destinations for surfing enthusiasts in Taiwan, through Dulan (都蘭) and Donghe (東河鄉), heading for the Chenggong (成功) bay.
An indissoluble link to the Ocean.
Surrounded by beaches and rock formations dotted along the coast, everything about Chenggong seems to express the deep bond between the city and the ocean.
From fishermen and restaurateurs throwing the day’s catch in pans as soon as it’s offloaded from the boats to café owners keeping an old Japanese-style house in pristine conditions, the landscape has been shaped to make the most of what the Ocean had to offer.
Chenggong was an Amis settlement surrounded by farmlands until the Japanese pushed for a fishing harbour to be built on the site in the early 1900s.
The location, where the Oyashio and Kuroshio Currents cross paths, is an ideal spot for oceanic fishing, with dolphins frequently visiting the bay for a quick dance around the harbour. With such an abundance of sea creatures present all year round, it’s no wonder the Japanese pushed for a harbour to be built here during their rule over the island.
Built during the Japanese colonial era, the fishing harbour’s construction was overseen by Japanese administrators who envisioned a large-scale maritime centre, and it indeed ended up becoming the largest hub in eastern Taiwan.
Wood, concrete and herbals.
Starting higher up in town, just a couple of minutes on foot from the docks, a visit to an old Japanese house provides a glimpse into Taitung's past during the colonial era. Preserved meticulously, the house transports you back to a different time.
Built in 1932 by the Japanese official Sugamiya Katsutaro, the man who drove the construction project for the harbour, the two-story building served as his home. When asked to move back to Japan after WW2 Katsutaro refused, chose to stay behind and kept living in the houses he’d built in Chenggong.
After his passing, the new building was turned into a physician’s practice and served as a local hospital, while the house was kept intact. The local Church acquired the plot and buildings and since then, extensive preservation efforts have been undertaken.
Today, the old Japanese house is open to the public, offering a glimpse into the architectural and cultural fusion of that era and has been a landmark in town through good and bad times in Chenggong for the past 90 years.
In the old hospital building, 眺港 (Tiao Gang) café serves desserts and drinks with a focus on Chinese herbal medicine, preserving the interior decor as a throwback to a time gone by, a tranquil companion to the old wooden house and a quaint second-hand bookstore for a relaxed neighbourhood stuck in time.
Meet Marlin: 3 generations of fish connoisseurs in Chenggong
Down by the pier at Chenggong fishing harbour, 旗遇海味 (Meet Marlin) was easily one of the highlights of my first couple of weeks in Taitung.
林昱濱, Yu-Pin Lin, the restaurant’s owner and one of the most renowned fish connoisseurs in the area, was the perfect guide for a tour of the harbour, strolling along the docks as fishing boats barely moved on the still water. Local shopkeepers set up shop while drying fish in the scorching sun and spearfishing boats were being pulled into dock before the early-afternoon fish auction.
The area is home to a particularly wide array of sea creatures. The currents help guide big fish into the bay, with marlins being especially valuable for the local fishing industry. Swordfish, sailfish, blue and black marlins in the area are caught by spearfishing only, with an eye to their preservation.
Along the docks, spearfishing boats are easily recognisable by their long elongated bows, on which fishermen stand to peer down into the water and aim. Spearfishing in Chenggong focuses on quality rather than quantity: the fish is targeted and caught one by one, resulting in lower catch and a less invasive and more conscious selection when compared to, for example, trawling which drags on the seafloor and catches anything it comes across.
On the specific day I was there, shortly after a typhoon, the catch was not particularly abundant, so the daily fish auction was a short affair, yet the town’s character still shone through. Local shopkeepers all gathered around the crates of marlins, home cooks pulled up on electric scooters and then there was us, this group of puzzled tourists struggling to decode the hand gestures fishermen were using to set prices on the fish.
A family legacy by the ocean.
Quality check, not magic.
Yu-Pin is carrying on his father’s legacy and bringing the best Chenggong’s coast has to offer to the dinner table. Every day he heads to the auction to handpick the freshest fish he can find with the help of a probe that seriously reminded me of a fancy magic wand, used for a process that’s close to what I’d normally associate with quality control on long-aged cheeses and prosciutto. The sharp spear is inserted in the fish skin to check the oils in the fish skin and the firmness of the flesh.
After a quick walk back to the restaurant, the day’s catch is the clear star of the menu. The large windows offer a stunning view of the harbour, the Ocean and fishing port serving as the perfect backdrop to a meal based on the freshest seafood that Chenggong has to offer.
From the thick slices of sashimi with freshly grated wasabi to soups and bone-in sailfish tail with a molasses sauce, the meal at Meet Marlin deserves a post of its own.
Useful links:
Visit the Hello! Taitung website at the link below to see all the activities they have available, including a walking tour of Chenggong including the historic Japanese house and a visit to the café and stand-up paddling with SUP Daily.
See the map below for the spots we visited in this tour, and click here for day 1 and my visit to Taitung’s South Link, meeting the Taromak and Calawi tribes.
Exploring Taitung has never been easier. Discover the rich traditions of the region, its history and the gastronomic events to showcase local products. Build your itinerary and choose to travel slow to appreciate all that Taitung has to offer.