Insight Guides City Guide Taipei (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Insight City Guides: all you need to inspire every step of your trip.

From deciding when to go, to choosing what to see when you arrive, this is all you need to plan your trip and experience the best of Taipei, with in-depth insider information on must-see, top attractions like the National Palace Museum and Longshan Temple, and hiddencultural gems.

- Insight City Guide Taipei is ideal for travellers seeking immersive cultural experiences, from exploring Yangmingshan National Park, to discovering Shilin Nightmarket
- In-depth on history and culture: enjoy special features on Religion, the Arts and Shopping, all written by local experts
- Invaluable maps, travel tips and practical information ensure effortless planning  
- Outstanding orientation information will save you time while you explore 
- Excellent Editor's Choice recommendations will make your trip more memorable
- Inspirational colour photography throughout
- Inventive design makes for an engaging reading experience

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrasebooks, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839051944

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

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Taipei’s Top 10 Attractions

At a glance, the Taipei attractions you won’t want to miss, from sky-scraping architecture and colorful temples to hot springs and buzzing nightmarkets.

Top Attraction 1

Taipei 101. Until 2010 the world’s tallest building, standing at 508 meters (1,667ft), this iconic tower is a wonder of design and engineering. Be sure to inspect the giant Tuned Mass Damper. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 2

Longshan Temple. In the heart of the old Wanhua District and filled day and night by those seeking divine aid. Check out the icon of the main goddess Guanyin, which miraculously survived direct bombing hits in World War II. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 3

Beitou Hot-Springs Area. A lovely valley carved by a bubbling hot-springs stream dotted with new and old resorts, public baths, and large sulfur pits and pools. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 4

Liberty Square. This complex was built to an imperial scale and rivals Beijing’s Forbidden City for awe-inspiring grandeur. The roof of the National Theater was modeled after Beijing’s Hall of Supreme Harmony. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 5

Raohe Nightmarket. This is Taipei’s most atmospheric night market, with the ostentatious Ciyou Temple at its entrance. Also, the food on offer is a smorgasbord of savory and sweet delights. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 6

National Palace Museum. With well over half a million rare documents and artifacts, this museum is home to the world’s greatest vault of Chinese treasures. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 7

Muzha Tea Plantations. In a steep hill valley in Taipei’s southeast corner, scores of plantations with highly personalized teahouses dot the slopes, serving up tea cuisine, and dreamy faraway views. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 8

Yangmingshan National Park. The world’s largest national park within a city’s limits is perched on a mountain and offers hiking, hot-springs soaking, picnicking, flower gardens, giant fumaroles, historic sites, and much more. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Top Attraction 9

Danshui. It’s not just ice creams and boats at this riverside-seaside town. Up on the hill you’ll find old consular residences, missionary houses, and two fabulous forts. For more information, click here.

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Top Attraction 10

Dihua Street. The old merchant’s quarter is now a fantastic network of restored heritage buildings housing museums, cafés, restaurants, and stores. For more information, click here.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Editor’s Choice

Setting priorities, saving money, unique attractions… here, at a glance, are our recommendations, plus some tips and tricks even locals don’t always know.

Best walks

Erziping trail. A popular walk on Yangmingshan, a beautiful mountain park filled with trails and hot springs, plus hundreds of butterfly and bird species. For more information, click here.

Qingtiangang. Also found high on Yangmingshan, this plateau with ocean views features fumaroles and idyllic pastures grazed by water buffalo. For more information, click here.

Tianmu Steps. An easy pathway up the side of Yangmingshan from the Tianmu expat enclave. Popular with families. For more information, click here.

Taipei Botanical Garden. Take a leisurely stroll past exotic flora and linger by a huge lotus pond. For more information, click here.

Guandu Nature Park. This boardwalked marsh brings one close to birds and other species that can only be found here. For more information, click here.

Dadaocheng and Wanhua. Let an historical walk through two of Taipei’s oldest districts – lined with old shophouses and heritage sites – transport you back in time to the heyday of immigrant settlements and river trade. For more information, click here or click here.

Ximending. A walk down pedestrianized Wuchang and Emei streets provides some retail therapy, and insight into the latest youth crazes and fashions. For more information, click here.

