What to See in Taitung, Taiwan: Free Audio Guide

Looking for things to do in Taitung? This east-coast city combines historic temples, Indigenous and prehistoric heritage, unusual local landmarks, and open natural spaces such as Taitung Forest Park. Taitung is a quieter alternative to Taiwan’s larger urban centres, with places that are best explored at an unhurried pace. Neywo also offers a free audio guide for Taitung with 10 narrated places.

What to See in Taitung

Taitung Tianhou Temple

In the heart of Taitung City, Taitung Tianhou Temple—also known as Pinan Tianhou Temple—is a Mazu temple with an important place in Taiwan’s history. It was the last official temple established during Taiwan’s Qing dynasty period.

The temple is also associated with a vibrant Lantern Festival procession and the dramatic tradition of firecracker explosions directed at the Lord of the Cold Alone. These ceremonies have made it a notable part of Taitung’s religious and cultural life.

Haishan Temple

Haishan Temple is a Buddhist temple whose history extends beyond religious practice. During the twentieth century, it sponsored local baseball teams, including the famous Hongye Little League, contributing to Taitung’s place in Taiwan’s baseball history.

The temple also once organised pao zha han dan ye, a distinctive ritual involving firecrackers and a figure representing the God of Wealth. Its past includes a darker episode as well: during Taiwan’s White Terror period, the fourth-generation abbot was imprisoned in connection with the Wu Tai’an incident and died in custody.

Datong Theater

Datong Theater, in Datong Borough, was once a movie theatre and for many years the only cinema in the Taitung area. A fire in 2009 forced it to close, leaving Taitung without a cinema for nearly four years.

The building recalls a different period in the city’s entertainment history and offers a glimpse of how important a single theatre could be to a local community.

Taitung Art Museum

The Taitung Art Museum is the first county-level art museum in Taiwan. It is also known as Dong Mei Guan and is managed by the Cultural Affairs Department of the Taitung County Government.

Its presence adds an artistic and cultural stop to a city itinerary otherwise shaped by temples, archaeological sites and outdoor landscapes.

Taitung Story Museum

The Taitung Story Museum, also known as the Eslite Taitung Story Museum, is a cultural spot in the heart of Taitung City, in Taitung County. It is a useful stop for travellers interested in the stories and cultural identity of the city.

Moving Castle

Known locally as the White Hovel, this private residence has become one of Taitung’s most unusual landmarks. A retired veteran built it up over time, collecting discarded materials and adding them to the structure piece by piece.

The result is an eccentric patchwork house that has earned comparisons with Howl’s Moving Castle. Its different sections and materials give the building a storybook appearance unlike the city’s more formal historic and cultural sites.

National Museum of Prehistory

The National Museum of Prehistory is Taiwan’s only national-level museum in the eastern part of the country. Its work focuses on Taiwan’s prehistoric cultures and the heritage of Taiwan’s Indigenous peoples, through collections, research and educational programmes.

The museum’s foundation lies in the Beinan Archaeological Site. The wider complex covers about ten hectares and includes the Kang Le main building in Taitung City, Beinan Site Park at the archaeological site, and the Southern Taiwan Science Park Archaeology Museum.

The original building was designed in 1993 by American postmodernist architect Michael Graves, working with a team led by architect Shen Tsu-hai. A major renovation in 2020 used the ideas of opening up and flow to bring together previously fragmented spaces while strengthening the architectural character of the original design.

Beinan Cultural Park

Beinan Cultural Park is Taiwan’s first archaeological site park and one of the island’s most important prehistoric sites. Located at the southeastern foothills of Beinan Mountain, it represents the Beinan Culture of Taiwan’s Neolithic period.

Archaeologists believe the site was occupied roughly between 5,300 and 2,300 years ago, with its peak between 3,500 and 2,300 years ago. The wider settlement covers up to one million square metres, making it the largest prehistoric settlement discovered in Taiwan.

The site is especially significant for its stone slab coffins and burial goods. It contains the largest stone slab coffin burial complex in the Pacific Rim region, making the park an essential stop for understanding Taitung’s deep history.

Pipa Lake

Pipa Lake lies within Taitung Forest Park, northeast of downtown Taitung City. Its shape resembles a pipa, the traditional Chinese lute, giving the lake its name.

The freshwater lake forms part of an estuarine wetland system near the mouth of the Beinan River. Underground springs from the river continuously bubble up, while a sandbar blocks the outlet and creates the enclosed body of water.

The lake is known for its clear water and native Taiwanese freshwater fish. Casuarina windbreak forests and tropical estuary plants such as sea mango grow along the shore. Birdwatching huts, pavilions, tree houses, forest trails and wooden boardwalks make the area easy to explore, while a 1.7-kilometre cycling path loops around the lake.

Fugang Hai Shen Temple

Beside Fugang Fishing Port, Fugang Hai Shen Temple is a small place of worship with an unusual history. It is the only temple in Taiwan dedicated to Ruyi Niangniang, the goddess worshipped as its principal deity.

It is also the only temple in Taiwan built by the Republic of China Air Force. The temple was originally cared for by Dachen refugees, who settled in the area after several relocations towards the end of the Chinese Civil War. They brought their devotion to Ruyi Niangniang with them, and the temple became an important spiritual anchor for their community in Fugang.

Explore Taitung with a Self-Guided Audio Tour

A Taitung self-guided walking tour is an easy way to connect the city’s temples, historic buildings and unusual landmarks. Neywo has one walking tour in Taitung: Taitung Old Quarter: Temples, a Patchwork House and the Lake covers 4.57 km in 95 minutes and includes six narrated stops—Moving Castle, Haishan Temple, Datong Theater, Taitung Tianhou Temple, Taitung Art Museum and Pipa Lake.

There is also one bike route: Taitung Forest Park and the Old Town Temples by Bike covers 2.4 km in 12 minutes and includes four narrated stops—Taitung Art Museum, Taitung Tianhou Temple, Haishan Temple and Pipa Lake.

With Neywo, each story plays as you reach the place, at your own pace. There is no group and no schedule, so you can explore independently while the app explains the history and character of each stop. The Taitung audio guide is free, and narration is available in 11 languages.

Download Neywo and Explore Taitung at Your Own Pace

Download Neywo to explore Taitung with a free audio guide that connects old-quarter temples, cultural landmarks and Taitung Forest Park. Choose the 4.57-kilometre walking tour or the 2.4-kilometre bike route, and let the app tell the story of each place as you arrive.

Taitung is part of Taiwan, and the island’s other destinations include Hualien, Kaohsiung, Tainan and Taipei.