Location: Hsinchu County/Miaoli County
Distance: 79km Elevation Gain: 1,323m
Sometimes you may find yourself in a city in Taiwan, looking to get out for a good loop. Or you may find yourself looking for something a little more adventurous. In our posts, we have included nearly all of the best climbs, whether they be out-and-back ascents or traverses of the central mountains. We have also included loop rides from major cities and inter-county routes.
In this post, we focus on the latter with a traverse from Hsinchu to Miaoli through the low-level mountains on the west side of the island, which offers some of the best cycling in the country. So, if you are travelling around the island looking for more obscure or new roads away from home, this is a great one to tick off.
This route was recorded from central Hsinchu near the train station. The bane of every cyclist’s life is navigating their way out of the city. From the train station, Local Road Chu 43 to get to Provincial Highway No. 3 is a fairly direct route. This is a nice flat warm-up for around 10 km.
Provincial Highway No. 3 is notorious for rollers, but this section isn’t too bad. After 30 km, you’ll arrive at the town of Sanwan. This is a good place to pick up supplies, and lots of small restaurants here. At the 90km marker on the No. 3, it combines with the No. 124. Shortly after this, take a right turn off to the east for the start of the climb to Nanzhuang.
This is an excellent road to ride on, good surface and a moderate grade running parallel to the Nanzhuang River off to the right. Just before you arrive at Nanzhuang town, you’ll see a staircase on the left leading up to Shitou Shan (Lion’s Head Mt.) and Quanhua Temple, which is a National Scenic Area and a big tourist draw. More info here.
At the 29km marker on the No. 124 you arrive at Nanzhuang, which is at elevation of 200m. This is a bustling little town with lots of eats and boutique guest houses for an overnight stay.
Nanzhuang has been home to the Saisiyat and Atayal indigenous tribes, living alongside Hakka people who make up 80% of the population. You can read more about the area here.
This is your last chance to pick up supplies before the main climb of the day. The next 15 km is all up. Fortunately, doing this from north to south is a lot easier than in the opposite direction. This climb winds through a lush area with dense vegetation, offering shade on a hot day. Near the top of the ascent, there is a parking lot and public toilets servicing the Penglai River Trail. The road tops out at around 700m, then it’s a rocket downhill for 7 km until the No. 124 rejoins the No. 3.
The rider could turn right here to make their way back to Hsinchu, but on this particular ride, we went in the opposite direction. It’s only a few hundred meters down the road until the rider takes a right turn to get on Local Rd. Miao 26. This is another excellent road and is marked out as part of Miaoli County’s dedicated bikeway.
The rider will notice several signs warning drivers to look out for cats. Unusual in Taiwan, but Miaoli has the highest concentration of Leopard Cats in the country. This is an endemic protected species. There is a short uphill section followed by a tunnel. Then it’s a straight shot for around 12 km to get to the center of Miaoli city and the train station.
Here is the GPS info from Mark’s ride:
Here is the file run through a GPX smoother tool, not sure about the elevation spike near the end of the ride – might be due to a tunnel in that area.
You’re sure right about going Nanzhuang to Shitan on 124 rather than the other way around. That stretch from Xianshan to Shitan is a wicked grade. Even descending that stretch was rather unpleasant. In all honesty next time I might ride out from Nanzhuang to the crest before Xianshan, and return. One may also veer off 124 outside of Nanzhuang on Miao 21 to Donghe and beyond, or ascend from Donghe on Miao 37 that connects either with a road to the Beipu Cold Spring and on back to Beipu, or for more torture up to Wuzhishan and down to Zhudong. The quadrangle formed by Hsinchu, Toufen, Nanzhuang and Zhudong offer endless options on small, little traveled roads. Prepare to climb, though.
I have done some of those backroads as a logical connector from N. to S. but on fully loaded touring rig it was a slog with some walking involved.