Yuli is a small township in Taiwan's East Rift Valley, where rice fields sit between the Central Range and the Coastal Range. It is not flashy, and that is part of the appeal: you come here for a slower east-coast day built around cycling, water, and mountain edges.
The easy classic is the Yufu Bikeway, a former railway line that crosses the meeting point of the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plates. For a bigger day, head toward Yushan National Park and walk the lower Walami Trail, with forest, suspension bridges, and the old Batongguan route into the mountains.
Yuli also has the kind of local reward that makes staying overnight feel sensible rather than dutiful. Antong Hot Springs is close enough for an evening soak, and the town's noodles, pomelos, and quiet station streets make it a good base for the southern Hualien valley.