July 9, 2025 - Taiwan is a global cycling powerhouse for manufacturing bicycles and e-bikes along with parts and components, but it is also rapidly developing itself as a top-tier cycling tourism destination.
By building on the strength of its cultural and industrial base in cycling, and its green initiatives for sustainability, Taiwan is poised become a worldwide leader in cycling tourism as well.
This geographical diverse nation, with its historical riches, friendly people, warm weather, and amazing cuisine, offers an excellent combination of attributes to enhance tourism opportunities for the global two-wheel market.
From a 1000-km, multi-day circumnavigation of the island, and leisurely strolls along dedicated bike paths, to inner-city exploring via ride-share programs, Taiwan is well positioned to expand and improve on its valuable resources.
Government support and partnerships with industry leaders like Giant Bicycles have been spearheading the growth and development of cycle tourism in the country.
In 2024, the government announced an investment of NT$540 million ($252 million CAD) over three years to build bike paths as part developing Taiwan as a cycling destination.
Giant Bicycle’s leadership in the Bike Alliance for Sustainability (BAS), along with launching its own in-house Giant Adventure operation is also helping to build Taiwan’s cycling tourism platform. Since 2009, Giant Adventure has led more than 3,200 tours with over 110,000 customers.
During our recent “Go Healthy with Taiwan” media tour we had the opportunity to visit Yilan County for a sampling of some of the amazing cultural, tourism and cycling that Taiwan has to offer.
Just a short one-hour drive from Taipei, Yilan is Taiwan’s northernmost county with a population of 450,000. Lying on the east coast, Yilan is known for its natural hot springs, surfing, and flat, recreational cycling terrain.
We joined Giant Adventure for a short excursion along the Annong River and through the local countryside. My Giant e-bike made the journey quite enjoyable as I was able to relax and spin while taking in the beautiful scenery.
The lush, green countryside is home to farming and showcased vast numbers of rice paddies, along with a mixture of other crops including pumpkins, another popular staple grown in the area.
Cycling in Yilan is just one of the fabulous spots to visit in this unique part of the world, that offers a variety of accommodation options, great food and cultural opportunities.
On our recent visit, we stayed in the town of Jiaoxi, known for its hotels, restaurants and hot springs. Sitting at the base of the mountains, our Gamalan Star Hotel offered multiple roof-top hot springs to enjoy.
As part of our cultural experience, we visited the new National Centre for Traditional Arts. This 24-hectare multi-faceted facility sits along the Dongshan River and offers displays and performances in culture and art.
In addition, there are terrific food options, quaint artistic shops, live performances and a boat ride along the river. For visitors the wish to stay for multiple days, there is even a hotel on site.
Dining in Taiwan is also a true culinary and social experience, with traditional Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese influences highlighting the menu.
With multiple guests around large tables, we enjoyed milkfish a Taiwanese staple, meat and tofu hot pot, Taiwanese banquet style dishes with spicey, delectable seafoods along with roast duck carved at the table.
To top it off, we got to toast our new friends with Taiwan Beer, an iconic local lager of choice.
Arguably, the country’s most famous cycling journey is the “Taiwan Cycle Route No. 1.” This 968-km trek takes riders on a 9 to 12-day tour around the island. The trip utilizes a combination of roadways, bike paths and separated bike lanes to showcase this relatively small island (36,000 km/sq), that features five significant mountain ranges amidst subtropical and tropical climatic zones.
In 2007, Giant’s founder King Liu, at the age of 73, completed a 15-day journey around Taiwan which foreshadowed the company opening its own cycling tour operation in 2009, Giant Adventure.
Dubbed the “Tour de Taiwan”, Giant Adventure offers this route as a 9-day, 8-night package with departures from either Taipei or Taichung. Other trips include a two-day, e-bike tour of the East Rift Valley, or a three-day cycling tour discovering Hualien and the East Coast.
Another epic journey in Taiwan is the Twin Towers Cycling Route. This 520 km ride travels between Fuguijiao Lighthouse in the far north and the Eluanbi Lighthouse in the south. Although most riders enjoy the journey as a multi-day tour, there is also an organized one-day challenge that saw over 100 participants attempt the ride.
The annual Taiwan Cycling Festival held in Oct/Nov aims to promote cycling and showcase the beauty of Taiwan to both local and international cyclists with various activities including cycling challenges and themed events such as the “Brilliant Events” day. The main event of the Taiwan Cycling Festival is the Sun Moon Lake Cycling, Music & Fireworks Festival in November, which includes Come! Bike Day where participants can enjoy cycling around Sun Moon Lake.
Exploring Taiwan’s major cities by bicycle is another great experience, and one needs to look no further than YouBike, the country’s own ride share program. Launched in 2009, YouBike’s highly visible orange and yellow Giant bikes quickly caught on.
In 2020, YouBike 2.0 was launched which also led to the addition of e-bikes. There are currently 11,000 e-bikes in the YouBike fleet, all utilizing Giant’s SyncDrive motors, with a range of 80 km. Today, YouBike boasts over one billion rides with close to 16 million members.
In 2024, the City of Taipei looked at ways to reduce emissions, with one initiative being to subsidize the first 30 minutes of YouBike rides in the city. With a goal of reducing emissions 40% by 2030, this initiative alone increased rides on YouBikes by 20%. Utilizing a $17 million CAD budget, Taipei plans to add 700 new stations and over 10,000 bikes by 2026.
YouBike is available in 15 cities and counties in Taiwan, creating a great opportunity for tourists as well to enjoy a convenient, and low-cost transportation option while exploring the country’s urban centres.
As a cycling tourism destination Taiwan is a rising star with so much to offer from fabulous routes, to scenic landscapes, great food, cultural jewels and remarkably welcoming people.
Visit Giant Adventure here.
Read more about the Go Healthy with Taiwan Campaign here and here.
