The Jiji Wuchang Temple (aka 921 Earthquake Museum 九二一地震紀念館) in Jiji Township of Nantou County is a monument to the 921 earthquake that hit Taiwan in 1999, which killed thousands of people. The temple stood near the epicenter of the earthquake, and the first floor of the temple collapsed. Now a new temple has been built but the old one has been left untouched, a testament to the power of the 921 earthquake.
Planning your trip to Nantou? Here are some top travel tips for you:
Background:
Wuchang Temple's beginnings can be traced back to 1903 when a statue was built here to the God Xuan Wu (玄武), and was later built into a full temple in 1923. It was later expanded starting in 1990, and not long after the renovation was completed in 1999 the 921 earthquake hit, toppling it. The 921 earthquake hit on September 21st, 1999 at 1:47 in the morning, shaking for 102 seconds, registering at 7.7 on the Richter scale. In total 2,415 people died, and 51,711 homes were destroyed. It was the worst natural disaster in Taiwan since WWII. The earthquake was also known as the Jiji earthquake, because its epicenter was inside Jiji township. However, the God Xuan Wu's Statue inside the temple was not damaged. Other God's statues were also rescued from inside the temple. The beards of some of the Gods were said to have grown longer after the collapse, which added interest and donations for the construction of a new temple. A new temple was rebuilt next to it with the same name, completed in 2013. Hours: 24/7 Price: Free Tours: You can book a tour to Jiji and Nantou Sky Bridge on Klook here. Accommodation: We have stayed at and recommend Jenq Yang Hotspring Hotel (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Trip.com here, or Klook here), a hot spring hotel near the mystical Lushan hot spring, and Maple Leaf Holiday Villa (you can book on Agoda here, Booking.com here, Hotels.com here, Expedia.com here, Trip.com here, or Klook here), a lodge with a great view and within walking distance of Cingjing Farm. I also have stayed at and recommend Kirin Villa (you can book on Agoda here or Booking.com here), a mountain resort in Puli near Sun Moon Lake. Looking for a hotel? Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. We recommend booking through Agoda here, which provides the best quality selection of accommodation on the islands. How to get there: By Car/Scooter: From Mingjian, take provincial highway 16 east toward Jiji. Turn left on Bazhang Street in Jiji and you will see the temple on your left. If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here. Looking for scooter rental in Nantou? Search Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. By Train: Take the Jiji train line from Yuanlin all the way to Jiji Station. The temple is about a 1KM walk northeast from the station. You can book tickets to travel to Nantou via inter-city bus on Klook here. You can book tickets to Taichung via high speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here, or book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. Bicycle Rental: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan's landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can search on KKday here and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. Map: Please see below:
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 Whether you are coming to Taiwan for three days or for three years, it can be hard getting used to a new country, and new culture, and a new way of living. To help you out, we have prepared this guide to help you survive and thrive in this amazing country.
