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Taipei is the modern, vivid and crowded capital of Taiwan occupied the northern part of the island. Chinese and Taiwan but also many Japanese tourists per tree. Taipei is the metropolis with the population of more than 7.9 million in the metropolitan area, 2,6 million in the city proper, which offers various Chinese and Japanese, old and new buildings, and interesting visiting places.
Sights and Attractions
Taipei 101
Obviously, Taipei has a great deal of wonders, but Taipei 101, which used to be the tallest building in the whole world for five years from 2004 to 2009, should be included among the places you should visit in Taipei. This contemporary glass-clad 501-foot-tall tower is among the largest urban high-rises in Taipei City: it has an Interior Observation Deck on the 87th floor where tourists may gaze at the city panorama.
You can also view the world’s largest and heaviest tuned mass damper there between 87th to 91st floor that controls the movement in the tower due to wind. As it is at the moment, Taipei 101 has commercials for the consumption of luxury accommodation at the base of the building, which comprises a wide range of global and Asia best brands.
National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum is one of the largest and most singular in the world and functions as a center exhibiting Chinese art and antique artifacts ranging from 8000 BC. The collection includes over 700 000 invaluable items of painting, calligraphy works, bronzes, ceramics, jade carving, statues, etc. The audio guide was available in over a dozen languages and there are always absolutely fantastic temporary exhibitions on display too. In fact, one could spend as much time wandering around through the rather large corridors and galleries to decipher these Chinese national icons.
Longshan Temple
Longshan Temple was established as one of the oldest and larger Buddhist temples in Taipei in the early part of the 18th century. This is the most beautiful temple to accommodate the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy as well as the other Chinese folk gods. The style of the temple is Chinese southern and Taiwan, with dragons and other figures of course on multistory roofing construction. Opposite red walls and yellow pillars, incense burning on altars and people praying with cups of warm relaxing tea. The massive and ornate bronze vessel for holding incense in the main courtyard has now become one of the temple’s distinctive features.
Yangmingshan National Park
Yangmingshan National Park is a place with non-active volcanoes, hot springs and fumaroles, forests and meadows situated near Taipei City; booking the bus, everybody can get there from any bus station in the downtown. Yangming Shuwu, or Yangming Villa, are beautiful gardens from the early 1900s for a temporary office of a Japanese governor who preferred a Japanese landscape garden with a European vill. Visiting the North Taipei park along with walking 4 thousand feet is possible to reach the top of Mt Qixing for a great view of North Taipei if the weather is clear. The scenery and the hiking up in Yangmingshan National Park are a nice change from the urban landscape.
Shilin Night Market
Talking about night life in Taipei – one has to know that the city is famous for its bright and very animated night markets. The Shilin Night Market is currently the biggest and most famous night market in Taipei, extending its operation from night till almost dawn. Over the market streets, there are hundreds of food stalls and shops that offer as many types of food: from stinky tofu to steamed dumplings, from creative desserts.
Traders sell all sorts of items ranging from low price nick nacks to t-shirts accompanied by locals and tourists strolling in the tiny alleys. Experience the charged vibes or, if you feel like it, marvel at Taiwanese street food at one of the plastic stools placed in between the stands.
More Must-See Sights
Other popular attractions and districts to visit in Taipei include Ximending – the shopping district and the pedestrian area for young people with many fashion shops; Songshan Cultural and Creative Park – an ex tobacco factory turned performance, art and business hub; National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine – the central Taipei shrine of those who died for Republic of China; Xiangshan Hiking Trail up to Elephant Hill for panoramic views. The Beitou Hot Springs area provides natural mineral hot springs. Taipei Botanical Garden – a large and tranquil garden with an abundance of green plants and great flower arrangements.
Shopping
That’s why Taipei is among the leading shopping destinations of Asia; the opportunities to score some awesome deals or to purchase a sophisticated and expensive product exist far beyond the limits of this guide. Some super regional shopping destinations are the Taipei 101 base luxury shopping centers that contain nearly every world renowned brand retail store; east district Taipei Main Station, Shopping area that contains the SOGO and ATT connected by bridges; Wanhua District’s Ximending shopping area coinciding with a pedestrian walkway targeted at youths and university students; and the Zhongxiao Fuxing District with themes of boutique lined streets and the SOGO chain malls.
Cafes and boutiques aside, Daan and Tianmu are home to chic book stores. Taipei also has great traditional markets and old fashion shopping districts such as the Guang Hua Digital Plaza Electronics Mall and the camera shop district.
