Xiaoye (midnight snacks 宵夜), Taiwanese unofficial fourth meal of the day, is deserving of a book — if not a book series. In a country that lives to eat before anything else, there is no shortage of things to eat after regular restaurants call last order and the night markets close up shop: Tainanese-style beef noodles, fast-fried seafood dishes, crispy …

This museum and sculpture park is where you’ll see the riveting works of Taiwan’s best-known contemporary sculptor, Ju Ming (1938–), against the backdrop of nature. Ju Ming has works strewn all over the world, but the collection here is the most sizeable. It includes the massive, minimalist stone pieces of the celebrated ‘Tai Chi’ series. Born in Tongxiao, Miaoli in …

This is truly a unique spot, as it is the only place in Taiwan with such an incredible view, and has therefore become one of the most-frequented scenic spots in northern Taiwan in recent years. About a 10-minute walk southeast from the cape is an area that is beautiful when the tide is low: the Laomei Algal Reef. The flat …

One of the best beaches in New Taipei City is found at this little bay that’s sometimes called White Haven Beach. The Chinese name translates as ‘white-sand bay’. The entrance to the beach is down a side road 100m or so off Hwy 2 (there are English signs around the 23km mark). Swimming is permitted from May to September, as …

This 80m-high waterfall is quite a beauty, It is magnificent like a white silk cloth coming down from the sky. And the fact that you can float past it on a gondola (NT$220) is one more reason to come to Wulai. There’s a minitrain (NT$50) to the base, or you can walk the pedestrian route beside the train line (about 1.6km) along a pleasant …

The famous Shifen Waterfall is a NT$230 cab ride from the train station or a straightforward 30-minute walk past villages and ponds into which sky lanterns have fallen. The waterfall is quite pretty if a little underwhelming and wooden staircases allow you to view it from different angles. Shifen Waterfall lies between Dahua Station and Shifen Station on the Pingxi …

About 4km past Wulai Waterfall is this forested area popularly known as Wawagu (Valley of the Frogs). With its hiking trails through broadleaved and cedar forests, bird and insect life, river views and rushing waterfalls (especially the three-tiered Hsinhsian Waterfall; Xìnxián Pùbù), this place is worth a dedicated trip. It’s particularly enchanting on a misty winter’s day. At the time …

Yingge Old Street, with its (new) cobbled roads, traditional street lamps, red-brick facades and walk-in kilns, was Yingge’s earliest ceramics hub. Pottery shops and stalls flanking sections of Wenhua Rd, Jianshanbu Rd and Chongqing Rd compete for your business, and you could spend hours just browsing. Note that the majority of items you see do not come from Yingge, or …

Inside the Fort San Domingo site is the 1891 Former British Consular Residence, an elegant red-brick Victorian-style house, complete with furnishings re-created from photographic records. The consulate was closed in Japanese times, then reopened after WWII until 1972 when Britain closed it down. London has recognised the PRC since 1950. The residence is a western building that was the third …

This 200m-long swaying pedestrian bridge was built by the Japanese in 1937. It offers a great vantage point from which to gaze south towards the forested hills of Taiwan’s northern mountain range, or back up the river to the concrete jaws of the city.On the bridge, the entire river and shore view of the “Bitan Scenic Area” is in sight. …