Taiwan Hiking Journal

Monday, July 6, 2026

Losheng Sanatorium 樂生療養院

Losheng Sanitorium is a historic landmark and an oasis of quiet that sits in the foothills above the chaos and rush of the streets below. All that can be heard is the chirping of birds, the hum of the city, maybe the sound of life going on quietly inside of the residences. There are two churches, a Buddhist temple and multiple historic buildings. There is also one short trail. It was established as a self-contained community for people with leprosy in the 1930's. Residents were sometimes forcibly separated from their families, quarantined and not permitted to leave. After 1954 when they were free to leave, many residents chose to remain in what had become their home. It was slated for demolition as part of the construction of the MRT but protests led to a partial preservation of the site.

Distance/duration: 4.4 km/ 1.5 hours

More details as well as a map and GPX file can be found here on ramblr.

Transportation: I took the MRT to Huilong Station exit 1 and walked from there.

Walk Overview: All of this walk is surfaced except for one very short trail. It's an easy walk. The community is handicapped accessible.

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The Walk

This place is of special significance for me. I first came here circa 2002 when I was living nearby. I was exploring the neighborhood on foot and stumbled upon it by accident. I had no idea what it was but I liked the space. I was still getting used to living in Taiwan and probably a little homesick. The architecture which is a mixture of Japanese and western appealed to me, as well as the open space and houses with yards. It was only later that I found out it was a community for people with leprosy (also known as Hanson's disease). I went back to the family I was staying with and told them about it. My host, not meaning to be offensive but because of his rudimentary English, said some people were afraid to go there because the people were "ugly." It was a leper colony. That is a term that is now considered derogatory and offensive but it has historic connotations.

Leprosy became curable in the mid-twentieth century but there are still about 200,000 cases annually especially in places where the drugs used to treat it are not available. Though leprosy is contagious, transmission requires pro-longed contact with an untreated person and is rare.

In the intervening years I nearly forgot about this place and only recently learned more about it's history and the struggle to preserve it. My memory is hazy but it's fair to say it has changed a lot from when I first went. In some ways for the better because the buildings have been restored, in others for the worse because some buildings were demolished to make way for the construction of the MRT depot.

It used to be a lot more rundown and perhaps more interesting. There were old buildings full of forsaken items. If you want to see photos that more closely resemble my memory of it, I encourage you to take a look at Josh Ellis' photos in this post from 2016: https://www.goteamjosh.com/blog/losheng?rq=Losheng

Losheng Sanitorium was established in 1930 during the Japanese colonial period. It included everything residents needed for daily life—hospital facilities, housing, shops, a barber, sports grounds, religious buildings, water and sewage systems and communal spaces. This was because residents were not permitted to leave. Patients were separated from their families, sometimes forcibly. By the 1950s new treatments were available and after 1954 patients were allowed to leave. Many chose to stay both because of the social stigma of leprosy and because they had made a life and a community there. It had become their home.

In the 1990's there were plans to demolish the site and move the residents because of the construction of the MRT line and depot. After being made to live there, they were going to be made to leave. But vigorous protest campaigns lasting through the 2000s led to a compromise and a partial preservation of the buildings.

Today 39 historic buildings are preserved and a modern hospital has been built nearby. The remaining buildings include:

The original patient wards

Penglai House (蓬萊舍) and Ping'an House (平安舍), residential wards for patients.

The administration building and offices

Staff dormitories

The communal kitchen

A public bathhouse

The laundry building

The disinfection building, where patients and belongings were sterilized upon arrival

A library and classrooms

A mortuary

A chapel

A Buddhist temple

There are two Christian churches, the Shengwang Presbyterian Church (聖望教會) and St. William Catholic Church which is also known as Huilong St. William Catholic Church. The Shengwang Presbyterian Church dates from 1936. It became an important place of worship and community for the residents of the sanatorium. St. William Catholic Church grew out of the community of Catholics that helped to care for the patients and supported their protests to preserve the site.

At the time of the protests the number of residents was 340. In 2026 there are about 50 residents still there.

There is more than one way to get to the sanatorium but the route that I walked allows you visit the Presbyterian church before going on to explore the main community.

I left the MRT station by exit 1 and walked south east on Zhongzheng Road. This road was a cacophony. There was lots of construction and cars were blasting by. Luckily this part of the walk is short.

At Lane 50, Wanshou Road I turned right and walked uphill.

At the end of this short road I came to the modern hospital. I could see the sign for the emergency room. I walked to the right of the building and through a parking lot.

Past the parking lot there was a shady crossroad. To the right there is a brick building. Straight ahead there is another building and some modern residences for patients.

To the left, up some stairs, the Shengwang Presbyterian Church sits on top of a hill. I was the only one there apart from a man taking a nap on the benches in the plaza outside the church. I tried the door but it was locked.

Leaving the church I walked over an elevated walkway that spans the huge gap carved out for the MRT depot. Looking down I could see some preserved or re-built buildings but there is no way to get into that area. There is a fence all around with no trespassing signs.

