If you’re planning a visit to Taiwan for the primary time, there are a number of areas price visiting to profit from your journey. Whereas there are a number of stunning, historic areas, the next are my private favorites for Taipei journey. Please be happy to make use of this as a form of private Taipei journey information when planning your Taipei trip.
Taipei 101
We begin our Taipei tour at Taipei 101. It is a skyscraper situated within the Xinyi District. In 2004, it was listed because the world’s tallest constructing at 1,671 ft. It held that title for six years till the Burj Khalifa in Dubai eclipsed Taipei 101 in 2010. The tower boasts 101 tales and options an out of doors commentary deck on the 91st flooring just like the Empire State Constructing in New York Metropolis the place you’ll be able to see stunning views of the encompassing areas.The underside 5 flooring of Taipei 101 function a luxurious shopping center with upscale retailers resembling Burberry and Louis Vuitton. On the 88th flooring indoor observatory, you’ll be able to see the 730-ton mass damper, principally a large ball that acts like a pendulum to counteract the buildings sway throughout excessive winds. With out this damper, individuals on excessive flooring can truly undergo from movement illness from the fixed swaying of the constructing! Taipei 101 is a metropolis icon that’s seen for miles throughout the town. Each New Yr’s, Taipei 101 attracts tens of hundreds of tourists to see its spectacular fireworks show.
Ximending Purchasing
If you’re into procuring, you’ll be able to’t go incorrect with Ximending. That is the procuring space within the Wanhua district of Taipei and is taken into account to be the style capital of Taiwan. On weekends, Ximending streets are closed to site visitors and turns into a pedestrian shopping center. The world is standard with road performers of every kind and, as a result of it’s a hotspot, you’ll be able to catch celebrities internet hosting small outside concert events, album launches, and different occasions.Ximending can also be well-known for its “Theater Street” the place there’s a focus of a number of film alongside Wuchang Road. For historical past buffs, although, probably the most well-known theater within the district is the Pink Home Theater which was inbuilt 1908 throughout Japanese occupation and remains to be an operational theater with common performances.
Yangmingshan Nationwide Park
If stunning sights are what you sit up for when travelling, then I am unable to suggest Yangmingshan sufficient. It’s the largest pure park in Taipei. Yangmingshan is nice for mountain climbing and has quite a few trails that may final a complete day or simply a few hours. Widespread trails embrace Seven Stars Peak which is able to take you to the very best peak in Taipei at 1120 meters (3600 ft) or see the gorgeous waterfall of the Juansi Waterfall Path.Every February by March, Yangmingshan is the positioning of the Yangmingshan Flower Competition when a number of forms of flowers resembling azaleas, camellias, and particularly cherry blossoms attain their peak bloom. Each night of the pageant, cherry blossom timber are illuminated for a very romantic sight. Guests can even have lunch and dinner at one in all many eating places resembling The Prime or Grass Mountain Chateau for spectacular vistas of Taipei beneath.Between the great thing about the cherry blossoms and the views of the town, Yangmingshan is a well known romantic spot for lovers throughout Taipei. From April to Might, when calla lilies attain full bloom, you’ll be able to decide your personal lily flowers for only some {dollars} at one in all a number of flower farms.Lastly, do not miss out on Yangming Shuwu, also referred to as Yangming Villa, the attractive summer time retreat of the late president Chiang Kai-shek. Yangming Villa home and gardens are maintained as they had been when occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Chiang. The home is a two-story conventional Chinese language dwelling, with reception rooms and places of work on the primary flooring and the Chiang’s private residence on the second flooring the place their work and private images are nonetheless displayed. The gardens are particularly stunning within the Spring when the flowers are in bloom. As a little bit of trivia, it has been famous that a number of bushes are planted in bunches of 5 – to represent the “5-star” rank of Normal Chiang.
