Visitors have vanished from Hualien’s popular shopping area
Visitors have vanished from Hualien’s popular shopping area
2025-11-03
Once a busy tourist hub, a commercial district in Hualien is now struggling to stay alive. At a tea shop that’s been open for half a century, the 90-year-old owner says he’s only sold one cup all morning. Down the street, even the famous Gong Zheng Bun shop, once known for its endless lines, now serves customers right away. After last year’s deadly earthquake and this year’s flooding, visitors have all but vanished.
It’s past 10, and we’ve only sold one drink
One drink!
This iconic tea shop in Hualien has been in business for 50 years, but the 90-year old proprietor is just watching time go by in the shop. It’s been three hours since opening, and they’ve only sold one cup of tea. They used to sell more than 1,000 every day, straight from their chilled steel pipes into the retro-design cups. Now it’s all just décor.
Proprietor
Gangguan Black Tea
If I bring them down, who am I going to sell anything to? I just sell one cup today, and another one tomorrow. We’re paying for electricity. Hualien’s Ximending is as silent as the graveyard.
The deadly earthquake on April 3 last year and the recent floods in Guangfu have taken their toll on tourism.
Down the street, a cloud of steam signals another iconic shop, Gong Zheng Bun. There’s a small group ordering buns outside, and inside there’s a handful of customers. But the long lines are gone.
Tourists
Noticed a difference
There’s still people, but it’s half as many.
Huang Lung-en
Gong Zheng Bun Store
There was a difference after the earthquake last year. As for the flood, at the beginning we also noticed a change. A lot of Shovel Superheroes came over, giving a boost to tourism.
Once bustling, the shopping district is now anything but. On Zhongzheng Road, Zhongshan Road and Zhonghua Road, there are more than 10 commercial properties looking for tenants, and “to let” banners are everywhere.
This pork chop noodle shop is shut, and a popular braised food shop is empty. Even during the recent long weekend, the streets were deserted.
Mike Liao
Hostel operator
Now you can buy a bun immediately. You used to have to wait 30 or 40 minutes.
A hostel operator in Hualien has started a side career as a content creator to promote tourist sites and local eats in the county, in hopes that crowds will come back.
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花蓮天災不斷! 觀光人潮減半 鋼管紅茶一天僅賣4.5杯
2025-11-03
花蓮這兩年經歷0403大地震、颱風和光復水災，天災不斷，嚴重影響當地觀光消費。過去最熱鬧的金三角商圈，已經看不到知名店家大排長龍的景象，還有許多店面要出租。經營50年的鋼管紅茶店，一整天只賣4、5杯飲料，讓90歲的老老闆相當無奈。
“10點多了 只有一杯 只有我買的一杯 對啊”
開業50年的"花蓮鋼管紅茶"，90歲老闆坐在店裡發呆，3小時只賣出一杯紅茶。以前一天賣到上千杯，使用招牌的鋼管冰鎮和裝杯，現在賣的量太少，早就不用了，只能當裝飾。
[[鋼管紅茶老闆]]
“我放下去要賣給誰，現在賣一杯，明天又賣一杯，這個要電耶，花蓮的西門町，變成跟墓地一樣”
去年花蓮0403地震、今年光復水災，天災不斷，觀光客銳減。
蒸籠冒出陣陣熱氣，熱呼呼包子裝袋，花蓮有名的"公正包子"，4、5位民眾在門口點餐，現場也有內用客人，但已經看不到，以往的排隊人潮。
[[遊客]]
“有啦，可是人少了一半啦”
[[公正包子業者 黃隆恩]]
“地震後剛開始有點差，水災的部分，也是剛開始的時候有受到影響，鏟子超人救災，然後有帶動一些觀光經濟”
實際走訪，有"花蓮西門町"之稱的金三角商圈，冷冷冷清。不論是中正路、中山路、中華路，短短200公尺，至少有10間店面待租，到處都是招租紅布條。
排骨麵沒開門，最有名的滷味店也沒人，十月底光復節連假，花蓮的街上空蕩蕩。
[[花蓮民宿業者 廖麥渴]]
“(公正包子)買了就可以馬上拿，以前大概都要排30、40分鐘”
民宿老闆努力經營自媒體，拍影片介紹花蓮光觀美食，希望能吸引多點人到當地消費，振興經濟。
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