- What it is Toucheng Township (頭城鎮), the northern tip of the Lanyang Plain and its long coast.
- Getting there TRA train to Toucheng Station for the old street; Wai'ao and Guishan stations for the coast. Some buses from Taipei stop at the Wushi Harbor bus station. → Trains to Toucheng
- Along the coast The Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Northeast Coast line runs from Jiaoxi through Toucheng, Wushi Harbor, Wai'ao and Beiguan to Dali. → Local buses
Come to Toucheng (頭城) for the sea. If you do one thing, make it Wushi Harbor: the Lanyang Museum on one side, the boats to Guishan Island on the other, and Wai'ao's surf beach just up the road. The town grew up beside the harbour, once the trading port of old Yilan, and its old street is the oldest on the plain. So Toucheng is really two places: a quiet old town by the station, and a coast of beaches, surf and boat trips facing Guishan Island. Most visitors only need the second.
Toucheng Old Street (頭城老街)
Toucheng Old Street is Heping Street (和平街), about 600 m long, between an Earth God shrine at its south gate and another at its north gate. It's the oldest street on the plain, the "first street of Kavalan" (開蘭第一街). Along it are Qing-era southern Fujian shophouses and Japanese-era fronts, among them the Chen Chun-ji shop (陳春記商號), Xinchangxing (新長興樹記) and the Lu family house (盧宅), with murals and art in the side lanes. It's a quiet street, not a market, so come for the buildings. Open all day, a few minutes' walk from Toucheng Station.
- Toucheng Cultural and Creative Park (頭城文創園區). Japanese-era railway staff housing beside the station, restored as studios, crafts shops and a small history display. 11:00 to 17:00, closed Tuesdays.
- Toucheng Township History Museum (頭城鎮史館). The old Japanese-era headmaster's house of Toucheng Elementary School, with tatami rooms and old photographs of the town. 09:00 to 12:00 and 13:30 to 16:30.
Wushi Harbor and the Lanyang Museum (烏石港)
On the coast, Wushi Harbor is the departure point for Guishan Island landings and whale watching, with a marina, fishing boats and seafood restaurants. The angular, sloping Lanyang Museum, Yilan's county museum, stands beside it. Its Wushi Harbor Station (烏石港驛站) at the north-east corner of the grounds, the old harbour visitor center, has a viewing deck over the port toward the island. Open 08:00 to 17:00.
Getting there: the Northeast Coast and Zhuangwei Dune shuttles both stop at Wushi Harbor, and some highway buses from Taipei stop at the Wushi Harbor bus station.
Wai'ao Beach (外澳海灘)
Just north of the harbour, Wai'ao Beach is a long, open beach of fine dark sand looking straight at Guishan Island. It's one of the few beaches in Yilan that works for both surfing and families paddling, and it draws surfers from all over Taiwan and abroad. If you've wanted to try a lesson, this is the place. The yellow Wai'ao visitor center, designed by Kris Yao, sits on the beach with a café. Open all day. → Surfing at Wai'ao
Getting there: train to Wai'ao Station, or the Northeast Coast shuttle.
Beiguan Tidal Park (北關海潮公園)
Further north along Highway 2, Beiguan Tidal Park stands on the site of a Qing checkpoint guarding the road into Yilan, and still has two old cannons said to date from the Jiaqing era. Come for the rocks: tilted sandstone ridges, "tofu" rock cut into neat blocks by the sea, and sea caves, with steps and paths up to a pavilion that looks south to Guishan Island and Wai'ao. "Beiguan tides" is one of the Eight Views of Lanyang. Open all day.
Getting there: train to Guishan Station, then about 15 minutes on foot, or the Northeast Coast shuttle to the Beiguan Tidal Park stop.
Toucheng Beach Forest Park (頭城濱海森林公園)
South of Wushi Harbor, about 2 km south-east of Toucheng Station, the Toucheng Beach Forest Park was the Toucheng bathing beach from 1958. The sand washed away after the harbour was rebuilt, and in 2015 the site became a coastal forest park, known for its octagonal lookout tower. Open 10:00 to 17:00.
Qiang Gu, the ghost festival climb (頭城搶孤)
In Ghost Month, the seventh lunar month, Toucheng holds its Qiang Gu (搶孤, "grappling for the offerings"): twelve teams compete to climb a towering offering structure called the gu zhan (孤棧). It's run by the Toucheng Zhongyuan Festival Association with county and township support, and it draws crowds of at least 10,000. Dates follow the lunar calendar and are announced each year. → Festivals in Yilan
→ Jiaoxi, next door · North along the coast · Yilan's other areas
Sources: Taiwan Tourism Administration, Toucheng; Taiwan Tourism Administration, Beiguan Tidal Park; Yilan County tourism (宜蘭勁好玩): Toucheng Old Street, Cultural and Creative Park, Township History Museum, Wushi Harbor, Wushi Harbor Station, Wai'ao Beach, Wai'ao visitor center, Beiguan Tidal Park, Beach Forest Park; Taiwan Tourist Shuttle, Northeast Coast line; Liberty Times on Qiang Gu. Checked November 2026.