*Note: The last time I was in Wanli, it looked like they had started construction on demolishing parts of this building.
This large abandoned center is situated near the Abandoned UFO Houses on Wanli Beach, but was probably abandoned at a later date. We’ve always eyed it as we weren’t sure if it was a completely abandoned hotel, out for the season, or under construction.
Driving to Wanli from Taipei involves a beautiful coastal drive. Book a car to easily get to the East Coast of Taiwan.
After noticing the boarded doors on another trip to Wanli, we figured it was empty and decided to venture further.
The entrance was a little difficult to find, but that was part of the fun, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. From the outside, we were expecting a grungy, dark, boarded up space, but instead we got this…
Floor to ceiling windows that just kept going up. The entrance opened up to a space that was about three-storey’s tall, and filled with windows. Bright light shining in and illuminating everything in the area.
From this spacious opening, we saw an elevator shaft, multiple hallways, stairs leading up and stairs leading down. We originally thought this was an abandoned hotel because of how luxurious the interior looked. I don’t usually such large windows or ceilings designed with the circular mosaics.
We decided to explore the first floor first, stumbling upon an empty corner room with one chair placed precariously in the center. Someone had also stuck red tape on the candles to make it look like they were dripping. We were definitely not the first in here.
Also on the first floor was an extremely dark alley. But once through it, it opened up into a spacious room. Columns and decorations lay strewn about. It looked like the place used to be a kitchen or themed restaurant.
We strolled around some more on the first floor, there were lots of large empty rooms and halls, probably where dining used to be.
Hearing some clanging from upstairs, we snuck up slowly in case we got spooked. It turned out to be the wind blowing a door open and shut, echoing the clanging throughout the building. We closed the door, but it was strange to think how much noise had been moving through this building, with no-one to hear it.
Relieved to have solved the mystery banging, we walked out into the open-air courtyard, which was wet from last nights rain.
On the second floor, there were less banquet halls, but many small rooms with nothing but old kareoke machines drilled into the walls. Without any hotel rooms or other hotel facilities, the place was looking more like a recreational center, with a focus on dining (There was an industrial kitchen on the second floor too). At one point there was also a ballroom with mirrors lining all the walls, and Christmas decorations dangling from the ceiling.
Heading even further in, we found a gym. It circled around the room, with the center-way cut out to look down into the pool. The architecture not usually found in modern buildings. I don’t know if it was the must, the floor to ceiling mirrors, or the fact you can’t walk, let alone run, in a straight line (the design made it so you had to walk in circles), but the gym was one of the spookier rooms in the building.
Walking in some more, we found stairs leading up to the roof. This was one of my most favorite rooms. The top of the stairway rose up in a spiral with small colorful diamond-shaped glass throwing colorful shadows throughout the opening.
Once up there, we climbed even higher, and were able to spot the courtyard we had walked out of earlier from the rooftop. From up there, you could even see the ocean.
Finally, with enough courage built up from exploring the rest of the building, we made a decision to explore the basement. It was pitch black, so we had to use our phone lights to navigate the area. The place had a pool in the center, with two round jacuzzi’s at the end. The pool still held some water in the deep end, probably from a leak when it rained. We could also see the creepy gym from below, and after a short while decided that was enough exploring and left through a small hallway.
Overall an incredibly exciting trip, with hours spent exploring the many rooms and crevices of this large abandoned recreational center. While it was one of the spookier places at times, it was worth it to see the main entrance and breathtaking windows.
While this place seems like it is midway through demolishment, the UFO Houses down the road are still open (though they have now blocked entry and hired a guard to patrol the area).
*Update
I shared this post on Reddit, and was linked back to a Taiwanese blog post that came out in 2010 just as the building was opened to the public. You can see how the decor hasn’t changed since opening, many of the gym equipment was still the same when I visited the abandoned version.
See more abandoned places in Taiwan
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