Taipei life on Ximending’s pedestrian streets.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Taipei offers good family activities.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Best for families

Taipei Water Park. A perfect place for kids to frolic in water-based amusements. For more information, click here.

Science Education Center. Here, science is taught through interactive displays and 3D movies. Next door, the Astronomical Museum has iWERKS and IMAX theaters. For more information, click here.

Taipei Zoo. With a Children’s Zoo, an ever-popular koala sanctuary, live-in pandas, and a butterfly conservation area. For more information, click here.

Miramar Entertainment Park. The giant rooftop Ferris wheel, also known as the Taipei Eye, is best ridden at night. For more information, click here.

Mango shaved ice. This incredible and enormous dessert is a Taiwan classic and will take some time to finish, so you may have to help!

Su Ho Paper Memorial Museum. Paper-making workshops make this magic for young ones. For more information, click here.

Riverside Bike Paths. The city is encircled by easy-grade bike paths meandering through parks, with cheap bike-rental kiosks. For more information, click here.

Baosheng Festival warrior.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Places of worship

Taipei Confucius Temple. One of Taipei’s grandest, the temple comes alive on Teachers’ Day, when age-old rites are performed at dawn. For more information, click here.

Ciyou Temple. The annual birthday celebrations for Mazu, patron saint of seafarers, are most elaborate here. For more information, click here.

Taipei Grand Mosque. The country’s main mosque, built with Saudi Arabian funding, is open to guided public visits for Muslims and non-Muslims alike. For more information, click here.

Xiahai City God Temple. This becomes a sea of raucous activity during the City God’s birthday procession. For more information, click here.

Xingtian Temple. Dedicated to Guan Gong, patron saint of businessmen, this is one of Taiwan’s richest temples, famous for the efficacy of its shoujing. For more information, click here.

Zhinan Temple. In the hills of Muzha, always thronging with devotees of Lü Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals. For more information, click here.

Only in Taipei

Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines. One of the best places in the world to learn about the indigenous tribes of Taiwan. For more information, click here.

EcoArk. Located at the Taipei Expo Park, the EcoArk is the world’s first giant building made from 1.52 million recycled PET bottles. For more information, click here.

Nightmarkets. These are the places to get your nightly grease fix, cheap clothing, and an authentic taste of local street life. For more information, click here.

Temple festivals. Birthday celebrations for deities such as Mazu are conducted in the streets of Taipei, with processions, firecrackers, and huge effigies. For more information, click here.

Changing of the Guard. Members of the armed forces in snappy uniforms, polished boots, white gloves, and mirrored helmets perform a rigid slow-motion march as they swap sentry duty. See them at Sun Yet Sen Memorial Hall, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, or Martyr’s Shrine, once every hour. For more information, click here, here and here.

At the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Famous food

Tianbula. A Taiwanese version of tempura, this snack features fried tubes of fish paste, dried beancurd, and pig’s blood cakes, dunked in a sweet and spicy sauce.

Stinky tofu. You either love or you hate this fermented beancurd snack, often called Chinese cheese. Found at nightmarkets.

Soy braised foods. Called luwei, from tofu to tongue, all manner of meats are stewed for long hours in sauce and spices for a deep, rich, salty flavor.

Pearl milk tea. This cold beverage (very occasionally hot), also called bubble tea, comes in myriad flavors with a dollop of chewy pearls made from tapioca flour.

Pineapple cakes. Cubed pastries with pineapple paste filling, invented in central Taiwan. A delicious gift. For more information, click here.

Aiyu. Chilled aiyu is a cooling, jelly-like dessert made from the eponymous fruit. Exclusive to Taiwan. For more information, click here.

Shaved ice. A generous heaping of crushed or shaved ice, topped with red beans, yam, or fresh fruits, then drizzled with condensed milk.

Three Cup Chicken. Perhaps Taiwan’s most representative dish, meats and other tasties slowly pot-simmered in a cup of soy sauce, rice wine, and sesame oil. For more information, click here.

Tianbula.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Best views

Four Beasts Mountain. From the westernmost peak of this mountain on Taipei’s east side, the whole city sits before you like a giant scale model. For more information, click here.

Muzha Tourist Tea Plantations. The city sparkles at night from the teahouses on the highest slopes here. For more information, click here.

