I went there for a long weekend a couple months ago and was surprised at how nice Taidong city is now. The new 鐵花村 Tiehuacun area is pretty cool at night. Some good bike trails around town too. I usually avoid the city and go straight to the in laws, but was pleasantly surprised this time.
As far as corruption, that abandoned hotel is still sitting empty on the way to Chenggong.
I saw a dead refrigerator and washing machine floating down a river a long time ago. And the river swallow a whole building.
The dust thing has always been a thing in taiwan. Island wide. Where Taitung is diffetent is in the plains and rift valley where winds pick up quite a lot more than the rest of the east and south. Because in the valleys the rivers are larger and there is far more silt buildup the dust storms can get bad. Its not like its everyday. Summers and fall are bad duento the heat and the increase in winds into winter. On the coast from dulan to chengong its less of a problem simply because of far fewer large dry river beds.
Its a problem because everything gets super dusty. Including inside the house. Small potatos compared to the west coasts pollution, but still a problem. Your eyes and lips will actually feel gritty on a scooter.
The river stuff isnt to do with dust. Lots of reasons but mostly to do with flood conteol, gravel sales, rising rock levels taking out bridges and fisheries near the coast. Erosion and sediment is actually a massive problem in taiwan and should be treated as a national threat.
Afterspivak. Yes it is corrupt. As is the rest of the cuntry. The nice aspect of the corruption here is that megafactories, ports etc are not being built. Glass half full. It is still ultra corrupt but nothing on the level say pingtung and kaohsiung are…
That abandoned hotel kind of goes to show people can make a difference. If that was in kenting it would have been resold and approval stamped and on we go.
Places right on the coast- Dulan, Donghe- have skyrocketed the last few years. City is up slightly, inland rural still (comparatively) cheap
Very true. But even inland is double and triple that of 5 to 10 years ago…pretty crazy. Unlike other areas of mass speculation, i dont expect prices tonfall again in the east as the population grows an ever more desire for health.
I think Pingdong is a bit prettier, tropical and more diverse. But Taidong wins cos no air pollution .
Health? You mean they are waiting for better road and train connections to get their investment go up.
Not quite. I mean Taidong is a bit of an oxymoron within the oxymoron that is taiwan.
Locals leave for work. Out of towners move here cause they dont want lung diseases anf all that lovely west side bullshit that is their culture. Pindong is pretty. For sure. But if the air, soil anf water contamination isnt enough, the terrible psuedo-culture there makes the best of people suicidal. If going to live there, best not to join a family there. Easier when not connected too close. Take it or leave it. But despite the same level of latitude it is as different as canada and usa or england and australia as far as people gi.
Same small little country I don’t think there’s any real difference in the culture beyond more aboriginals in Taidong (but plenty in Pingdong too in the mountains).
There’s quite a difference in their political histories. Taitung was only really folded into the political administration of Taiwan in the twentieth century.
But you’re right about the mountains, where the Pingtung/Taitung border is not a key boundary for the different Indigenous folks living there.
Guy
Well we all have our own experiences i guess. There is a joke 3 country concept in Taiwan amongst many people. the 3 nations in taiwan (perhaps one could compare to UK for a light hearted comparison). There is Dragon country, the mainland and orchid island.
but in all seriousness there are distinct cultures that are very recognizable, though not always a genetic difference where race (dare i say, subspecies…) are differentiable. The SW of taiwan is just more extreme everything that comes out of the west. and it makes sense that undeveloped taidong back in the day would have a different kind of person living here in comparison to the big city life. then over time morals, ideals, works, industry etc follows. i see a huge difference in the general concept of longetivy and respect between Taidong and Pingdong. it is really quite large. though i guess we are mostly talking about Mingnanren not so much aboriginals.
for aboriginals, at least the lines from the mountains, there are numerous similarities but also huge differences. often simply due to financial situations (for example the Paiwan in Sandimen/Majia area are historically financially far more well off than across the Dawushan ridge in Taidong…trading logistics and inner governance).
I think anyone that has lived in Pingtung as a welcomed member of the community (basically merging into a local family) can see there are some pretty serious issues there. these exist in many places, scattered around, but rural Tainan south is a whole different ballgame than the random villages of sadness scattered around like in any country.
