Wender·Vista
Taroko National Park
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTaiwan
on Taiwan's east coast, inland from Hualien

Taroko National Park

— — marble the river carries away by inches.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A marble river gorge on Taiwan's east coast, an hour inland from the city of Hualien. The Liwu River cut the canyon down through Cenozoic marble and dolomite, leaving cliffs of pale grey-white stone above a green stream. Cypress and broadleaf forest holds the upper slopes. The park became national in 1986 and covers about 920 square kilometres from the coast to peaks above 3,000 metres. Sections remain closed after the April 2024 earthquake.

from the studio
Taroko National Park
— bring it home

Taroko National Park, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Taroko National Park

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Taroko National Park covers 920 square kilometres of Hualien, Nantou, and Taichung counties on the eastern flank of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range. The park rises from sea level at the mouth of the Liwu River to 3,742 metres at Nanhu Mountain. Designated a national park in 1986, it protects the marble gorge cut by the Liwu River, where walls of metamorphic limestone rise more than 1,000 metres above the streambed. The Truku people, after whom the park is named, have lived in the watershed for centuries.

— the stone

The gorge is cut into Cenozoic marble and dolomite, metamorphosed from older limestone by the collision of the Philippine Sea and Eurasian plates that continues to lift Taiwan today. The Liwu River incises about five millimetres a year into the rock, fast enough to hold the canyon's near-vertical walls. Polished surfaces at river level reveal grey-white banding shot with quartz veins. The Tunnel of Nine Turns section runs through the most dramatic cliffs, where the highway and the river share the canyon floor.

— the visit

Hualien is reached by train from Taipei in about two hours on the eastern line, with regular buses from Hualien Station to the park entrance. The Central Cross-Island Highway (Provincial Route 8) runs through the gorge to Tianxiang. The 3 April 2024 magnitude-7.4 earthquake caused major rockfall and closed several iconic sections, including the Swallow Grotto trail and the Eternal Spring Shrine approach. Recovery work is ongoing under the Taroko National Park Headquarters. Check current trail status before travelling.

— where
Taiwan · Xiulin Township, Hualien County
— within
Taroko National Park
— position
24.1800° N · 121.4900° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
25 km E
Hualien
coastal city
5 km W
Tianxiang
gorge village
30 km N
Qingshui Cliff
coastal cliff
50 km W
Nanhu Mountain
alpine peak
N
Taroko National Park
Hualien
Tianxiang
Qingshui Cliff
Nanhu Mountain
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Taroko National Park — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A marble gorge and mountain park in eastern Taiwan, covering 920 square kilometres in Hualien, Nantou, and Taichung counties. It protects the canyon cut by the Liwu River through Cenozoic marble.

The collision of the Philippine Sea and Eurasian plates is lifting Taiwan, and the Liwu River cuts down through the rising rock. The result is a near-vertical marble canyon over 1,000 metres deep.

The park was designated in 1986. The Truku indigenous people, for whom the park is named, have lived in the watershed long before its national-park status.

Partially. The 3 April 2024 magnitude-7.4 earthquake caused major rockfall. The Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns, and Eternal Spring Shrine sections were closed; some have reopened in stages under park-headquarters guidance.

Take the eastern-line train from Taipei to Hualien, about two hours, then a bus or taxi 25 kilometres north to the park entrance at Xincheng. Buses continue along Route 8 into the gorge.

Nanhu Mountain, at 3,742 metres, on the park's western boundary. The park ranges from sea level at the Liwu River mouth to alpine summit ridges along the Central Mountain Range.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Taroko is among Taiwan's most loved places. For someone from Hualien, of Truku heritage, or who hiked the gorge before 2024, a Medium or Large reads as the landscape remembered.

The palette runs pale marble white, jade green river, and forested slate. It suits Japandi, mountain-modern, and biophilic rooms. Less suited to warm-pastel or rustic-farmhouse interiors.

Yes. The green-and-stone palette sits inside the current biophilic and mountain-modern trends. A Large above a sofa, or a four-tile Mural in a tall stairwell, both work.

Above a standard sofa a Large reads well, or a four-tile Mural if the wall carries it. Over a console a Medium centres the piece. A nine-tile Mural suits a long hallway.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle steam and splash. Reserve Glossy for framed wall pieces away from direct water.

Soft microfibre cloth with warm water. No abrasives, no ammonia, no bleach. The colour lives in the surface, so cleaning is simple and the piece holds its sheen.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is made in our Knoxville studio. No licensing, no outside imagery. Reid Wender chooses every place that enters the atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

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