After crossing the walkway I pretty much wandered around the community at random but first I turned left and walked up a hill and to the end of a trail. On the way I met a main on a scooter who was taking his dog out for some exercise. Other than him, the man taking a nap and a security guard I didn't see any other people. The trail led to the site of the crematorium.

There was a sign in Chinese on the structure. When translated it reads thus:

The crematorium is located on the northwest hillside of the Losheng Sanatorium. In the early days (around 1930 to 1960), a policy of isolation was adopted in response to the Han disease. People outside the hospital refused to allow the bodies of deceased patients to be cremated outside the hospital. Therefore, a simple building was built on the hillside to serve as a crematorium.

There was a saying at the time that once you moved in, you could never leave unless you were cremated. This ignorance and prejudice against Hansen's disease prevented residents from even having their bodies cremated outside the facility.

The exact construction date of the current crematorium site is uncertain, but it is speculated to have been rebuilt later. After the government abolished the mandatory segregation policy, the public crematorium outside the site began accepting cremations of the deceased, causing the crematorium to lose its cremation function and fall into disrepair, only stone pillars and a simple roof frame remain at the site.

I didn't take an particular route through the community. I just wandered around looking at the buildings. Outside of residences there were mobility scooters and there was laundry drying. I could hear a Buddhist chant being played in one, in another someone was talking quietly or maybe it was a TV playing.

Here are a few photos from my walk. If you are in Taiwan and things like this are of interest to you, I urge you to go check out this fascinating place.

St. William Catholic Church

Nearby Hikes:

Da Tong Shan (大同山) and Da Dong Shan (大棟山)

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Map and Google maps links:

More details as well as a map and GPX file can be found on ramblr: https://rblr.co/p5F5Q

Lo Sheng Sanatorium: 25.022822, 121.40832, Google Maps link

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Zhengbin Colorful Houses and Heping Island Geopark

This is a nice day trip from Taipei that can be made into an easy walk. From the colorful houses at Zhengbin Fishing Harbor its about a 15-20 minute walk to Heping Island Geo Park and there is a path around the park. Expect to spend about 2 hours or less walking. Of course the total length of your visit depends on how long you spend in the park. There are many points of interest, including salt water swimming pools, phantasmagorical rock formations and a hill top former military radar station that is now a cafe. In order to protect the environment and rock formations, some features of the island are off limits without a guide. There is a visitor center with showers and changing rooms and there are restaurants on the second and third floors. Another nearby attraction is the huge, crumbling ruin of a former shipyard just next to Heping Bridge.

Distance/duration: About 5.5 km/ 2 hours. This is an estimate of the distance and the total walking time --not the entire time we spent on the island. When we stopped for lunch in a cafe I turned off my tracking app. After lunch we walked back to the bus station by the houses.

More details as well as a map and GPX file can be found here on ramblr.

Walk Overview: All of this walk is on roads or surfaced paths and is mostly level and easy. It's easy to find your way from Zhengbin Fishing Harbor to the park. Just follow the signs and other people.

The buildings lining Zhengbing Fishing Harbor were painted in bright colors in 2018 and since then have become a popular tourist destination. There are cafes and restaurants. Some visitors go at night when the houses are lit up. The fishing harbor was built by the Japanese in 1934.

Heping Island Park is known for its unique coastal geology and cultural and historical significance. Heping Island, located off the coast of Keelung, has a history shaped by maritime trade and colonial influence. It was originally inhabited by indigenous people and later became an important port when the Spanish established a settlement and built Fort San Salvador in 1626. The Spanish were expelled by the Dutch, and the island came under the control of the Qing Dynasty and later the Japanese during the colonial period.

There is a visitor center with a gift shop and restaurants (on the second and third floors), a former military radar station turned into a cafe at the apex of a hill (the cafe is simply called The Hill), salt water swimming pools, a walking path and numerous rock formations all of which have imaginative names. A sampling of names: Sphinx, Seal, King Kong, Sea Hare. To cross the footbridge called Zigzag Bridge, also known as the Bridge of Nine Turns, and tour Alabao Bay you need to go with a guide. They understandably want to keep tourists from wandering off the path and damaging the environment and rock formations.

The park is open from 8:00 to 19:00 from May to October and from 8:00 to 18:00 from November to April. The pool, however, is only open until 18:00 from May to October and until 17:00 from November to April.

The posted rules for the swimming area say that you must wear swimming footwear to avoid injury on the natural bottom and wear reef safe sunscreen or no sunscreen. The pools are closed from 1-2 pm.

There is a children's swimming area where the water is shallow, a deeper (2.5 meters) Blue Ocean Pool and a "pet friendly" pool. There are fish and other marine life in the pools.

There is also a play area called the Toddler Waterway where kids can play in ankle deep water and sand.

Park admission for adults is NT$120 but there are student and senior discounts (NT$60). Children under six are admitted free.

The Agenna Shipyard Ruins are next the bridge which takes you to the island. The site was used for coal storage starting in 1919 and then used as a shipyard from 1966 to to 1987. It gained some brief fame and popularity in the twenty teens when Chris Evans, the actor who played Captain America, did some filming for Call of Duty here.

