Neiwan (內灣) is in South-Eastern Hsinchu county's Hengshan township (橫山鄉) and next to Jianshi (尖石鄉) the beautiful Atayal (泰雅) area known for its mountains and rivers.
The Neiwan railway was constructed in 1944 by Japanese colonial government, but the construction was interrupted by WWII.
It was completed by the ROC government in 1951 to help the transport of lumber and lime.
It's now serving as a commuter train for the suburbs of Hsinchu as well as a destination for tourists.
Neiwan Scenic Area is encircled by tall hills and wound along Youluo River (油羅溪).
Visitors can take the Neiwan Branch train at Zhudong Township and hop on a reminiscent trip.
The train will lead you back to the good old days of Taiwan.
The railway used to be as an important pipeline for timber and mining industry.
As of today, Neiwan Branch Line has 9 stations in between and connects with Hsinchu HSR station, allowing travelers to visit the places with ease, such as Zhudong Anime Park (竹東動漫園區), Hexing Train Station (合興車站), Neiwan Old Street (內灣老街) …etc.
By Train:
Get off at Zhudong station and then take the Neiwan Liujia line. This takes about an hour from Hsinchu.
Hsinchu (新竹) → North Hsinchu (北新竹) → Qianjia (千甲) → Xinzhuang (新莊) → Zhuzhong (竹中)
Liujia line to Neiwan branch line:
Shangyuan (上員) → Ronghua (榮華) → Zhudong (竹東) → Hengshan (橫山) → Jiuzantou (九讚頭) → Hexing (合興) → Fugui (富貴) → Neiwan (內灣)
From Taipei Main Station (台北車站), take either the High Speed Rail or standard train to Hsinchu. After arriving, take the local train service to Zhudong (竹東), then change to the Neiwan Line (內灣). Trains from the HSR Station (六家, Liujia) to Neiwan cost NT$34 and take 1 hour, requiring a transfer at Zhuzhong Station (竹中), leaving approximately once per hour on the second leg.
https://transit.navitime.com/en/tw/line/00000006
By Car:
From Taipei, take National Highway 3 to the Guanxi Exit and travel down provincial highway 3 to Neiwan.
Map:
Hexing Love Station 合興愛情車站
As part of Neiwan (內灣) branch line, Hexing Train Station (合興車站) is a station with a love story.
Hexing's old name was Shifenliao (十分寮) and was once a producer of camphor.
It was then mainly used to transport cement. When the cement factory was shut down, the station faced the decline in service demand.
Just when TRA was planning to phase the station out but the couple Tseng Chun-chao (曾春兆) and Peng Chi-hui (彭智惠), the main characters in the movie "The Train Chaser", adopted it.
The old station was therefore preserved and Hexing became known as the "Romantic Station" as well.
Back in 1958, two high school students met each other on the train.
During the last exam of senior year, the boy overslept and missed the train to school.
He knew if he doesn't catch this train, he might get grade retention and loose the opportunity to date with the girl, who he had a crush on.
He then ran along the tracks for 2.1 km from Hexing station as the crowds were cheering for him and finally he got on the train.
Years later, the boy got to marry his dream girl. In 2003 the couple adopted the train station so their love story latested until today.
The Lavender Cottage (薰衣草森林) was touched by the love story.
In 2013, Lavender Cottage undertook the renovation of the shabby train cars and offered free comic books for visitors to further appreciate the old-time glamor and custom that intertwined with the new and old history.
Besides the real trains that stop by, there is also a mini train for kids & family.
If you or your kids are the fans of train, don't miss out this attraction.
The mini train can make the steam whistle and also the white smoke. The degree of authenticity is impeccable.
This beautiful love story has been passed down to generations, making Hexing Station surrounded with intense romantic atmosphere.
How to get there:
By Train:
Get off at Zhudong station and then take the Neiwan Liujia line. This takes about an hour from Hsinchu.
Hsinchu (新竹) → North Hsinchu (北新竹) → Qianjia (千甲) → Xinzhuang (新莊) → Zhuzhong (竹中)
Liujia line to Neiwan branch line:
Shangyuan (上員) → Ronghua (榮華) → Zhudong (竹東) → Hengshan (橫山) → Jiuzantou (九讚頭) → Hexing (合興)
By Car:
From Taipei, take National Highway 3 to the Guanxi Exit and travel down provincial highway 3 to Hexing Stataion
Map:
Neiwan Old Street (內灣老街)
During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, Neiwan was mainly a lumber driven town, as well as other industries such as mining and mineral extraction.
