In the same tradition of creatively named Taiwan cities that brought us Taipei, Taizhong and Tainan, we have the city of Taidong, located, as could be expected, on the Eastern side of the island.
Taidong is the second largest city on the East Coast of Taiwan, somewhat smaller than the city of Hualien, in the North. It is home to around 100,000 people.
The West Coast of Taiwan is all either urbanized or heavily farmed, but the East Coast cities, such as Taidong, are basically little outposts set between the wild mountains and the wild oceans. Because of this, the major economic activity in Taidong seems to be tourism, followed by farming. After the crowded busy streets of the West, the open, almost empty six lane roads of Taidong are quite refreshing.
For anyone planning on visiting Taiwan, especially people from the more open areas of North America, a trip to an East Coast city such as Taidong can be a sanity saver. It is easily accesible by rail either from Kaosiung or Taipei, although it is not served as often by rail as cities on the West Coast.