A weekend in Taipei

      Travelling is exciting and tiring. Exciting because seeing different parts of the world broadens our horizon, tiring because we are bound to spend a great deal of time and energy on transportation, and if you simply want to enjoy a weekend in a city you have never been before, reading maps and the possibility of getting lost could be cumbersome and daunting. This article, however, will give you an idea on how to spend a weekend in Taipei without having to study the map and ask for direction every five minutes.

      Our first stop would be National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, an architectural splendour that stands imperially on Zhongshaan S. Road. This blue and white magnificence was built to commemorate the memory of Chiang Kai-Shek, one of the leaders in the history of Taiwan. The Memorial Hall is unique and its blue glazed tiles and white marble are beautifully majestic and rarely seen in the sense of Chinese architecture. Apart from the main hall, there are also small gardens, pavilions, and verandas on the same sites. 

The Memorial Hall is four-storey high and has various historical exhibitions. There are, furthermore, two other imposing building situated on each side of the memorial Hall – the National Concert Hall and the National Opera House. These three imposing buildings form a symbolic triangle and are truly worth a visit. Do go into the National Concert Hall and the Opera Hall to enquire whether there is any show during the weekend. You might be able to get a last-minute ticket for an incredible show.

      Yun Kong Street is the next destination and will only take ten minutes to reach if you walk. Or you can take the bus and after a few minutes you will be standing on Yun Kong Street. There are two things I love about the routes of the transport in Taipei – simple and straightforward.      

      After the tour in the Memorial Hall, some decent food might be needed. Lunch is never a problem when you are on Yun Kong Street. Ding Tai Fong, for example, would be a great place to go for lunch.  Their signature chicken soup, the legendary dumplings, and the mouth-watering fried rice with crispy pork loin are irresistible. This highly praised restaurant has been on Yun Kong Street for years. Their dishes never fail to please the locals and the tourists, so, do not be surprised by the lengthy queue outside of the restaurant, it is almost a daily occurrence.

    There is one restaurant fully capable of competing with Ding Tai Fong – Yong Kong Beef Noodles. Beef noodles to Taiwanese is like fish and chips to the English or Tortilla to the Spanish – you can find them anywhere, it is simply the question of whether they taste good or not. Yong Kong Beef Noodles would show what a bowl of succulent beef noodles is. This old, somewhat tiny restaurant is situated in one of the large lanes in Yun Kong Street and has been there for nearly half a decade.  Their braised beef noodles are well known and their side dishes are no less tasty. The refreshing Aubergine salad, a tiny pot of steamed sweet potatoes with spare ribs in a bamboo steamer, and pickled cucumbers go perfectly with the noodles. A bowl of beef noodles and a couple of side dishes will amaze your taste bud and give you the energy you need for the afternoon.

    We stroll to Hsin-Yi Road after lunch. It takes approximately five minutes and you will be facing a vast forest that stands in the middles of busy Taipei city.  This gigantic jungle is, of course, the famous Daan Park.

      In the busy city of Taipei, Daan Park is an exceptionally precious emerald and grandeur of moss, celadon, and harlequin – a dazzling, green universe, in other words. Flower beds, ponds, nicely trimmed shrubs, grasses, and gazeboes are everywhere in this forest-like paradise. There is also an outdoor arena of moderate size in the centre of the park. In a way Daan Park is not unlike a school of horticulture, dozens of plants are and have been growing in this green world and each plant has its own signage that reads the name of the plant and what category it belongs to in the horticultural world. Altogether, it is definitely worth taking a stroll in the park.    

     Opposite Daan Park is The Angel Gallery. This medium-sized gallery is most adorable and one of its kind. Cat lovers be aware, The Angel Gallery might simply be your kind of heaven. The gallery are divided into two sections – the main gallery and the digital section. The main gallery exhibits several artworks and most of them are sellable and have images of cats. The Angel Gallery, in fact, owns five beautiful of cats. Those beautiful, miniature lions saunter, rest, and play in the main gallery. They are the inspiration to the gallery and meaningfully symbolic. The digital section focuses on exhibitions by different artist. From university professors to architects, from independent artist to poet, the gallery presents and introduces a different artist every two weeks or so. The Angel Gallery will also be one of the participators in The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition in November. They are going to present the main concept of the gallery and how art and one’s life can be connected; such exhibition certainly is going to be exciting and edifying.   

     Jian Guo S. Road, our next destination, is by no means far from The Angel Gallery. If you walk alongside either the gallery or Daan Park for a mere five minutes, Jian Guo S. Road is in front of you. Occupying nearly two third of Jian Guo South Road are three enormous markets that only open at weekends:  Jian Guo Holiday Flower Market, Jian Guo Holiday Jade Market, and The Artists’ Corner. 

