Xincheng Old Street and Xiulin a food walk with Hualien s makers

Today’s surprises began, of all places, around a table at 魯冰食堂 restaurant. On this route through Xincheng Old Street and towards Xiulin in northern Hualien, food becomes a way of getting to know the people who live here.

I like wandering into shops I’ve never visited, as if I’m hunting for treasure. Beyond an unfamiliar door there is often someone I want to talk to for a little longer. This time, it was 吳大哥, the owner of 魯冰食堂 restaurant.

“Now that you’ve settled in Xincheng, what do you feel it has given you?” I asked.
“Xincheng is where I began again.”
吳大哥 grew up in Keelung. His family once owned a fishing boat; he has worked in restaurants and studied cooking in Japan. Even after moving to Hualien, he still returns regularly to his home port to collect seafood. Just thinking about that journey wears me out, but he told me, “When I get really good, really fresh seafood, I’m already picturing my customers.”
Suddenly, the prawns, crab and squid on our table meant a little more. 吳大哥 had made a fresh start here, bringing seafood from Keelung and noodle dishes from his Shandong family, and introducing his guests to the Xincheng he loves.

So my Old Street Route begins with a question: what made a man from Keelung decide to stay? It is a food walk, but I want to know more than what is on the menu.

Xincheng Old Street Lemon juice and a town’s memory

The lanes of Xincheng Old Street are narrow, so I park up and explore slowly on foot. If you’ve hired an electric-assist bicycle from 練習曲 at Xincheng Station, it’s pleasant to push it along beside you too.

The ice and drinks shop 佳興冰果室 blends whole lemons, peel and all, with cane sugar and a little condensed milk. Passed down through the family, its lemon juice has become one of the old street’s familiar flavours. Nearby, 吉吉咖啡 JJ COFFEE mixes it with coffee. Two old-street flavours high-five in the same cup: an old favourite with a new twist.

Many visitors pose for social media outside 新城照相館, the old photo studio. I find myself lingering over the old objects inside. Cameras, backdrops, lights and a retouching bench reveal how much work went into a photograph in the days of film. Eternal Summer brought the studio to travellers’ attention, but it had long been recording the lives of local residents and people who came here to seek their fortunes in gold.
吉吉咖啡 JJ COFFEE's large window faces the street. Someone passes; someone pauses. The view is like a moving painting, and I find it fascinating. After looking at the images kept in the photo studio, I sit by this window and wonder: who will remember the ordinary days unfolding in front of us now?

Don’t pack too much into this stretch. Choose what appeals: a bottle of frozen lemon juice from 佳興冰果室 to drink on the way home; a closer look at a few treasures in the photo studio; or a date with a soufflé at 吉吉咖啡 JJ COFFEE. With lunch already promised to 魯冰食堂, don’t let the itinerary bully your stomach. I always end up feeding my friends far too much. Heh-heh! Of course I do! You can visit plenty of places in a day, but you still have only one stomach.

And there is more to eat!

Millet doughnuts Follow the grain back to the growers

The doughnut shop 阿莎小米甜甜圈 draws this route away from the old street and towards Xiulin.
I watched the handsome owner turn doughnuts in hot oil, roll them in sugar and slip them into bags, moving to a little rock-and-roll rhythm that made even the wait enjoyable. 阿莎 is a family business, bringing grains from Indigenous villages to its shop, market stalls and online customers. One millet doughnut connects the old street’s trade with crops grown in the villages.

魯冰食堂 and 阿莎 seem worlds apart: one travels back and forth to the port, the other works with grains from the fields. But both let you see the people and the care behind what you eat. Spending your money feels more meaningful when you know that.

So ask where that platter of seafood came from, or who grew the grain in a doughnut. You’ll taste something beyond the words “local speciality”: the care and integrity of the person who made it.

After the old street, you can carry on towards Xiulin for a leisurely bicycle ride through farmland at the foot of the mountains. Pedal towards the foothills and let the shopfronts and covered walkways slip behind you, until the fields open out towards the mountains.

Plan this foothill ride around the weather, road conditions and your stamina. 練習曲's electric-assist bicycle service currently takes weekday reservations, with public holidays and weekends temporarily unavailable. Bicycles must be returned to the same station. Confirm the day's service before setting out.

If you plan a visit to Minyou Village another day, start at the entrance marked “Taopuge Village / Alang Tpuqu”. This is a living Truku community, so respect residents as you walk and take photographs. Book a local guide and you can hear about the place names, church and family histories from the people who live here.

Truku weaving in Xiulin Save an afternoon for the makers

Several women were working at the 秀林社區發展協會 community association in Xiulin Township, Hualien County. I asked 莊小姐 whether the textiles were made by mothers from the community.
"They are all made right here," she replied. "Every piece is handmade by the women themselves."
It was a casual answer, yet the warp, weft and finished pieces seemed to spread time out before me. The association hopes to pass on Truku Indigenous weaving and provide an income for mothers in the village. Traditional motifs find new uses in everyday things such as shoulder straps. The colours may change, but every piece still depends on the skill of the women’s hands.

If you would like to try a tabletop loom, book ahead and allow more than three hours. Beginners usually cannot finish on the day; the teacher will help complete the piece afterwards and send it to you.

莊小姐’s answer joined up in my mind with 吳大哥’s words: “I’m already picturing my customers.” Choosing to live somewhere comes down, in the end, to the work of ordinary days: a trip to collect seafood, a woven strap slowly taking shape, the time someone is willing to give. The people they picture can become the reason to keep going.

Before deciding how to plan the day, I find I’d rather ask: whose work do you most want to make time for? I want a little longer to talk with the people who live here.

If you really want to weave, leave the afternoon free and plan fewer stops in the morning. If there are enough of you for an Indigenous-style meal, you can also book a shared set meal at 道拉斯創意料理 restaurant. Confirm your group size and the day’s dishes beforehand, then ask the restaurant to tell you about the ingredients.

If the children want to see butterflies and stick insects, set aside at least half a day and book a visit to Asia Cement Ecological Park. The guided tour takes about ninety minutes. Book at least three working days ahead; the park closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and independent visits are not allowed. After looking up at the mountains, bend down to find tiny creatures among the leaves and branches. It is another scale on which to see a place.

When I was tired from walking and wanted to rest my neck and shoulders, the owner of 臻按摩工坊 massage studio gave me a wonderfully direct suggestion: "I would recommend just half an hour."
She works alone, so friends travelling together should book their time slots in advance. A trip doesn’t have to fill every blank space. Sometimes a sit-down, a good chat and a taste of the owner’s honey flower tea are a perfectly happy ending.

To spend another day at 練習曲書店, the Catholic church, a mochi workshop and the seaside, follow the Mountain Mist Route. The album for this trip includes a walking map, photographs and a 120-second video. Take a look, then decide whose work you’d like to make time for today.
Both routes and local tours are here:
https://shanhai-newshow.netlify.app/travel
The "Mountain-and-Sea Treasure Hunt" runs until October 31. Guests at participating accommodations can receive a package of special offers; confirm participating properties and how to collect it when booking.

Next time I’m at 魯冰食堂, I’ll still ask 吳大哥 what’s good to eat that day. Halfway through lunch, I’ll ask another question: what new little corner of his beloved Xincheng has he found lately? And you? Who would you like to talk to?

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#MountainAndSeaTreasureHunt #AutumnInNorthernHualien #XinxiuShoppingDistrictAssociation
#Hualien #Xincheng #Taroko #BusTravel #XinxiuElectricAssistBicycleStation #練習曲