Editor’s note: one of my canceled trips due to COVID (one of thirteen such cancelations) was to Taipei. Unlike some of the others, I have yet to reschedule this one, though Sam’s beautiful descriptions of the sights and the food make me want to do so as soon as possible. For more of Sam Spector’s adventures, make sure to click here to visit his index page.
On my way to South Korea, I saw that it was cheaper to have a layover in Taipei than it was to fly directly to South Korea. I will admit, Taiwan has never been high on my list. As Chiang Kai-Shek, who had ruled China prior to its fall to the communists, fled with his supporters to the island in 1949, he established the Republic of China, known today more commonly as Taiwan. As a person who prefers old to modern, Kyoto over Tokyo, Beijing over Singapore, I did not have high hopes for what I had always viewed as a modern city without a whole lot of history that I knew of prior to 1949. However, Taipei was a pleasant surprise and I am glad that I spent a solid 36 hours there.
Upon arriving in Taipei, I was immediately impressed with how lush and green the city was. It also seemed clean and had an efficient, convenient, and highly affordable (about a quarter per ride) metro system all over the city. When driving into Taipei, one of the first buildings that will stand out is the Grand Hotel, which in the 1960s was ranked one of the top 10 hotels in the world. This 285 foot building that was built in the early 1950s was the tallest building in Taiwan for some time, and is one of the tallest classical Chinese buildings in the world. Though it is a hotel, from a distance it looks like a prominent Chinese temple or palace with its bright red façade and prominent columns and curved roof. Make sure to pay a visit to this hotel for tea and views out over the city. The inside of the hotel has large columns, a red carpet, and painted ceilings that feature dragons, a touch of classical China in Taiwan that makes for a good break.
Not far from the hotel is one of Taiwan’s gems, the National Palace Museum. When Chiang left for Taiwan from mainland China, he wisely decided to have all of the greatest masterpieces of art, archaeology, and history brought to Taiwan with him, having taken them from the original museum in Beijing’s Forbidden City. As a result, the most magnificent museum of Chinese artwork and artifacts is not in mainland China, but rather in Taiwan. Today, the museum is home to nearly 700,000 artifacts. What is most remarkable is that the collection is largely the private collection from Chinese emperors that they had collected for their own private museums over thousands of years. While most antiquity museums around the world I have visited have fragments of pottery, statues, or artwork that were discovered by archaeologists, the National Palace Museum has works that are thousands of years old, but since they were immediately put in the emperors’ collections, look as if they are brand new.
While there are so many spectacular exhibits in the museum to see, the ones that are dubbed the three treasures of the museum are the Jadeite Cabbage, the Meat-Shaped Stone, and the Mao Gong Ding. The Jadeite Cabbage is a real size sculpture of a head of Chinese cabbage made out of jade, while the Meat-Shaped Stone is a jasper carving that appears to be a slab of pork. The cabbage is valued at $13 million, and is the highlight for many in the museum. The Mao Gong Ding is a 3000 year old bronze pot that has a 32 line inscription of 500 Chinese characters that was given to King Xuan of Zhou, who ruled in the 9th century BCE. It is remarkable how, despite its age, the inscriptions can still be clearly read.
While one can spend at least a full day in the museum, there are plenty of other things to do in Taipei. If you like religious places of worship, be sure to hop the metro over to the Bangka Lungshan Temple, which is nearly 300 years old. This temple is focused on Chinese folk religion, but has Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian influences. It has big halls with beautiful artwork and numerous golden shrines. In its courtyard are waterfalls and koi ponds to enjoy a bit of peacefulness in the heart of this modern city, and a touch of its age that predates Chiang Kai-Shek.
The temple is in stark contrast to perhaps the most recognizable symbol of modern Taipei, the Taipei 101 Tower. From its opening on December 31, 2004, until it was surpassed by Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in 2010, the 1667 foot skyscraper was the world’s tallest. The 101 story building also had the world’s fastest elevators when built. The building has a four story tuned mass damper; that is a 660 metric ton suspended pendulum to help balance the building in case of typhoon winds or massive earthquakes. The design of the building is a jade-green of stacked pagodas with a texture that looks from a distance like bamboo, all homages to Chinese culture. In the sprawling mall and market basement of Taipei 101 is Din Tai Fung, a Michelin-star dumpling restaurant that has now become a worldwide chain. The dumplings, buns, and especially xiao long bao traditional dumplings are worth the at least one hour wait to get in. My kids especially got a kick of how a robot escorted us to our seat and how we got to watch the chefs prepare the food from behind a glass.
While several locals told me that Din Tai Fung was the number one experience that I had to have in Taipei (and I do not disagree), there were other great culinary experiences, too. Make sure to go to a restaurant for breakfast that serves the famous Taiwanese scallion and egg pancakes, and make sure you bring cash with you as many places do not accept credit cards. At night, go check out the Shilin Night Market, Taipei’s most famous night market, and have a tasting of the various foods at the booths along an alleyway, an experience that goes until late at night. Be especially sure to get yourself a boba tea; after all, you are in the place where it was invented.
Two other must-see sights in the heart of Taipei are the memorials to the country’s founders. First, you have the memorial hall to Dr. Sun Yat Sen, located in Chung-san Park. Unfortunately for me, while I saw the traditional exterior to the memorial hall dedicated to the man credited as the father of the Republic of China, it is currently under renovations until 2026. However, the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is open and is very impressive. The memorial hall for Chiang is located in Memorial Hall Square and is flanked by the National Concert Hall and the National Theater, with a large Chinese gate at the beginning of the square, which has in a way become Taipei’s equivalent of something along the likes of Berlin’s Brandenberg Gate. Until recently, there was an honor guard, which changes hourly, but this was taken away for fear it promoted authoritarianism and a cult of personality. The hall is 249 feet high and is a blue and white structure made of concrete and marble with 89 steps, representing the age that Chiang was when he died, leading up to a large statue of the founder of Taiwan. Inside the building is a museum with artifacts on Chiang and other exhibits as well. Outside the memorial are beautiful Chinese gardens, ponds, bridges, and halls, which reminded me slightly of Beijing’s Summer Palace.
My other favorite part of Taipei was the suburb of Jiufen. This seaside mountain was a small village founded during the Qing Dynasty in the 15th century and rose to prominence as a gold mining town. Unfortunately, when I went, it was absolutely pouring rain with heavy fog, so I was not able to see the beautiful ocean and mountain views. However, that did not stop me from enjoying Old Jiufen Street, which gives a look into old Taiwanese culture and tradition. Throughout the alleyways of this street, there are numerous places to buy souvenirs or try traditional Taiwanese treats. Even though it rained hard, my whole family really enjoyed visiting this great place, and had I had more time in Taipei, I would have loved to stay a night and experience the market at night before sleeping in one of the old Japanese inns that are leftover from Japanese occupation in the 1930s and 1940s.
When flying from America’s West Coast to Asia, you are likely to have to make a stop. Though I had never had a strong desire to go to Taipei, I am so glad that I did. It is a fun, affordable, accessible, and beautiful place. Upon arriving there I learned how elsewhere on the island, you have some of Asia’s best beaches, other interesting cities, indigenous tribes with many cultures, and beautiful scenery, making returning to Taiwan on my list of future travels. Even if it is only for 36 hours, you will definitely have a blast in this great city.
Like it? Pin it!
