Known as "Ban Xian" in ancient times, Changhua City is a historic town. It is mainly composed of two geological areas, Bagua Plateau (or Bagua Mountain Ridge) and a plain. Changhua is blessed with many natural and cultural resources, including Bagua Mountain Natural Scenic Area which features a gigantic Buddha statue, Taiwan's only railway roundhouse, Confucius Temple, Wude Temple, and Nanyao Temple which worships goddess Mazu. Changhua is also famous for delicious food such as meatballs, stewed pork with rice, vegetarian noodles, and "cats and mice" noodles.
Bagua Mountain is Changhua's most famous tourist attraction. In the old days, the morning Sun in the spring at Bagua Mountain was hailed as the most beautiful of Changua's eight scenes. While it was once a battlefield, Bagua Mountain later became a hot spring area, and now it is known for monuments and the Buddha statue. Jioulong Pond Plaza, right in front of the statue, provides a birds-eye-view of Changhua Plain. There are Literary Hiking Trail, Bagua Mountain Silver Bridge, and Lai He Poetry Wall nearby. Bagua Mountain Skywalk is ideal for a walk through the clouds. Bagua Mountain is Changhua's important landmark. It not only suggests the area's development but also serves as a leisurely attraction for the locals.
Other than nature, Changhua boasts Taiwan's only "roundhouse" where trains are repaired and maintained. The roundhouse, also known as a "hotel for trains," consists of 12 stalls with a turntable in the middle. When a locomotive needs maintenance, it goes to the roundhouse and lets the turntable rotate itself to bring it to the right spot. The roundhouse is home to Taiwan's oldest CK101 locomotive, aside from CK124, CT273, and DT668 locomotives.
Changhua is even famous for traditional food, and the most well-known is meat balls, either fried at a low or high temperature. There are also iced rice balls served with a range of dippings. Stewed pork with rice is popular among the locals. The pork is usually leg with skin or belly strung up by a bamboo stick, so that the meat and the skin stick together. From day to night, this dish is available at many local shops. Other delicacies include oyster noodles, meat buns, "cats and mice" noodles, and vegetarian noodles.
In Changhua, visitors can enjoy tradition and modernity, as well as nature and culture at once. The temples and food here are especially worth some exploration.