City Guide

Four hours in Taipei

31 Oct 2015 by Freelance3

1 - Huashan 1914 Creative Park

Huashan 1914 Creative Park, 梅花里, Taipei City, Taiwan

Huashan 1914 Creative Park has never seen better days. The century-old wine and moth orchid factory was abandoned to nature and became a symbol of industrial decline. Today it is a green space in the centre of the city, with its renovated Japanese-style buildings creating a cultural hub, full of green tea smoothies, homemade cakes and avant-garde energy. As the name implies, the venue is a hub for the city’s nascent and slightly quirky design industry, so take a stroll along covered walkways where there are a variety of shops stocking stylish products from local designers. The new Red Brick Area has a bookshop cum curio store and chandeliered restaurant that is popular with artists. Open daily from 9.30am-9pm; 1 Bade Rd, Section 1, Zhongsheng district; huashan1914.com 

2 - 44 South Village

54 Songqin St, 景新里, Xinyi District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Hit the main road and walk a couple of blocks to Zhongxiao-Xinsheng MRT stop, transfer to the Red Line and you will be whisked to the throbbing modern section of the city, where Taipei 101 and its swanky mall hold sway. In the long shadow of 101 is 44 South Village, the first settlement of Kuomintang (KMT) soldiers who fled China after losing the civil war to communism in 1949. There are still some old timers in the renovated village, but most have made way for hipsters and the Farmer’s Market on Sunday, selling organic produce and craft items. There’s a small museum, plus great bagels and home-made ice cream at Good Cho’s café. Open Tue-Fri 10am-9.30pm, 8am-6pm Sat & Sun; 54 Songqin St, Xinyi district; +886 2758 2609.

3 - Taipei Expo Park

1 Yumen St, 圓山里, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

A four-minute walk up Zhuangjing Road and you are back at the Taipei 101 MRT stop, so now take an uninterrupted ride across town to Yuanshan MRT. Taipei blooms most of the year because of its sub-tropical climate so a walk round the Flora Expo 2010 site is a pleasant way to spend an hour or two. Highlights are the Rinzai Zen Temple, a stone-age excavation site and Maji Maji Square, where restaurants, small shops and vendor stalls await. Hire one of the ubiquitous yellow YouBikes and tour music pavilions, the sky farm and newly erected EcoArk. Crafted from recycled PET bottles, it’s said to be the first building made entirely from rubbish. Open Tue-Thu & Sun, 9-5pm; Fri-Sat 9am-8pm; 1 Yumen St, Zhongshan district; enexpopark.taipei

4 - Taipei Fine Arts Museum

Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Section 3, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Cross Zhongshan North Road and you arrive in Zhongshan Meishu Park, which in turn leads to Keelung River and Xinsheng Park. Here you can find botanical and rose gardens, solar bridges, and aboriginal art installations. Take a look at Taipei Story House, which offers a slice of England with its 1913 Tudor-style building that houses a café and mini museum dedicated to the cultural life of old-time Taiwan. TFAM was built in the Metabolist style, which blends post-modernist and organic growth concepts. There are always strong local and international collections to view and the museum has a reputation for adventurous curating. Open Tue-Sun, 9.30-5.30pm, Sat 9.30-8.30pm; 181 Zhongshan North Rd, Section 3, Zhongshan district; tfam.museum

5 - Fish Market

18 Minzu East Road, Taipei, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan

Take a TWD70 (US$2) ten-minute cab ride to the final destination, a foodie haven known locally as Addiction Aquatic Development. Located in an unprepossessing area opposite Binjiang fruit and vegetable market, it’s an impressive emporium dedicated to seafood, gastronomy and fine wine. There are huge tanks full of fish and crustaceans sold by the kilogram for those keen to cook at home. For visitors, there is a wide variety of restaurants and a buzz about the place all day long, starting in the early morning but inevitably coming to a crescendo at lunch and dinner. Open daily 6am-midnight; 18 Minzu East Rd, lane 410, alley 2, Zhongshan district; addiction.com.tw 

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