Sanchong (三重) and Luzhou (蘆洲) are two busy, low-key districts of New Taipei City on the far bank of the Tamsui River from Taipei. Few visitors come out here, but they have one of the best free days out for families in the metro area, New Taipei Metropolitan Park and its huge animal-themed playground, plus old temples, riverside bike paths and a temple-front market where Taiwanese soup noodles are said to have started.
- Where Sanchong District and Luzhou District, New Taipei City
- MRT Orange Line, Xinzhuang branch: Sanchong (O15) and Xianse Temple (O16). Orange Line, Luzhou branch: Sanmin Senior High School (O53) and Luzhou (O54). Taoyuan Airport MRT: Sanchong (A2)
- Best for kids, a riverside bike ride, temples, local food
- Time half a day for the park; add an evening in Luzhou
How to get there
North of Taipei Main Station, the Orange Line (Zhonghe-Xinlu Line) splits in two after Daqiaotou (O12). One branch runs through Sanchong (O15) and Xianse Temple (O16) toward Xinzhuang; the other, the Luzhou branch, runs to Sanmin Senior High School (O53) and the end of the line at Luzhou (O54). Check the destination on the train before you board. Sanchong Station is also a stop on the Taoyuan Airport MRT (A2), the next station after Taipei Main Station (A1); check that your train stops there, as not every service does. → How the Taipei MRT works
What to see
New Taipei Metropolitan Park (新北大都會公園)
This long riverside park runs along the Erchong Floodway through Sanchong, Luzhou and Wugu, with lawns, paths and space for picnics and exercise. It starts right outside Sanchong Station: New Taipei City notes a big slide by the MRT exit that takes you straight into the park.
- Where: No. 859, Section 1, Shuhong East Road, Sanchong District.
- MRT: Sanchong Station (Orange Line, O15; Taoyuan Airport MRT, A2).
- Facilities: family restrooms, barrier-free paths, food vans by the playground, and a car park.
Bear Monkey Forest Playground (熊猴森樂園)
Inside the park, Xiong Hou Sen, or Bear Monkey Forest, is a 4-hectare inclusive playground that opened in July 2020. New Taipei City calls it Taiwan's largest inclusive slide park. It has 31 slides and around a hundred other play features, all themed on Taiwan's native animals: a Mikado pheasant stone slide, a Formosan blue magpie climbing net, a Formosan black bear swing. Boards beside each one explain the animal and the suitable ages. A water play area, Sea World, opened in summer 2022 and runs in the warm months only.
- Hours: 06:00 to 22:00.
- Entry: free.
- Water play: summer only, closed on Tuesdays; in 2026 it sprayed at 10:00 to 12:00 and 15:00 to 19:00 until September. Bring a change of clothes.
- MRT: Sanchong Station (Orange Line, O15; Taoyuan Airport MRT, A2).
Good to know: in hot summer weather, New Taipei City suggests coming in the evening.
Riverside cycling
Metropolitan Park is a riverside park between the flood walls, the same kind of flat, traffic-free ground as Taipei's riverside bike paths, and a pleasant place to ride. For how the riverside paths work, where to rent a bike and the rules for bikes on the MRT, see → Cycling in Taipei.
Xianse Temple (先嗇宮)
Sanchong's oldest temple, and its only city-designated historic monument, also called Wuguwang Temple, the temple of the Five Grains King. It gave its name to the MRT station.
- Where: Erchongpu, Sanchong District.
- MRT: Xianse Temple Station (Orange Line, O16).
Yonglian Temple (湧蓮寺)
Luzhou's main temple, built in 1872 on Desheng Street, is named for the "lotus cave" feng shui of its site. It started as a small hut; the main hall was finished in 1961. The town grew up around it, and its temple front is now Luzhou's market.
- Where: No. 96, Desheng Street, Luzhou District.
- Hours: 05:00 to 23:00.
- MRT: Sanmin Senior High School Station (Orange Line, O53).
Luzhou Miaokou Night Market (蘆洲廟口夜市)
The streets outside Yonglian Temple are a traditional market by day and a night market from the afternoon. Luzhou says Taiwanese-style soup noodles, qiezai mian (切仔麵), began at stalls in front of the temple: noodles shaken in a strainer, served in pork-bone broth with leeks and bean sprouts. The area is a traditional market by day, so lunch is a good time to come too.
- Hours: 15:00 to 23:00.
- MRT: Sanmin Senior High School Station (Orange Line, O53).
NightMarket.tw lists the noodle shops and snack stalls around Yonglian Temple. → Taipei's night markets
Timing tips
- Playground early or late. Bear Monkey Forest is open from 06:00 to 22:00. In summer, mornings and evenings are cooler.
- Park, then dinner. From Sanchong Station, ride back toward Daqiaotou and change branches for the Luzhou line to Sanmin Senior High School (O53) for an evening at the temple market.
- Rain. Everything here is outdoors except the temples.
→ Banqiao · Zhonghe and Yonghe · Taipei's parks
Sources
New Taipei Metropolitan Park and Bear Monkey Forest address, opening date, size, slides, hours, water play and facilities from New Taipei City's park page; Sea World, the 31 animal species and the nearest station from its family column. Xianse Temple as Sanchong's oldest temple, a city monument and Wuguwang Temple from New Taipei City's Sanchong tour, with its status confirmed by Newtalk. Yonglian Temple from its temple page; the market's hours and soup noodle history from the temple-front shopping area page; qiezai mian and the Luzhou branch stations from the Luzhou branch MRT tour. Station codes from the Taipei Metro station list and Sanchong's Airport MRT stop from Taoyuan Metro. Checked October 2026.