Nantou (南投 Nántóu in Mandarin, Lâm-tâu in Hokkien) is a city in Nantou County.

Understand

The name of the city is a transliteration of the Hoanya word Ramtau with its first character (南; "south") chosen to complement that of Beitou's (北; "north"), a district in Taipei, even though there is no relation between the aboriginal names.

Get in

Nantou Bus Station

• 1 Nantou City Bus Station (南投市客運總站), No. 122, Datong South Street. There is a bus station right by Carrefour that connects to most major cities around Taiwan. As of 2011, there are no direct routes from Tainan to Nantou. (updated Jun 2020)

Get around

On foot

Downtown Nantou (mostly the shopping district) is small enough to get around on foot.

By taxi

The easiest alternative mode of transportation would probably be by taxi. Near the bus station and Carrefour there are always taxis standing by, but since these usually don't use meters, be careful and negotiate a good deal first.

See

Taiwan Historica - Folklore Artifacts Hall

Lantian Academy

Bishan Temple

Museums

• Nantou County Pottery Museum, No.65, Sec. 2, Jhangnan Rd, ☏ +886-049-2202430. Tu–Su 09:00–17:00. 
• 1 Nantou Bamboo Museum (南投縣竹藝博物館), No. 135, Jianguo Road, ☏ +886492231191. 09:00-17:00. The museum contains a number of exhibitions related to bamboo, weaving, and other related industries. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Taiwan Historica (國史館臺灣文獻館), No. 254, Guangming 1st Road, ☏ +886492316881. 09:00-17:00. Taiwan Historica was originally established on 1 June 1948 to compile the common history of Taiwan Province. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Taiwan Mochi Museum (臺灣麻糬主題館), No. 3, Ziqiang 3rd Road, ☏ +886492261123. 09:00-18:00. There are a variety of mochi to learn about and to taste and many booths hand out free samples. (updated Jun 2020)

History and culture

• 4 Jufang Hall (聚芳館). A historical building, built in a Western architectural style, which was completed in 1920.  
• 5 Nantou County Culture Park (南投縣文化園區), No. 65, Section 2, Zhangnan Road, ☏ +886492202430. 09:00-17:00. The park's main building, County History Hall, was built in 1937 as the Wude Temple. Adjacent to the County History Hall is the Art Archive Hall which was originally built in 1952. It was later changed to its current use in 2003. (updated Jun 2020)
• 6 Lantian Academy (藍田書院), No. 140, Wenchang Street, ☏ +886492221184. 06:00-22:00. A very old building which was originally used to train advisors to the government. (updated Jun 2020)
• 7 Nantou Lychee Tree King (南投荔枝王). The oldest Lychee tree in Taiwan that is considered sacred by locals. Researchers from a local university have estimated the age of the trees to be between 270 and 472 years. (updated Jun 2020)
• 8 Nantou mother and daughter tree (老樟母女樹). A pair of camphor trees that were used by locals as a temple to the gods of the land and therefore were spared the logging that removed almost all other such trees from the area as land was cleared for agriculture. (updated Jun 2020)

Temples

• 9 Bishan Temple (碧山巖), No. 1929, Section 3, Zhangnan Road, ☏ +886492525076. An impressive-looking wide white Buddhist temple with a large green tile roof. The temple itself dates back to 1752 and overlooks Caotun Township and the Bagua Plateau. (updated Jun 2020)
• 10 Peitian Temple (南投配天宮), No. 65, Zhongshan Street, ☏ +886492222056. 06:30-19:00. (updated Jun 2020)

Do

Every Wednesday night, there is a night market on the streets around Carrefour.