Mt Qixing. From here, Yangmingshan’s tallest peak, the ocean and Taipei Basin is laid out before you. For more information, click here.

Taipei 101 Observation Decks. Catch stunning views from the main 89th-floor Observatory and 91st-floor outdoor deck. For more information, click here.

Jiufen. This small town, on the slopes of Mt Jilong, provides panoramic views of the mountains and sea from teahouse decks. For more information, click here.

Wulai Cable Car. Soars high over a hot-springs valley, brushing past a waterfall that bursts from the bluff-top you fly to. For more information, click here.

A detail at the Baoan Temple.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Best architecture

Longshan Temple Dragons. In the graceful, ornate southern Chinese style, the temple is famed for its dragon carvings, notably the writhing pillars. For more information, click here.

Baoan Temple. It’s not easy to beat Longshan Temple for color and decorative intricacy, but this Unesco-recognized temple does; the koji-pottery roof work is magical. For more information, click here.

Presidential Office Building. A red-brick neo-Renaissance edifice built by the Japanese on a scale worthy of any head of state. Its tower was the tallest structure during the colonial era. For more information, click here.

Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology. Located outside of the city, in the tiny town of Bali, is this distinctively angular building that garnered the Far East Architecture Award in 2003. For more information, click here.

Taipei 101 Fengshui. A wonderful example of traditional fengshui symbolism in action, the bamboo stalk shape symbolizing people’s fortitude, ancient coin symbols inviting wealth. For more information, click here.

An amazing view of the Taipei 101 tower and city skyline from Four Beasts Mountain.

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Carnegie’s is a hugely popular bar, known for its lively atmosphere and wide selection of shooters.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Best bars and pubs

Blue Note. Taipei’s homey home for jazz-lovers. Brings in talent, has a house band, and features regular jam sessions. Tel: [phone].

Carnegie’s. A big venue open to the street, one of the city’s few nightlife spots with alfresco seating. Wide bartops, made for dancing, are well used. www.carnegies.net.

EZ5. Taipei’s best-known dinner club, renowned for hosting the top homegrown club singers from Taiwan and around, who like to sing their favourite English tunes here. www.ez5.com.tw.

23 Public Craft Beer. Cashing in on the craft-beer craze, this funky corner bar has 12 different draught brews. Get here early as it is popular even on weeknights. www.facebook.com/23Public.

Top shopping

Eslite Bookstore, Dunhua Branch. Open 24 hours daily, this is a nice alternative nightlife option, with thousands of English-language titles and a foodcourt downstairs. For more information, click here.

Guang Hua Digital Plaza. One of the best places in the city to buy or just window-shop for state-of-the art electronic goods. For more information, click here.

Weekend Jade Market. This jade-lovers’ mecca is one of the Asia’s largest markets to buy this precious stone along with other jewelry and prayer beads. For more information, click here.

Nanmen Market. Taipei’s renowned and biggest day market. The city’s number one spot to shop for traditional sausages, snacks and cookies. For more information, click here.

Taipei has many peaceful parks.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Aerial view of Zhongxiao West Road.

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Making music at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.

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Introduction: New Taipei

In many ways, Taipei is a tale of two cities. The old city was crowded, polluted, and chaotic. But the modern city is very different. It has evolved over the years, and is now staking a claim as one of the best in Asia. Call it the New Taipei.

When Chiang Kai-shek’s government set up camp on the island in the late 1940s, the idea was that it was temporary and its members would go back to mother China shortly. Little thought was put into beautifying their capital, defined by row after row of unsightly cement-block residential buildings hastily put up to accommodate the new arrivals.

Trendy Ximending couple.

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Since the lifting of martial law in the late 1980s, and the burgeoning of disposable incomes as a result of the economic miracle of the 1960s and 1970s, the improvement of the city has been a key goal. Taiwan is the fourth-richest country in East Asia in terms of per capita income and enhancing quality of life has become one of the primary pursuits. Indeed, the pace of change has been startling. Metro lines have opened, and new freeways move traffic briskly, while tough pollution laws have throttled the two-stroke scooters that once belched the city’s signature pollution. Two large squatter villages were razed, and are now leafy parks filled with in-line skaters and tai chi practitioners.

Raohe Night Market.