Cuisine
As a city of gastronomy, Taipei presents all styles of Chinese food to the tourists which presents an opportunity to taste the specialities of each province. It also offers wonderful cuisines from Taiwan such as the street food and night market delicacies –the stinky tofu, the oyster omelet, the fried chicken cutlets, the shaved ice dessert, the sticky rice in bamboo tube and the grilled squid etc. Other than Chinese delicacies, Taipei offers; modern coffee shops, Japanese food such as sushi and ramen, western style steaks and hamburgers, Southeastern, Indian, Italian food, international cuisine etc. You can also enjoy the delicious Taipei foods in the day or at night when food tours are also available.
Check Out: Discover Kamakura: Japan’s Coastal Cultural Haven.
Getting Around Taipei
The Taipei Metro is efficient, safe, convenient and has notices in English to guide the train users. It is useful to get quite close to most attractions in the city. Main bus stops are also easily accessible, located near many Taipei Metro stations. All these buses take passengers almost anywhere in Taipei City. Taxis are very cheap because of the meters although some drivers do not understand English well. There is an on-demand transportation service in Taipei convenient to use. For short distances, the most interesting way to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the city and explore the facilities of the districts of Taipei is walking.
Day Trips from Taipei
Jiufen is another old gold mining town found in the northern part of Taiwan, up in the hills on the coast, from Taipei and can be reached by bus or train in about an hour. Unwind courtyards, tea houses built on slopes, and the sea side, people say that feeling of love in Jiufen looks like the magical hill station in the Japanese animated feature “Sprited away”.
For great views of the East Coast, a visit to Hualien which takes 2 to 3 hours by the bullet train from Taipei makes Hualien a nice day trip or an overnight trip or stopover when visiting Taroko Gorge and other natural sites in the Eastern part of Taiwan.
Jinguashi is an old mining mountain town in northern Taiwan, which can be easily reached within about a 1 hour drive from Taipei. It became evident that in the early 1900s during the Japanese occupation, Jinguashi was the largest gold producing area in Taiwan. The visitors can go for a tour in the well maintained Gold Ecological park with some dumplings and tunnels to enable the visitors DIY on the history of mining for gold in the region. There are hot springs and Pacific ocean views also nearby in thePt Jinguashi area.
After admiring the beautiful Pingxi Valley surrounded by bamboo forest you can visit one of the oldest mountain railways in Taiwan, called Pingxi Railway Line which was built by Japanese early 1900s. The tracks go around villages following the serpentine pattern along the river valley where you can sometimes notice the train conductorsFoot walking along the low-speed wagon setting the old-fashioned track points manually. Culture is brought to life when the conductors assist the villagers to carry anything from boxes containing day old chicks, to statues of gods and goddesses for temple carnivals at the several very small rural stations in the line, approximately 1 hour train ride from Taipei main station.
Conclusion
The city that boasts impressive business buildings such as the Taipei 101, the ancient temples producing thick plumes of incense smoke, mouth-watering beef noodge, stinky tofu, and fresh brewed tea from tea plantation as young as 7 hundred meters above sea level in Jinguashi are all found in Taipei. Every turn opens to another crowded night market with locals munching on satay sticks or Taiwanese tea shops making and selling the local oolong tea. High quality public transportation, great balance between old and very new tourist attractions, and a friendly population make Taipei ready for tourists.
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FAQs
How is it best to move around Taipei?
Thus, Taipei is quite possibly one of the last cities in which a car could be considered absolutely unnecessary, with its efficient Taipei Metro system supplemented with an incredible density of buses and taxis. The efficient, clean train system – Taipei Metro – can actually get one very near most of the sites. Buses fill in the small gaps. Strolling around interesting districts is also a good way to explore Taipei with a bird’s eye view . In fact , this is one of the best ways.
Is Taipei safe for travelers?
Currently, both Taipei and Taiwan have been widely acknowledged as the safest destination for tourists. Such acts of violence against foreigners are a rare event experienced all over Taiwan. Gripping that petty criminal activities such as pick pocketing can occur in crowded metro trains or night /food markets one just has to avoid using common sense. However, on the whole Taipei can be regarded as exceptionally safe for a tourist to navigate around. To my mind, there is no doubt that the major risk that a traveler can deal with is getting lost.
When is the most suitable time to go for a vacation in Taipei?
The city lies in a subtropical region, and it is humid throughout the year in Taipei. The time least likely to be affected by rain with above comfortable temperatures between 70°F (21°C) is from September to November. The other suitable time is the end of summer from March to May since there will be flowers blooming. Autumn is relatively wet but summer does not fall below 50°F or 10°C. June is at the beginning of the warmer season although expect more rain and typhoons while extremely hot days of up to 90°F or 32°C are likely to occur from August. Nonetheless FUN is Taipei at ANY TIME of the YEAR coz you know what?…The main attractions and transportation are open 24/7 regardless if it is RAINING or SUMMER!
