If you are planning a trip to Taiwan for the first time, there are several areas worth visiting to get the most out of your trip. While there are several beautiful historical areas, the following are my personal favorites for traveling to Taipei. Feel free to use this as a sort of personal Taipei travel guide when planning your Taipei vacation.
- Taipei 101
We start our tour of Taipei at Taipei 101. This is a skyscraper located in the Xinyi district. In 2004, it was listed as the tallest building in the world at 1,671 feet. It held that title for 6 years until the Burj Khalifa in Dubai eclipsed Taipei 101 in 2010. The tower has 101 stories and features an open-air observation deck on the 91st floor like the Empire State Building in New York City. York, where you can see beautiful views of the surrounding areas.
The bottom five floors of Taipei 101 feature a luxury shopping center with exclusive stores such as Burberry and Louis Vuitton. In the 88th floor indoor observatory, you can see the 730-ton mass damper, basically a giant ball that acts like a pendulum to counteract the swaying of buildings during high winds. Without this shock absorber, people on high floors can get dizzy from the constant rocking of the building! Taipei 101 is a city icon that is visible from miles away from the city. Every New Year, Taipei 101 attracts tens of thousands of visitors to view its spectacular fireworks display.
- shopping
If you like shopping, you can’t go wrong with Ximending. This is the commercial area of the Wanhua district of Taipei and is considered the fashion capital of Taiwan. On weekends, the streets of Ximending are closed to traffic and turned into a pedestrian mall. The area is popular with street performers of all kinds, and because it’s a hotspot, you can see celebrities putting on small outdoor concerts, album releases, and other events.
Ximending is also famous for its “Theater Street” where there is a concentration of various movies along Wuchang Street. However, for history buffs, the most famous theater in the district is the Red House Theatre, which was built in 1908 during the Japanese occupation and is still an operating theater with regular performances.
- Yangmingshan National Park
If beautiful views are what you expect when you travel, then I can’t recommend Yangmingshan highly enough. It is the largest natural park in Taipei. Yangmingshan is ideal for hiking and has numerous trails that can last a whole day or just a couple of hours. Popular trails include Seven Stars Peak, which will take you to Taipei’s highest peak at 3,600 feet (1,120 meters) or view the impressive waterfall on the Juansi Waterfall Trail.
Every February to March, Yangmingshan is the site of the Yangmingshan Flower Festival, when various varieties of flowers, such as azaleas, camellias, and especially cherry blossoms, reach their peak of bloom. Every night of the festival, the cherry blossom trees are lit up for a particularly romantic sight. Visitors can also have lunch and dinner at one of the many restaurants like The Top or Grass Mountain Chateau for spectacular views of Taipei below.
Between the beauty of the cherry blossoms and the views of the city, Yangmingshan is a well-known romantic spot for lovers throughout Taipei. From April through May, when the lilies are in full bloom, you can pick your own lily flowers for just a few dollars at one of several flower farms.
Finally, don’t miss Yangming Shuwu, also known as Yangming Villa, the beautiful summer retreat of the late President Chiang Kai-shek. The Yangming Villa house and gardens are maintained as they were when occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Chiang. The house is a traditional Chinese two-story house, with reception rooms and offices on the first floor and Chiang’s personal residence on the second floor where his personal paintings and photographs are still on display. The gardens are especially beautiful in spring when the flowers are in bloom. As a curiosity, it has been observed that several bushes are planted in groups of five, to symbolize General Chiang’s “5-star” rank.
- National Palace Museum
Next, we find ourselves at the National Palace Museum, which opened in 1965. If you love history, this is the place to be! The National Palace Museum has a huge collection of 700,000 permanent exhibits from Chinese imperial history and artwork spanning more than 2,000 years, plus Chinese prehistoric artifacts and artwork dating back to the Neolithic era, or better known as the “Stone age”.
The most popular item in his collection is the Jadeite Cabbage. Carved during the 19th century, it is a piece of jadeite that has been shaped to resemble a head of Chinese cabbage and has a locust and grasshopper camouflaged on its leaves. Legend has it that the sculpture is a metaphor for female fertility, with the white cabbage stalk representing purity, the green cabbage leaves representing fertility, and the insects representing children.
- Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Another historically significant landmark on our walk to learn Taiwan’s history is the Chiang Kia-shek Memorial Hall. This is a national monument that was built in honor of former ROC President Chiang Kia-shek. The monument marks the geographical and cultural center of Taipei. It is the most visited attraction by foreign tourists. The pagoda-style memorial hall has a presidential library and a museum on the ground floor.
The main hall features a large seated statue of Chiang Kai-shek, much like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC The memorial hall and its surrounding Liberty Square span 60 acres and include many ponds and gardens. The square is also home to two of Taipei’s performing arts buildings, the National Theater and the National Concert Hall.
- Beitou Public Library and Hot Springs
My favorite place to visit while in Taiwan is an area called Beitou. Beitou is a hilly district north of Taipei City and is best known for its hot springs and magnificent public library. The mineral waters from Beitou’s many natural geothermal vents are renowned for their healing and therapeutic properties. An entire industry of hot springs and hotels has sprung up in Beitou, offering aromatherapy, massages, and hydrotherapy. There are many places where tourists can soak their feet in the hot spring stream. Be sure to visit the Museum of Hot Springs. When it was built in 1913, it was the largest public bathhouse in Asia at the time. Today, the museum offers a glimpse into the bathhouse facilities and the history of Beitou.
Next, visit the Beitou Public Library. Its wooden structure that fits perfectly into its Beitou Park environment. Through the use of eco-friendly features and design, the library is Taiwan’s first “green” building. The library opened in 2006 and was built to reduce the use of water and electricity. To do this, the architects used large windows to allow natural light to enter and a roof made of solar panels to provide the electricity necessary for its operation. In addition, the library collects rainwater to store and use to flush its toilets.
- Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf
Our last stopping point is Tamsui. Tamsui is at the western end of Taipei and our favorite place was Fisherman’s Wharf. We learned that the restaurants that dot the Fisherman’s Wharf waterfront not only offer the freshest seafood available, but also provide stunning sunset views. Fisherman’s Wharf still functions as a harbor for local fishermen and prides itself on providing a harbor for 150 vessels. Our favorite walk is crossing the “Lover’s Bridge” pedestrian bridge, so named because it opened on Valentine’s Day in 2003.
Its architecture resembles the masts of a sailing ship. It was about 3 minutes on foot across the bridge, which at sunset is magnificent. Lover’s Bridge is also a great place to see the annual fireworks show and concert that the city puts on each year to celebrate Chinese Valentine’s Day (which happens in August and not February 14). Another way to experience Tamsui is to take a ferry from Tamsui Ferry Pier and disembark at Fisherman’s Wharf. The ferry is an inexpensive way to enjoy fabulous views of the Tamsui waterfront. A one-way fare is just $2 USD and takes only about 15 minutes.
Even though our vacation in Taiwan seems to be over in the blink of an eye, it was amazing! While there is much more to see, we think we got the most out of our trips in Taipei. I hope your journey turns out to be as educational and comprehensive as ours.