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The Taiwanese love sophisticated technology – Apple had to wait but it now has several stores including in and near Taipei 101 – and the new Taipei (not to be confused with New Taipei city, the name given to the city’s newer suburbs) is a hyper-modern city, thanks to the billions of dollars the government has poured in. Almost the entire city is WiFi accessible.

The city’s important heritage sites are no longer being torn down in the headlong pursuit of maximum lucre; many are being restored and given a second lease of life. A key government program is to uphold a necklace of cultural pearls through the city – a long line of irreplaceable historical sites.

The new Taipei is big (it rivals any capital city), but not too big (you can cross town in 20 minutes by Metro). It’s exotic, but not too exotic. It’s crowded enough to be renao (literally hot and noisy), buzzing with restaurants, nightclubs, and boutiques, but not chronically gridlocked like, say, Bangkok or Beijing.

But best of all are the friendly residents who cheerfully direct visitors to the Metro station and write down Chinese characters for the taxi driver. They are the Xin Taiwanren, or New Taiwanese, and the heart and soul of the city.

People

The educated and well-traveled residents of Taipei have higher incomes and greater fashion consciousness than their countryside kin, but at heart they still embody the Taiwanese spirit of renqingwei, or human feeling.

Since late imperial times, Taipei has been the center of political and economic power on the island. It has long been the norm for people of ambition and talent to move here from their hometowns in the central, southern, and eastern regions. On top of this demographic imbalance, a common complaint is that for too long the Kuomintang (KMT) government poured an unfair share of financial resources into the capital city’s development, leaving the other regions to fend for themselves.

Girls hit the town in trendy Ximending.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

There is some truth to these accusations. When Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists landed on the island in the late 1940s, most of the 2 million or more mainlanders who came settled in and around Taipei. Though it was still somewhat under-developed by international standards then, it was Taiwan’s leading city. The Kuomintang government saw Taipei as its base, and other areas as populated by outsiders and Japanese sympathizers. It hoarded resources for itself and the city.

Since the end of martial law in 1987, things have been changing. Political leadership is moving towards greater ethnic and geographical representation, and resources are in turn being spread out more evenly.

It is also recognized that given its limited land area, Taipei is far too heavily populated; since 1968 and the era of Taiwan’s economic miracle, the population has grown dramatically and continues to rise. More recent initiatives such as the creation of satellite cities and what are called new towns have aimed to encourage Taipei residents to move to outlying areas – or at least to deflect the influx of citizens from other areas.

Crowds of scooter-riders stuck in traffic hint at the city’s population density.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Population size and density

At the end of 2018, Taiwan’s overall population was 23.6 million; Taipei City (excluding the suburban areas of New Taipei City) itself was home to 2.69 million people (that’s over a million households). With about two-thirds of the island mountainous, Taiwan trails only Bangladesh in population density among states with a population over 10 million. The problem is exacerbated in Taipei, ringed as it is by mountains and plunked down in the small Taipei Basin. With approximately 9,900 people per square kilometer, this is one of the world’s most crowded cities. Heavily residential Daan District is the most crowded, with 27,384 people per square kilometer.

Longshan Temple, one of Taipei’s most important.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Enjoying quality time in the Dajia Riverside Park.

Chris Stowers/Apa Publications

Population movements

The imbalance in Taiwan’s population is most evident in the run-up to the Chinese New Year holidays each year. Normally bustling Taipei becomes eerily quiet as people vacate en masse for parents’ hometowns in the island’s center and south. A drive south to Kaohsiung that might normally take 5 hours may take as long as 15; buses, trains, and planes are booked months ahead.

This phenomenon is now evolving, as the elderly parents of Taipei residents are now passing away, and the Taipeiers who moved to the city in the 1960s and 1970s have become parents and grandparents, shifting the center of familial gravity to the city.

In the 1980s, almost all of the city’s green areas had been built over. Since then the city administration has been working hard to increase public green spaces, and the city has been growing upward instead of outward. Stand-alone single homes are almost non-existent except on Yangmingshan, where the richest live. Most citizens live in residential high-rises, packed side by side in solid rows, in units akin to what Westerners would call a condominium. Whereas in the 1980s most such high-rises were only 3–5 stories tall, today they are 8–10 stories, and even higher downtown. Elevators are common only in the newer (and thus taller) residential