There is also an old fort, Sheliao East Fort. It is on the island but not in the park. We did not go there but I read that it is at the top of a hill and has good views. The fort was first built in 1626 and later modified in 1886 and 1903.

What to bring: There are lots of stores in Keelung near the Train Station and near Zhengbin Fishing Harbor.

We didn't take any food since we planned to eat lunch in the park. If you plan to swim take swim wear and a towel. I just carried water. I wore sandals.

Transportation: We took a train from Taipei Main Station to Keelung Station. Trains to Keelung are frequent and most take 50 minutes or slightly less.

On the train I was reading, Blue Highways by William Least Heat-Moon.

At Keelung station we took the North Exit (though you can take either) and walked to the Keelung Transit Station. We walked through the station and following signs for city buses went to an outdoor transportation platform.

We took bus 104 to the Old Zhengbin Police Office stop which took about 25 minutes. Lots of buses go there. You can also take bus 101, 102 and 791.

You can take the T99 tourist shuttle directly to Heping Island Park but it only runs 6 times per day.

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The Walk

On the side of the Keelung city buses I noticed the city's mad-lib-like tourist slogan: Keelung: A city full of_______. I guess they gave up trying to think what the city was full of and just decided to let people fill in the blank by themselves. I can imagine some jokesters or perhaps disgruntled residents coming up with funny options for filling in the blank.

The driver of our bus was a maniac. He drove like he was in a rush to get to the toilet; roaring off from a dead stop and then braking so suddenly that everyone was thrown around. It's typical of Taiwan's go along to get along culture that no one complained, even me. Going around one curve in a long stretch where he had been able to build up some speed I really felt like we might tilt up on two wheels. A stout, old lady with a cane fell and four of us had to help her up. We passed some cyclists riding in the right lane and I feared for their safety.

We got off at the Old Zhengbin Police Office station. It was a typical commercial street.

It was Dragon Boat Festival and a really hot day. Dragon Boat Festival is thought to mark the beginning of summer weather in Taiwan. In addition, there were tropical storms nearby bringing hot, humid weather. I had brought my Gossamer Gear Lightrek hiking umbrella for shade. I love it because it is super light weight. When I'm not using it I hardly notice I'm carrying it. In addition, it has a reflective upper surface for sun. My wife did not bring an umbrella because she said she thought we could "share" mine. In practice what that meant was I gave her my umbrella and I suffered in the hellacious sun. Luckily I had a hat, as well.

We walked straight down the road and followed it around a sharp curve. (Now I think we could have gone straight at the curve and walked to the harbor but did not know that at the time). We were above the harbor and could see it through the gaps in the buildings. 250 meters from the bus stop we turned left on Zhengbin Road. There was a brown sign over the intersection pointing the way to Heping Island Park.

Almost immediately after turning left we turned into a narrow alley that led down to the harbor and the Zhengbin Colorful Houses.

Colorful fishing boats floated in the harbor and fingerlings wriggled in the water. We walked back and forth in front of the houses and took some pictures. It was relatively early and not many people were there. There was an ice cream place, some cafes, a ramen restaurant and a tapas restaurant.

The other side of the harbor is a better vantage point for photos.

We walked to Heping Island Park. We crossed the bridge and followed signs. There was quite a bit of traffic but it was mostly slow moving. Lots of other people were walking that way. There was one turn but there was a sign.

In my opinion, if you are able-bodied and don't mind walking, it is more convenient to go to the park by public transportation -- particularly on a weekend or holiday. The parking lot nearest the park was full and people were parking in a further lot and walking anyway. We strolled past a line of cars that were waiting for a parking space to become available.

We arrived and paid for our ticket. Despite the parking lot madness the line at the ticket booth was short.

Just inside the gates there was a view of the inter tidal zone and the skerry that is called Island In the Island.

We bore left and came to the path. First we went straight ahead into the visitor center.

The first floor of the visitor center was mostly a gift shop full of the usual touristy bric-a-brac and frippery. We didn't linger long. We passed through and walked out the other side to check out the swimming pools.

children's pool

blue ocean pool and the pet friendly pool

We went back out to the path and walked counter-clockwise around the island. We passed Wan Shang Temple and Heping Rock and walked to a scenic pavilion with a view of the rock formations, the ocean and Keelung Island.

Heping Rock

After the viewing platform we took the Mountain Trail. Don't let the name mislead you. There is a steep climb at first but its just a small hill and it's a short walk around the side of the island, past a campground and back to the visitor center.

We were getting hungry and I wanted to check out the cafe on the hill in the middle of the park. We walked back out to the path and this time instead of continuing straight to Heping Rock we turned left onto a path up a hillside. There was a sign for the cafe. This was a nice little walk, at first on a paved track and then up shaded steps.

The cafe is in the site of a former military radar station. It's a great location and worth checking out but unfortunately they do not serve food other than some cake. I was pretty hungry so we went back down to the visitors center where we had a margarita pizza, apple pie and ice cream and some cold drinks.