     Numerous florists come to Jian Guo Holiday Flower Market to set up their own stalls. Hundreds of bouquets and pots of flowers are merchandised in this market, the view is stunning, almost bewilderingly so. The market itself is a picture of fervently vivid blooms. Books on horticulture, edible plants, and tools for gardening are also available in some of the stalls. Jian Guo Holiday Jade Market is a place that glows in the beauty of gemstones. Jades and an assortment of precious stones are sold in this market, such as ambers, turquoises, amethysts, rubies, topazes, crystals, pearls et cetera. With nearly one thousand stalls, Guo Holiday Jade Market is probably the largest gem market in Asia.

     The Artists’ Corner is most curious. You can find paintings, pottery, photographic gadgets, vases, handmade artworks, ornaments for home aquariums, and ornaments for home. The variety of merchandises is gratifying. What makes this market so different is that they have been helping several disable painters. These extremely talented artists have their own stalls to exhibit and sell their artworks. Such admirable commerce gives this particular market a fitting name – The Artists’ Corner.

     Like many other cities in the world, Taipei is a city that does not sleep. You can always find restaurants, karaokes, and bars that open till late. Clubs certainly would not be excluded when it comes to nightlife in Taiwan. However, there is nothing better than going to a night market on a Friday night in Taipei. Night markets are something that exists only in Asian culture and we definitely are not going skip the excursion to the nearest night market, which is only fours bus stops from Daan Park. Tung-Hwa Night Market is one of the most popular nigh markets in Taipei. In a night market, good food and bargains are everywhere, we will not have to think about how to spend the night once we are there, as there are probably more than 100 stalls and stores in the market, entertainments and food are the last thing we need to worry about.

     A hot breakfast is always a wonderful way to start a morning. Despite of the warm and humid climate, Taiwanese are prone to have hot food in the morning. A glass of soy bean milk, a streamed rice ball, crispy egg pancake, and a cruller wrapped in baked flat bread constitute a splendid repast. Or, a bowl of rice congee with a few side dishes, such as dried horseradish omelette, braised bean curd, steamed fish, and freshly cooked vegetables would also make your morning. So where can we enjoy such gorgeous food and how are we going to reach there on a Saturday morning? First of all we need to reach Daan Vocational High School. Remember Daan Park? We can simply get on a bus at the nearest bus stop and after two stops you will be outside Daan Vocational High School. We walk alongside the school for a couple of minutes, and then you will see several eateries that occupy nearly the whole street. There is no need to worry about where the eateries are open or not, most of the eateries there are open twenty-four hours even though the food they serve is usually considered breakfast.

     After breakfast we get back on the bus and head to Hsin-Yi Planning District, which might take approximately fifteen minutes or so (about four or five bus stops). The area is constantly hectic due to its four glamorous department stores that sell goods ranging from high street fashion to designer brands, the cinema, the Hsin-Yi branch of Eslite bookstore, and, most importantly, Taipei 101.

      Being one of highest buildings in the world, Taipei 101 has become one of the most iconic places and one of the most talked about topics in Taiwan since its opening ceremony. Its sharp, contemporary structure has drawn countless visitors. The observatory, in addition, is another attraction that most visitors found in Taipei 101. If you wish to see the panoramic view of Taipei, it is worth going up the top floor to purchase a ticket for entering the observatory. Eslite is an exceedingly popular chain bookshop in Taiwan. Being a six-storey high building, Eslite’s Hsin-Yi branch is probably the largest bookshop in Taiwan. If you are a reader, Elite is simply a delight, this book-laden, maze-like store also has a café, a restaurant, a music shop, and some other lovely, artistic shops.

      Spending a couple of hours in the busy, somewhat heavily populated Hsin-Yi Planning District could be draining, so a quieter world would be pleasant place to go. Unlike National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall’s National’s ostentation and extravagance, National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall is much subtler and quieter. This memorial hall obviously was built to commemorate the memory of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, the man who led all the brave and intelligent revolutionaries to create a new era. The Memorial Hall exhibits many precious manuscripts and pictures that tell people a great deal of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen’s life, his admirable leadership during the eleven revolutions, his political doctrines, and the China before 1912.  The distance from Hsin-Yi Planning District to National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall is quite short; we can either walk or take the Metro. If you are not confident, do take the metro from Taipei City Hall Station and leave the train at Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Station. 

      Our final destination is a restaurant called Sung Chu, Sung’s Kitchen in Mandarin. You will need to book in advance as the restaurant is popular to an unbelievable extend. Coming originally from Bei-Jing, northern Chinese food undoubtedly is Sung Chu’s speciality, pan fried dumplings with vegetable stuffing, cold noodles, sweet and sour fish slices, and pan fried bean curd are all greatly recommended. Their roast duck is incredibly acclaimed, and succulent is the only word that suits the crispy, golden brown skin, the juice, tender meat, and the soup cooked with duck bones and cabbage. Roast duck is one of the traditional dishes in northern China, and it is never easy to find a restaurant that serves authentic and delicious roast duck, but Sung Chu gained its highly-praised reputation by serving the best roast duck in Taipei. You might wonder where Sung Chu is. Well, what we have to do is take the Metro from Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall Station to Taipei City Hall Station because Sung Chu is, in fact, quite close to the station. When in Taipei, gastronomes shall never worry; cosy eateries and luxuriant restaurants are everywhere to be found.