Taidong is surprisingly fresh and open minded, in my opinion, compared to much of the island, even the north. It is still very much countryside and you get pockets of depressed locales, but overall it is worlds apart from places like pingtung.
Though as a tourist, passer by or have a weekend house, these subtleties wont be observed. within these places, as an example, Hakka towns and villages are notorious for being close knit. you dont find out much about them until you live with/next to them for a while and gain their trust. on the flip side many southern aboriginal areas are quite open and slightly easier to gain trust.
Taidong in my opinion is one of the best places in Taiwan. Hualien i find the people more educated and prefer it there myself. But it is way more expensive and quite wet. Issue with Taidong is you should have your own business and have a decent line up of income, cause it isnt always easy for foreigners to live financially comfortable lifestyles as if in the west.
Ahhh so you know better . Okay then.
Taidong is just far less developed because it was so hard to get to and has a high percentage of aboriginals, I doubt the people there are any more enlightened given their track voting record…In the end it’s the same tiny little country. It’s a fortunate accident of isolation.
I saw what happened in Yilan over the last twenty years…Creeping development everywhere $$$. Taidong people will do the same eventually if given the opportunity. At least they won’t have the factories hopefully.
no not really, but have lived in both for extended periods.
and yes, thats exactly way the evolution of the 2 places are different. and now, due to tech and better infrastructure it wont be like before so i do still doubt taidong will become pingdong s there is a couple hundred years of cultural heritage that have been different. greed and that will likely be similar, but it is very very apparent the levels of respect between the 2 places. of course there are similarities, but they are still WAY different. especially in the respect realm.
I agree. Yilan has gone for shit. Hualien is in process and taidong will no doubt follow. the only thing that might slow/stop it is the country as a whole starts maturing (specifically in the field of protecting the environment, long term thinking etc). What is happening now is a lot of people moving into Taidong that are tired of the western style. obviously Taiwan needs the western industry to pay for everything, but it is always good if a country, even a small one, protects at least one place from being an over burdened factory cess pool. that will be the east, hualien south. Yilan is already pretty grim 
Ha! If coming to Taitung, set your watch back 20 years.
Joke used to be that the only time you saw gay people in Taitung was at Amigo pub (only Western-style pub at the time) on the third day of the Chinese New Year, because that was as long as they could stand their relatives asking how come they’re not married and why don’t they have children?
That is everywhere rural in taiwan in family life. Families abuse their own island wide. Where taipei might be slightly more open in regards to their own children being gay, taidong is more open open on the street in not giving 2 shytes. There arent as many gay bars and activities etc. Obviously, its the countryside. But there are also no raging religious groups protesting gay marriage and public discrimination is very rare.
Taidong is very much out in the country. But the way people respect each other is what i was talking about in regards to worlds apart. Inner family abuse is par for the course and i find it on the same level as much of the island. Though places like pingdong still take the cake.
In general family life island wide is quite disrespectful.
this is really good insight and you can know and understand it at different levels or even reading this can be understood at different levels totally dependent on your experiences and not your grasp of the languages involved or anything else.
Lovely scenery (both on the coast and in the rift valley), lots of outdoorsy activities to do (hiking, cycling, surfing, hot springs) and friendly expats and indigenous people. I am a big fan of Chishang’s cycle paths, Zhiben hot springs, Central Doulan and Sanxiantai.
I lived and worked in Taitung City for a year and enjoyed it. I enjoyed my Friday and Saturday nights at the few bars there (Tiehua, Texas). The atmosphere is a lot more relaxed than the bars of Taipei and it’s easy to mingle with the regular patrons.
I haven’t been to the two islands yet which are the only two destinations I haven’t done on the bucket list. Highly recommended to see both.
The job market isn’t very good due to it’s small hinterland. May have to settle for low hours or try and get multiple jobs.
Red House? Not sure if that place was around in 2000, but it was around for a while until it closed.
Edit: removed, was about Taichung
Great to hear. But this thread is about Taitung.
Cheers,
Guy