How fortunate Taipei is to have this national park (YángmÃngshÄn GuójiÄ GÅngyuán) at its doorstep, complete with majestic mountains, hot springs, tall grasses, forests of bamboo and broad-leaf trees and some handsome lodgings and restaurants. Among its 1200-plus species of plants, the area is particularly known for rhododendrons, azaleas and Japanese cherry trees. An excellent [...]
Once upon a time, Taipei’s streets were chock-full of taxis, buses and racing scooters, and its sidewalks congested with people and trash. The air was foul, and the architecture – shrines, temples and old colonial buildings aside – was ugly. Central planning seemed sporadic or even nonexistent. In the late 1980s, as the scars of [...]
Two stops south of Danshui, Guandu is home to both an excellent nature park and Taiwan’s oldest temple.
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Start with a charming Taipei-river suburb as your soup base, add equal parts college-town youth vibe and oceanside-boardwalk festivity. Toss in a healthy sea breeze and a hefty dash of old-world colonial architecture and you’ve got Danshui (Dà nshuÇ), possibly among the coolest, and most unique, hangout spots in Taipei.
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Beneath the soil of Taiwan bubbles a veritable cauldron of sulphurous water, and though most hot-spring resorts are well away from major urban areas, Taipei’s Beitou (Běitóu, sometimes spelled Peitou) is a notable and welcome exception. It’s here that locals and travellers alike come for a quick soak in sulphurous waters.
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West of Danshui is the charming riverfront /seacoast town of Bali (no relation to the Indonesian paradise of the same name). Just across the wide mouth of the Danshui River where it meets the sea, Bali is quickly becoming a magnet for Taipeiers, especially families with children looking to get out of the big city [...]