Planning your trip to Taiwan? Here are some top travel tips for you:
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Basic Taiwan Travel Tips:
Find out where to stay in our Taiwan hotels guide or search for the best hotel deals in Taiwan here. Tours in Taiwan:There are many tour itineraries that you can enjoy in Taipei that will take you to multiple destinations and arrange transportation. For more information, you can check out Tripadvisor here, KKday here, or Klook here, which are both great tour websites that can connect you with the right tour and tour guide for you. Here are some of the most popular tours of Taiwan on TripAdvisor:
How to get around in Taiwan:Taiwan’s transportation system is convenient and safe. There are many options you can consider to get around in Taipei, below: By Train: It gets you to the city center of all major cities in Taiwan. It is about 800NT to get from Taipei to Kaohsiung. Roughly half the price of the HSR. Book tickets via the normal train (TRA) on Klook here. By HSR: (High-Speed Rail) – Gets you quickly from north to south. Besides Taipei and Kaohsiung, most of the stations are far from city centers. It costs about 1500NT to get from Taipei to Kaohsiung. You can book tickets to the high-speed rail (HSR) on Klook here or KKDay here. By MRT: (Mass Rapid Transit, Metro train, subway) – Easily gets you around Taipei and Kaohsiung. You can purchase a discount EasyCard to use on the MRT from Klook here or KKday here. You can also book an MRT travel pass on Klook here. By Bus: Buses can be tricky. Long-range buses such as Ubus and King Bus are easier to understand and cheaper than the local train. They can take you to the city center of every city throughout Taiwan and to remote tourist destinations such as Sun Moon Lake. A long-range bus from Taipei to Kaohsiung is about 500 NT. You can also book tickets to travel to Shifen via inter-city bus on Klook here. You can also book a Taipei Sightseeing: Hop On, Hop Off Open Top Bus on TripAdvisor here. By Taxi: You can take short rides for about 150 NT, or hire a Taxi for a day for around 150 USD. By Car: If you are looking for car rentals, you can also search Qeeq here, Klook here, or KKday here. You can also check out our car rental guide here. By Scooter: Looking for scooter rental in Taipei? You can search on Klook here or KKday here to search for options. You can also check out our scooter rental guide here. By Bicycle: Cycling is the best way to enjoy Taiwan’s landscapes if you have the time and energy. Looking for bicycle rentals in Taiwan? You can use Taiwan’s many Youbike sharing stations, or search for rentals on KKday here, and search for tours on Klook here. You can also check out our Taiwan cycling guide here. You can also book a Sunset Riverside Bike Ride and Historical Tour, 4 Hour Cycling in Taipei, Ultimate 8-Hour Cycling City Tour, or Taipei City Bike Tour with Night Market Experience on TripAdvisor here. For more information, check out our Taiwan transportation guide here.  Sadly, due to a recent earthquake, much of Taroko Gorge, Hualien’s most famous landmark, is no longer accessible to the public. However, there are plenty of other places to check out in Hualien. In this blog, we will share a list of other places to visit in Hualien besides Taroko Gorge.
Hualien is the largest county in Taiwan and is considered by many to be the most beautiful. It includes a breathtaking coastline along the Pacific Ocean, including cliffs thousands of meters high, marble gorges, fertile valleys, and a large section of Taiwan’s central mountain range. Hualien is simply a must-stop location on your trip to Taiwan. ⛰️ Planning your trip to Hualien? 🌊 Here are some top travel tips for you:
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 The following blog shows more photos posted after our original blog post here: taiwantravelblog.com/taroko-gorge-2025-current-status-post-earthquake
Sadly, due to a recent earthquake, much of Taroko Gorge, Hualien's most famous landmark, is no longer accessible to the public. However, the visitor's center is still open, and the road through Taroko is still open three times a day if you have your own vehicle. In this blog, we will take you on a virtual tour of Taroko Gorge after the earthquake, from a recent trip where we risked rockfalls and poor road conditions. Don't forget there are plenty of other places to check out in Hualien besides Taroko; check out our blog with a list of other places to visit in Hualien besides Taroko Gorge here. If you are interested, you can also check out our blog to see what Taroko looked like before the earthquake here.  Typhoon Kong-Rey was the largest storm to hit Taiwan since 1996, the first Typhoon to make landfall in late October, and the third Typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in 2024. Its landfall marked the first time in 16 years that three Typhoons have made landfall in Taiwan during one Typhoon season. So far it has caused at least two deaths in Taiwan, injured hundreds, dumped over a meter of rain in the mountains of Hualien, and caused work and school to close throughout all of Taiwan. In this blog, I will detail some of the major events and overall situation in Taiwan during the Typhoon, as well as my own experience during this typhoon and past typhoons in Taiwan.
