Located at the central point on the east coast, the 16.22-kilometer highway links Yuli (玉里) in the mountain region of Hualien County, and the eastern coastal town of Changbin (長濱) in Taitung County.

Previously, it was necessary to drive about two hours between the two areas. Now travel time has been sharply reduced to only 30 minutes.

A spokeswoman of the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration said that residents in Yuli and its surrounding areas want to use this highway to visit the Changbin and coastal areas to admire sea views and eat seafood. Some motorists stop at some points on the highway to see Pacific Ocean and mountain views, she said.

In order to better use the highway in the tourism industry, the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration and the East Rift Valley National Scenic Area Administration have jointly held a tourism promotion project by mapping out two tour routes -- the northern circuit route and southern circuit route.

The northern circuit route starts from Hualien, goes on Highway No. 11 (the east coast highway) to Changbin, then connects to Yuli via the Yuchang Highway, then links to Highway No. 9 (the rift valley highway) and goes back to Hualien.

The southern circuit route sets off from Taitung, goes along Highway No. 9 to Yuli, taking the Yuchang Highway to Changbin, then back to Taitung.

The two scenic area administrations have designed "three-day and two-night travel packages" for each of the two routes, which include major scenic spots in the east coast and rift valley.

Additionally, in line with the establishment of the two routes, the Taiwan Tour Bus provides regular tourism bus services to travel these two routes every day. Groups or individual visitors may contact the Merry Travel Service at Tel: (02) 2565-2780 in Taipei and (03) 835-5447 in Hualien.

For the southern circuit route, Taiwan Tour Bus will provide transportation to three major hot spring areas in Taitung and Hualien. They are Rueisuei (瑞穗) Hot Springs Area, Jhihben (知本) Hot Springs Area and Antong (安通) Hot springs Area.

The Rueisuei Hot Springs Area was once counted among the eight wonders of Hualien. The carbonate spring that emerges from the lower reaches of the Honghe River has a light ocher tint. It is said that honeymooning couples who enjoy its waters tend to later have boy children, so it is also known as the "Baby Boy Spring."

The Jhihben Hot Springs Area is a colorless and odorless sodium carbonate hot spring. It enjoyed the favor of the Japanese Emperor during the Japanese colonial period. The hot spring waters are believed to boost the skin's metabolism and delay aging, so it's also known as the "Beauty Spa."

The Antong Hot Springs Area was first discovered on the banks of the Antong River in 1903. The area has been the favorite of hot spring aficionados. After the liberation of Taiwan, the area was considered one of the eight wonders of Hualien. Today, Antong Hot Springs' high quality mineral rich waters continue to offer visitors a place to wash away the dust of the roads.