Hualien Yufu Bikeway: A Railway Green Corridor Spanning the Eurasian and Philippine Plates

A Bike Path That Crosses Two Tectonic Plates

The Yufu Bikeway runs from Yuli to Fuli in Hualien, about 10 km long, converted from an old Taiwan Railway line. Its most unique feature is not its distance or gradient, but the fact that it crosses the boundary between the “Eurasian Plate” and the “Philippine Sea Plate”—this geological suture line is clearly visible on the surface here, making it the only route in Taiwan where you can cycle across a plate boundary.

Route Highlights

Rice Waves at Kecheng Bridge

The red Kecheng iron bridge spans a tributary of the Xiuguluan River, with the Central Mountain Range and vast rice paddies in the background. Every June and November when the rice ripens, golden rice waves against the red bridge form one of the most iconic scenes in the East Rift Valley.

The Significance of the Plate Boundary

Near the Xiuguluan River bed, surface displacement has created the “Moving Bridge” (the Philippine Sea Plate pushes against the Eurasian Plate at a rate of several centimeters per year). This is a living textbook of earth science—be sure to stop and read the interpretive signs when you ride here.

Why You Can “See” the Plate Boundary Here

Most plate boundaries worldwide are buried deep beneath the ocean or covered by vegetation, but this stretch of Yufu is one of the few places on land with public facilities marking it, giving it immense earth-science value: the Philippine Sea Plate pushes northwest against the Eurasian Plate at a rate of about 2 to 3 centimeters per year. This displacement is visibly presented at Yufu’s “Moving Bridge” through the bridge’s visible structural offset—the two ends of the bridge sit on different plates, and over the years a measurable shift has accumulated. When you ride to the boundary point, the ground and interpretive facilities clearly mark the dividing line between the two major plates—it’s like crossing two plates in one bike ride. Treating it as an outdoor earth-science classroom makes the ride far more meaningful than just photographing the red bridge and rice waves, and it’s especially great for helping children physically internalize an abstract geological concept.

Seasons and Best Photography Times

Yufu’s signature scene is “golden rice waves + red Kecheng Bridge + Central Mountain Range,” but this combination only appears in two windows each year: around June (before the first crop is harvested) and around November (when the second crop ripens to gold). In other months, the fields are green or fallow, creating a completely different atmosphere. The best light for photography is within the first hour after sunrise, when side lighting brings out the most texture in the rice waves, and before the afternoon thunderstorms of summer in eastern Taiwan begin. It’s recommended to ride in the morning and schedule Kecheng Bridge as your first photo stop, avoiding the afternoon convective clouds and thunderstorms.

Supplies

Yuli is famous for Yuli noodles (a local specialty with several old shops, each with their own loyal fans), while Fuli is known for Fuli rice—you can buy packaged rice as a souvenir. Both ends of the route have adequate supplies, but the middle section runs through rice paddies with no shops, so be sure to bring enough water in summer. It’s an easy ride combining food and earth-science education.

On the Yufu Bikeway, you’ll ride across a crack where the Earth is splitting open. As the crust moves at a pace imperceptible to humans, we can cross two tectonic plates in a single bike ride—a romance of this scale can only be found in eastern Taiwan.

Related Reading

• Hualien Yuli-Fuli Cycling Route: An Easy Pastoral Ride Through the East Rift Valley
• Hualien Fuli to Yuli Section: A Guide to Riding Through the Most Beautiful Agricultural Landscape in the East Rift Valley
• Taichung Houfeng to Dongfeng Bikeway: The Most Beautiful Railway-Converted Corridor in Central Taiwan
• Cycling in Hualien: Pacific Bikeway and the Best of the East Rift Valley