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Basic Summary of the Typhoon 台風康芮大概的狀況 Typhoon Kong-Rey was the largest storm to hit Taiwan since 1996, the first Typhoon to make landfall in late October, and the third Typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in 2024. However, the typhoon weakened from a strong typhoon to a moderate typhoon, and eventually to a mild typhoon. Typhoon Kong-Rey was the 21st storm of the 2024 Pacific typhoon season and began forming as a tropical depression on October 25th, strengthened to a Category-4 Super Typhoon, and finally made landfall in Chenggong Township of Taitung, Taiwan on October 31st, 2024. Its highest winds reached 240 km/h. When it made landfall in Chenggong Township of Taitung County, Taiwan, it was a category 3 Typhoon (winds between 111–129 mph, 178–208 km/h). As of the time of writing, the typhoon has caused over 2 fatalities in Taiwan and 200 injuries. Over 200,000 households lost electricity. All domestic flights and hundreds of international flights in Taiwan were canceled for a time. Most mountain villages in Taiwan were evacuated. Flooding occurred in Taitung, Hualien, and Yilan. As of the time of writing, Hualien received the most rain, with over 1200mm of rain (4 feet) in one day.  Typhoon Krathon was the first Typhoon to make landfall in western Taiwan in over 38 years. So far it has caused at least two deaths in Taiwan, injured hundreds, dumped over a meter of rain in the mountains of Taitung, and caused work and school to close for four days in some areas. In this blog, I will detail some of the major events and overall situation in Taiwan during the Typhoon, as well as my own experience during this typhoon and past typhoons in Taiwan.
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Basic Summary of the Typhoon 台風凱米大概的狀況Typhoon Krathon became the second super typhoon to hit Kaohsiung in 47 years, following Typhoon Selma in 1977. It is also the first recorded tropical cyclone to make landfall in Kaohsiung in October. Notably, this is the first moderate typhoon to make landfall on Taiwan’s west coast in 38 years, since Typhoon Wayne in 1986. However, due to its slow movement and the intake of too much dry air, the typhoon weakened from a strong typhoon to a moderate typhoon, and eventually to a mild typhoon. Typhoon Krathon was the 18th storm of the 2024 Pacific typhoon season and began forming as a tropical depression on September 26th, strengthened to a Category-4 Super Typhoon, and finally made landfall in Kaohsiung, Taiwan on October 3rd, 2024. Its highest winds reached 240 km/h. When it made landfall in Xiaogand District of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, it was a category 1 Typhoon (winds between 74–95 mph, 119–153 km/h). As of the time of writing, the typhoon has caused over 2 fatalities in Taiwan and 400 injuries. A total of 176,506 households lost electricity. All domestic flights and hundreds of international flights in Taiwan were canceled for a time. Most mountain villages in Taiwan were evacuated. Flooding occurred in Kaohsiung, Keelung, and Taitung. As of the time of writing, Taimali District of Taitung received the most rain, with over 1500mm of rain (5 feet) over four days. Keelung also set a daily rain record of over 373 mm in one day.  Tropical Depression Igme, the number 19 tropical cyclone of the 2024 Pacific Typhoon Season, lasted for an especially long time and dumped rain onto Northern and Southern Taiwan, causing flooding in many places. In this blog, we will share some memories of this storm and its impact on Taiwan.
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See the full article here: https://taiwantravelblog.com/remembering-tropical-depression-19-17w-igme-2024/  Typhoon Gaemi is the worst Typhoon to hit Taiwan in nearly a decade. It caused five deaths in Taiwan, dumped over a meter of rain in the mountains, and caused work and school to close for over three days in some areas. In this blog, I will detail some of the major events and overall…Read More
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In addition, agricultural losses totaled NT 1.8 billion.  With over 677 people killed in Taiwan, Typhoon Morakot (also known as the 88 Flood 八八水災) was the most deadly Typhoon ever to hit Taiwan in recorded history. It also broke records for the highest rainfall of any Typhoon in Taiwan’s history, a total of over 3 meters of rain (3060 mm in Alishan), with…Read More
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Author 作家I am an American expat who has extensive experience living, working, and traveling in Taiwan. In my day, I had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But I have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. This blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. I am just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Categories
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