Last weekend we made our way to the beautiful township in Yilan County called Jiaoxi, known for its waterfall and hot springs. It is a town with a population of about 35,000 people, and it seems it relies mostly on tourism to survive. Our experiences and our quest to find the well-hidden beach are explained below.  This is a view…

Shilin Night Market (aka Shihlin Night Market) is the largest night market in Taipei and also one of the most popular. Full of delicious street food, small hole in the wall restaurants, souvenirs, and clothes, it is a great destination to experience Taiwan’s night market culture. Background: Shihlin Night market lies next to Jiantan MRT station, surrounded by Wenlin Road…

“Wa-Zhi” is located at the left bank of the Danshui River, and it is thus named because of its meandering bay which latches jointly with Danshui to the river mouth. Danshui is one of the areas developed earlier by Chinese immigrants, where vessels take berth as of its deep water as early as early Qing Dynasty.In the 12th year of…

Drink up a bit of Taipei’s past at this museum housed in a historic pumping station. The station is located by the Xindian River off Siyuan Street near one of the city’s water sources. The Baroque-style facility was built in 1908 and some of the original equipment remains on display inside. The station was designated as a national grade-three historic…

The Presidential Office Building is located on Chongqing S. Road and facing Ketagalan Boulevard. On the back it is Bo’ai Road, on the left it is Baoqing Road, and on the right it is Guiyang Street. The Presidential Building is close to Taipei Main Station and Ximending. The building was built during Japanese colonization period. It was the governor’s mansion…

The oldest of its kind in Taiwan, the National Taiwan Museum can be traced back to a showroom for the Bureau of Productive Industries (Shokusankyoku) erected by the colonial-era Taiwan Viceroy’s Office in 1899. The showroom’s displayed items were relocated to the Lottery Bureau behind the present-day Presidential Office, and gave rise to the 1908 opening of Taiwan Viceroy’s Office…

This museum opened in 2008 in a Japanese-style building constructed in 1921 as a high-class hotel. The 1st floor features exhibits of various folk arts, such as cochin (koji) pottery, wood and stone carving, and puppetry. The 2nd floor preserves the look of the original tatami-floored banquet and performance hall. The museum exhibits include a permanent display on the history of the…

This 4-hectare park is dedicated to the Hakka people. The park grounds are pretty and made to mimic a Hakka village – there’s even a rice paddy field. At the main entrance you will find a four-storey cultural centre with a Hakka snack bar and cultural exhibits. Opposite is the music and theatre centre, where you can listen to Hakka…

Taipei has so many places to see and this is one for sure, Ximending’s most iconic building was built in 1908 to serve as Taipei’s first public market ,and it’s well preserved class III historical site. These days it’s a multifunctional cultural centre with regular live performances and exhibitions. There’s an artist and designer weekend market in the north square (2pm…

Tamsui’s most famous sight is Fort San Domingo. The original fort, built in 1628 during the Spanish occupation of Taiwan (1626–41), was dismantled by the Spanish before they left. The 13m-high structure seen today is the Fort Anthonio built by the Dutch in 1644. These days the original Spanish name is used, though to locals it’s still the Red Haired…