Nationwide Palace Museum
Subsequent, we discover ourselves on the Nationwide Palace Museum which opened in 1965. When you love historical past, that is the place to be! Nationwide Palace Museum has a humongous assortment of 700,000 everlasting displays of Chinese language Imperial historical past and paintings that spans over 2000 years plus prehistoric Chinese language artifacts and paintings that dates to the Neolithic period, or higher often known as the “Stone Age”.The most well-liked merchandise in its assortment is the Jadeite Cabbage. Carved through the 19th century, it’s a piece of jadeite that has been formed to resemble a head of Chinese language cabbage and has a locust and a grasshopper camouflaged in its leaves. Legend says the sculpture is a metaphor for feminine fertility, with the white cabbage stalk representing purity, the inexperienced leaves of the cabbage representing fertility, and the bugs representing kids.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Corridor
One other traditionally vital landmark on our trek to be taught concerning the historical past of Taiwan is the Chiang Kia-shek Memorial Corridor. It is a nationwide monument that was inbuilt honor of former Republic of China President Chiang Kia-shek. The memorial marks the geographic and cultural heart of Taipei. It’s the most visited attraction by international vacationers. The pagoda fashion memorial corridor has a presidential library and museum on the bottom stage.The primary corridor options a big, seated statue of Chiang Kai-shek, very similar to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The memorial corridor and its surrounding Liberty Sq. plaza encompasses 60 acres and consists of many ponds and backyard areas. The plaza additionally homes two of Taipei’s efficiency artwork buildings, the Nationwide Theater and the Nationwide Live performance Corridor.
Beitou Scorching Springs and Public Library
My favourite place to go to whereas in Taiwan is an space known as Beitou. Beitou is a mountainous district north of Taipei Metropolis and is most identified for its scorching springs and its magnificent public library. The mineral waters from the various pure geothermal vents in Beitou are well-known for his or her therapeutic and therapeutic properties. A complete trade of scorching springs bathhouses and lodges have sprung up in Beitou providing aroma remedy, massages, and hydrotherapy. There are a whole lot of locations the place vacationers can soak their ft within the scorching springs stream. Make sure you go to the Scorching Springs Museum. When it was inbuilt 1913, it was the biggest public bathhouse in Asia at the moment. Right now, the museum presents a glimpse at its bathhouse amenities and Beitou’s historical past.Subsequent, go to the Beitou public library. Its picket construction that matches seamlessly into its Beitou Park setting. By way of use of eco-friendly options and design, the library is Taiwan’s first “green” constructing. The library opened in 2006 and was constructed to scale back the utilization of water and electrical energy. To do that, architects used massive home windows to permitting in pure gentle and a photo voltaic panel roof to supply the electrical energy wanted for operation. Additionally, the library collects rain water to be saved and used to flush its bathrooms.
Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf
Our last stopping level is Tamsui. Tamsui is situated on the western tip of Taipei and our favourite place was the Fisherman’s Wharf. We realized that not solely do the eating places that dot the Fisherman’s Wharf boardwalk present the freshest seafood accessible, it additionally gives breathtaking sundown views. Fisherman’s Wharf nonetheless capabilities as a harbor for native fishermen they usually proudly present harbor for 150 vessels! Our favourite stroll is throughout the “Lover’s Bridge” pedestrian bridge, named as such as a result of it opened on Valentine’s Day 2003.Its structure resembles a crusing ship’s masts. It was a few 3-minute stroll throughout the bridge, which at sundown is magnificent. Lover’s Bridge can also be an important place to catch the yearly fireworks present and live performance that the town hosts annually to have a good time Chinese language Valentine’s Day (which happens in August and never February 14th). One other solution to expertise Tamsui is to take a ferry from the Tamsui Ferry Pier and disembark on the Fisherman’s Wharf. The ferry is an inexpensive solution to see terrific views of the Tamsui waterfront. A one-way fare prices solely $2 USD and takes solely about 15 minutes.Although our Taiwan trip appears to have been over within the blink of an eye fixed, it was superb! Whereas there may be a lot extra to see, we really feel we made probably the most of our travels in Taipei. I hope that your journey proves to be simply as academic and encompassing as ours.