I’m planning on taking wifey and princess brat to Ershui in Changhua County by car then riding the train to Jiji in Nantou County. I read the thread that talked about distinctive towns, but it is dated and wanted to see if anyone has new info or has done it recently.
We are driving to Ershui. Is there sufficient parking there? We’re planning on going to Little Italy in Yuanlin on the way back.
What can you do in Ershui with a 1.5 year old and stroller in tow?
What can you do in Jiji with a 1.5 year old and stroller in tow?
How is the train ride? The tourist help desk in Chanhua train station says it’s great.
Well~~ I am not very familiar with those two places~~
Just give you my experience and some Chinese information~~
Hope can help you a little
1.The Ershui is not Taipei or city where is full of red line on the road. It is very easy to park on the road legally with free charge.
2.In Ershui, Go biking with country sightseeing is most likely thing to do, but there might not be big bike that can put your baby backpackers.com.tw/forum/sho … p?t=122538
3.In JiJi, there might be a big bike. To look around the shops nearby Jiji train station is also the thing you can done within one hour by walk. Biking to attractions is mainly activity to do. backpackers.com.tw/forum/sho … p?t=305928
please choose Chi-Chi-line~~~ you can see Ershui and JiJi thereremember select all type of train before you click “query”~
Actually, people usually do one or two days trip for visit the attractions in Chi-Chi-line. Not only the town you are going to, but also others are worth to visit.
Okami, I visited Ershui and Jiji a year ago. Now would be a good time to visit. There are several bike rental shops on the main square in front of the Ershui TRA station (didn’t see any in Jiji, but wasn’t looking). All the bikes I saw in the Ershui shops were cruisers or mtn bikes, and the rental rates were very high, perhaps negotiable, but I had my folder and was curious only as to what was on offer. (If you want to cycle while on holiday, I’d put the money into a folding bike that you could use every trip and take on the MRT any time, any station.) In Ershui, the “famous” paved bicycle path starts a little north of the station and runs for several miles eastward through an agricultural valley. On a weekday I saw no bicycles, so it should be good for a stroller tour then, but weekends could be jammed.
The train to Jiji, and Jiji itself, was crowded, even on a weekday. The town is mostly flat, so it’s strollerable, but very touristy, and what is not touristy, is betel-ly.
Googlemaps is your cycling friend… don’t forget “terrain” view.
Okay, you need to find out what parts of the train line are running as there are some repairs going on at the moment.
A few km east out of Ershui on the 152 is the monkey research centre. You stand a very good chance of seeing monkeys in the wild here. I saw mothers and babies in january. Very cute. Kids will probably like the displays in the centre. In january the back grounds were loaded with butterflies. Call to make sure they are open and no tours are around: 04 8797 640.
The bicyles outside the station are only NT100-200 a day. There is a visitor centre if you need help.
There was parking outside the train station but I don’t know if it will be sufficient on a weekend.
Jiji, underground parking across from the train station. But this area is usually a madhouse on weekends. Beautiful fields of cosmos flowers but they should be filled with tourists. The Endemic Species centre is good but maybe not for a little kid.
With a baby in stroller I would go to Checheng, which is the nicest part of the line now. Old station with lots of old buildings that have been restored, and a scenic dam. Also gorgeous logging museum in a giant open wooden A-frame. Some hands on stuff for the kids. Lots of parkland for strolling and a good frozen yoghurt shop in a small where you can choose your own fresh fruit toppings. Lots of parking here.
There are bike rentals, as mentioned, also motorbikes and all variations thereof.
The Endemic Species research center is there – they have some child-friendly museum-type exhibits, although due to the presence of a screaming school group I didn’t spend much time in there. :aiyo:
The temple that fell down during the earthquake and is still there is interesting and accessible.
You could easily follow the bike path in/around Jiji with a stroller if you wanted to walk. The major attractions of the town are marked. It would be a good amount of walking.
I was in Checheng in 2008 and found it rather boring. Ershui looked fascinating in comparison…I can’t think of anything that was open when I was there that would be interesting to a child, but I wasn’t really thinking along those lines, to be fair. I was there sort of off-season though so maybe there is more going on now.
With a very young toddler, I would describe Jiji as a very nice night market open during the day that people dress up for. If you have very young children I would recommend driving there if you go. I wouldn’t recommend it though. If you are into cycling, then it seems like it would be a very nice place and I think Vorkosigan is quite fond of the area.
Ershui is small and has some cool looking houses that would be really nice if they were maintained. Parking was easy to find there. We skipped the Monkey research center because Princess Brat was really tired. The train trip is nice but full.
For guys:
Basically it was funny to see women all decked out. I hadn’t seen women wearing so much make up they looked like a fucking clown in a long time in Taiwan, but I saw it in Jiji.
I heard that the Jiji line is currently closed for construction. Does anyone have information on that? Is it completely closed or only a part of it? Is there some kind of bus service instead?
Check the Changhua or Yuanlin bus companies. I know Yuanlin bus company has a website. You could also call the railroad, but I seriously doubt anyone would know what is going on.