Hualien: wildflowers, coffee, then a table set for the valley

Why this order

Start with the weeds. At Palette Café & Art, cincin chang makes a small patch of grass large enough to get lost in. There is coffee to drink while you consider being very small. Then walk into town to see a different use for the landscape: ceramic and tin tableware that borrows from the East Rift Valley, and tree bark made into lamps and folding screens.

1. Stop 1

   Palette Cafe & Art

   Around 1 p.m., allow an hour for immensely and a drink. The café closes at 5 p.m.; the exhibition has been extended through September 21. From Hualien Station’s west exit, allow about 20 minutes on foot. That walking route includes stairs; a taxi is the easier choice with a suitcase.

   Walk from Hualien Station’s west exit ↗
   10:30–17:00; closed September 2, 8, 13, 14, 22, 28 and 29

   About 20 minutes on foot from Hualien Station’s west exit; the route includes stairs

   We wrote about this: Wildflowers big enough to get lost in

2. Stop 2

   Hualien Cultural and Creative Industries Park

   Palette to the park is about 1.6 km. Allow 25 minutes on foot, plus time to find Building 17; a taxi takes roughly six minutes on the road, plus waiting time. Aim for around 2:30 p.m. Look along 陶錫工藝’s long table: irregular tin plates sit beside ceramic bowls, and a strip of cloth runs between them. Elsewhere, light comes through the rough edges of 黑色雋永’s bark lamps. Upstairs, 逐光－復返 shows work made with silt left after the Guangfu disaster. Both exhibitions are free. Leave an hour or more here; the building closes at 6 p.m.

   Walk from Palette to the park ↗
   Tuesday–Sunday 10:00–18:00; indoor spaces closed Monday, outdoor grounds open around the clock

   About 34 minutes walking or ten minutes by taxi from Hualien Station

   We wrote about this: Serving Up the Entire East Rift Valley!