Parks and nature

• 1 Houtanjing Recreation Area (猴探井遊憩區), No. 300, Houtanjing Street, ☏ +886492292556. An area picturesque parkland. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Bald Pine Forest (落羽松森林), ☏ +886912356698. A small pine forest that is good for a brief stroll through the trees, particularly in autumn when the colours are changing. (updated Jun 2020)

Sport

• 3 Nantou County Stadium (南投縣立體育場), No. 300, Nangang 1st Road, ☏ +886492220428. THe major sports venue for the city with a grandstand for those who wish to spectate. (updated Jun 2020)
• 4 Taiwan Governmental Golf Club (中華民國公教人員高爾夫研習會), No. 351, Guangming 1st Road, ☏ +886492332820. A public golf course on the ourskirts of the city. (updated Jun 2020)

Buy

• Carrefour (家樂福)
• Watsons
• Xin Nong Sheng Xian Supermarket (新農生鮮超市)
• Twilight Market (黃昏市場), a market that sells a variety of groceries, including many traditional Taiwanese dishes.
• He Jia Ren Bookstore, a bookstore that sells some English books.
• Tsang Kun, a large electronics store.
• 1 Nantou Market (南投市場), ☏ +886492222106. 06:00-14:00. A covered market selling a variety of food, homewares, and other items. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Nantou Wednesday Night Market (南投市家樂福夜市), Sanhe 2nd Road. Wed 17:30-22:30. A typical Taiwan-style night market that runs every Wednesday night in the streets around the Carrefour. (updated Jun 2020)

Eat

Local specialities

Nantou is famous for delicious Taiwanese dishes.

• Bucket Sticky Rice (桶子米糕)
• Yi Noodle (義麵)
• Shaved Ice (ㄘㄨㄚˋ冰)

Western

• 1 Elephant Steak House (大象牛排館), 105 Guobing Road, ☏ +886492220650. 11:00-21:30. a large steak house opened by the owner of Fala Steak House. Elephant Steak House is much larger and the prices even lower, making it very popular (it gets crowded sometimes) with people in Nantou. There is a buffet area with all-you-can-eat noodles, salad, fruits, etc. (updated Jun 2020)
• Fala Steak House (法拉象牛排館). a classy western style steak house that has very fair prices and excellent quality food. There are four rounds to a typical meal, starting with salad, soup, the main course, and a dessert. Drinks are refillable and include sodas and tea, and there are snacks available for taking. (updated Jun 2020)

Vegetarian

• Duofu Dohua (多福豆花). a sweets shop on Janguo Road which is just behind the County Gym Field. It's a franchised branch of a chain, but they make most of their products by themselves. Their Dohua (sweet soft beancurd) is made with much care and is very nice. They also provide many kinds of other desserts, kinds of shaved ice and drinks which are all cheap and worth the money you pay. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 Tianci Vegetarian (天慈素食), No. 68, Jixian Road, ☏ +886492235176. 05:30-20:30. A small, cheap vegetarian restaurant nearby the sports stadium. (updated Jun 2020)

Breakfast

• 3 A-bao, No. 51, Yingbei Road, ☏ +886492390288. 06:00-13:00. A breakfast restaurant service both western and Taiwanese fare. (updated Jun 2020)

Drink

Refreshment shops can be found all over, most offering a variety of bubble teas, tea, and fruit juice.

• 1 Nantou Winery (南投酒廠), No. 82, Dongshan Road, ☏ +886492234171. 08:30-17:00. A winery and distillery where visitors can learn about the production process and pick up a bottle or two. (updated Jun 2020)

Sleep

• 1 Nantou Hotel (南投大飯店), No. 6, Sanhe 1st Road, ☏ +886492229161. A 3-star hotel in the centre of town. (updated Jun 2020)
• 2 EG Rental Co. (EG 南投住宿), No. 10, Alley 12, Lane 1, Datong Street, ☏ +886979618748. A modern, boutique-style budget hotel nearby the Mochi Museum. (updated Jun 2020)
• 3 Zhongxing Nanfa Manor (中興南法莊園), ☏ +886492394880. A small B&B which is housed in an old, traditional wood and stone house. (updated Jun 2020)