Central Taichung is where the city started to grow, around the railway that arrived in the Japanese era. Today it is the old town: a 1917 station building turned cultural park, a canal walk, red-brick buildings reborn as dessert shops, and a market that has fed the neighborhood for a hundred years. It is compact and flat, and almost everything here is within walking distance of Taichung Station.
- Train TRA Taichung Station (臺中車站), the city's main railway station
- Bus Bus Taiwan Boulevard routes 300 to 308 run from Taichung Station toward the science museum and the 7th Redevelopment Zone
- MRT none: the Green Line does not pass through the old town
- How long half a day, or a long afternoon into the evening
Getting there
Come by train to Taichung Station. If you arrive on the high speed rail, remember the HSR station is out in Wuri, south of the center, so you need a connection into town. → From HSR Taichung Station into the city
The Taichung MRT Green Line runs mostly along Wenxin Road, west of the center, so it does not stop here. From the old town, the Taiwan Boulevard buses (300 to 308) are the quick way west to the museums, the Calligraphy Greenway and the National Taichung Theater. → City buses
What to see
Old Taichung Station (舊臺中車站). The old station was built in 1917, in the Japanese Taishō era, and the city calls it one of the most complete historic train stations surviving in Taiwan. It was declared a historic site in 1995. When the new elevated station opened behind it on October 16, 2016, the old building became the heart of the Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park, and on weekends the old platform turns into the Lu Market.
- Hours Railway Cultural Park: Monday to Friday 11:00 to 21:00; Saturday and Sunday 10:30 to 21:30
- Address No. 1, Section 1, Taiwan Boulevard, Central District
- Getting there in front of Taichung Station (TRA)
Miyahara (宮原眼科). A red-brick eye clinic built in 1927 by the Japanese ophthalmologist Miyahara Takeo, later a public health office, then left to decay. The pastry company Dawn Cake restored it, kept the brick walls and arches, and filled it with a fantasy-library interior. It is now a sweets shop and ice cream hall, and it is one of the five places we send everyone to in Taichung. The city's tourism site lists it as open daily, 10:00 to 21:00. It is about 190 m from the old station. → Our full Miyahara guide
Lyuchuan Canal (綠川). The Lyuchuan, or Green River, runs right past Miyahara. It was once heavily polluted; the city cleaned it up and lined it with a waterside walk, and the street lamps make it a pleasant stroll after dark.
Second Market (第二市場). A market of more than a century, on Sanmin Road at Taiwan Boulevard, built in the Japanese era around a hexagonal center building. It is a food stop rather than a sight: small counters selling local dishes such as braised pork belly over rice. It is about 700 m from Miyahara, an easy walk west. → Taichung's markets
A short walking order
- Start at Taichung Station and walk out to the old station building and the Railway Cultural Park.
- Cross to Miyahara for ice cream or pastries, then walk a stretch of the Lyuchuan Canal.
- Head west to the Second Market for a market lunch or an early dinner.
- If you still have energy, take a Taiwan Boulevard bus west to the Calligraphy Greenway. → West Taichung
Good to know: the old station, Miyahara and the Lyuchuan Canal sit within about 200 m of each other, so you can see the heart of the old town in an hour and spend the rest of the time eating. Weekends bring the Lu Market and bigger crowds at Miyahara; weekday afternoons are calmer.
→ All neighborhoods · North Taichung and Taichung Park · Sun cakes · Staying near Taichung Station
Sources
The old station, the new station's opening date, the Railway Cultural Park's hours, Miyahara, the Lyuchuan Canal, the Second Market and the distances between them: Taichung City Government tourism site, Old Taichung Train Station, New Taichung Station, Taichung Station Railway Cultural Park, Miyahara, Lyuchuan Canal and Second Market. Taiwan Boulevard bus routes from Taichung Station: National Taichung Theater and National Museum of Natural Science. MRT stations: Taichung Metro station information. Checked October 2026.