Chinan National Forest Recreation Area

If you enjoy exploring history, then you absolutely cannot miss Chinan National Forest Recreation Area. Old locomotives, logging machines, old photographs, and countless artifacts in the Forestry Exhibition Hall are all preserved in this small park by Hualien's Liyu Lake, resembling a microcosm of the 1960s. Chinan is one of the three great legends in Hualien's forestry history: the starting point of the Halun Mountain Railway. Starting in 1930, planned by the Japanese and expanded by the KMT government, it forged Hualien's most magnificent forestry railway empire, nearly 50 kilometers in length. It wasn't until logging was completely banned in 1989 that the Halun Workstation, located deep in the mountains, was decommissioned and became isolated from the world. Only the Chinan Transfer Station was transformed into a forest recreation area, allowing people to reflect on this period of forestry. Beyond its history, Chinan's forests are primarily composed of trees from the Moraceae and Lauraceae families, interspersed with reforestation species like the Formosan ash. Styan's bulbuls, unique to eastern Taiwan, are often spotted here, making it an excellent choice for connecting with nature. When you visit Chinan National Forest Recreation Area, you can experience a forest bath interwoven with a historical atmosphere, and gain an understanding of the evolution and future prospects of forestry management across different eras.