Many Japanese era buildings still remain in the city, such as the well preserved police station.
Pictured bellow is Neiwan station, the last station on the Neiwan line, where most tourists get off to discover the historical beauty and delicious food of this special town.
The railroad that brings people into Neiwan is a special branch of the Taiwan Railway. It isn't on the main mountain (山線) or ocean line (海線), so if you plan on going to old street via the train you will first have to get to Zhudong Train Station (竹東車站) and then transfer to the special Neiwan Liujia line (內灣六家線).
The line was completed in 1951 and departs every 90 minutes from the city. The train slowly brings you through the mountains and part of the experience of going to Neiwan is taking the train and enjoying the scenery on the trip.
One of the historical places to dine is the old Neiwan Movie Theatre (內灣戲院), which is an old-fashioned Taiwanese style theatre that has since been converted into a popular Hakka restaurant.
The movie has theatred built in 1950 and now converted into a restaruant, as well as Neiwan Suspension Bridge.
The restaurant still plays old Taiwanese movies. They even have a store that sells DVDs they currently play.
It's a popular destinations for tourists at Neiwan old street.
Neiwan old street is nestled in the mountains next to a beautiful river and is quiet for at least five days of the week.
On weekends the old street comes alive and is jam packed with tourists sampling many of the treats the street is famous for as well as the Hakka culture that is so prevalent in the area.
The main ethnicity here is Hakka, and you can still find lots of traditional Hakka food & Souvenir shop in Neiwan like their famed Zongzi.
The origins of the town are quite similar to what we have seen in Daxi (大溪) and Sanxia (三峽) where historically the town was set up as a way-point in the logging and mining industry.
This brought a lot of prosperity and opportunity to the people of the bustling little village which quickly became a self-sustaining town with banks, post offices and movie theatres.
While most of Taiwan's old streets are known for the architecture of the houses lining the streets being constructed with "baroque" designs, the Neiwan old street isn't like that at all - The town became prosperous much later than the others and that style had already faded by that time and wasn't very practical in such a remote area.
The architectural style of the houses along the street is pretty much the same as what you'd see in many of the older neighbourhoods around Taiwan.
So without the "old street" feeling, how has Neiwan become so attractive to tourists?
It is in part because of the Hakka culture and cuisine, the quaintness of the town and also because of the special railway line that brings tourists into the small village making it quite special and differentiating itself from other old streets.
Inside the old street, you can find just about every Taiwanese food you could want, like at any night market in Taiwan.
Along the old street you can find stinky tofu, Taiwanese sausage, shaved ice, and just about anything else you can think of.
The old street has a number of popular Hakka restaurants. My favorate one is Neiwan Tea Room (內灣茶堂)
Their Hakka dishs are suthentic. It comes with a pot of Oriented beauty tea & Lei-cha (擂茶).
If you would like to try the authentic tasted of Hakka disces, Neiwan Tea Room is the restaurant for the experience.
The restaurant is located in front of the entrance of the Neiwan elementary school (內灣國小)
When it's the firefly breeding season, it is also the most popular spot for appreciating these little glamorous creatores.
The street is quite well known for one of its Indigenous sausage vendors as well as vendors selling a special type of glutinous rice (野薑花粽子) wrapped in ginger leaves.
By the way, the parking near the old street is slightly less expensive than parking in the middle of downtown Hsinchu: 80 NT per day.
Walking up the rocky path from the parking zone, you will reach Neiwan Movie Theatre (內灣戲院) which is the most crowded part of the entire street.
Neiwan is known far and near for the suspension bridge over the riverbank.
Under suspension bridges, visitors can enjoy catching shrimp and crabs in shallow areas by the riverbank or swimming until their hearts’ content in the stream, while the sandy beach serves as a perfect spot for barbecuing, camping, and holiday outings.
At the end of the old street you will see a 7-11 and then you can cross the street to get to the suspension bridge.
There isn't much of anything across the bridge except a camp ground, but you can enjoy the beautiful scenery!
By the way, there are tons of camp grounds and B&B's around Neiwan if you want to stay the night.
If you traveled by car or scooter I also recommend driving a bit further up the mountains past Neiwan into Jianshi (尖石) where the river is a bit more beautiful and eventually becomes an Indigenous area where you can find some great food, hot springs and really friendly people and the nature senics.
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