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Shung Ye Museum Of Formosan Aborigines
The Shung Ye Museum Of Formosan Aborigines features highlights of nine Taiwanese indigenous tribes. These Austronesian peoples are related through blood or linguistic ties to people across precolonial Oceania, as far away as Madagascar. The tribes developed pottery, basketry, wood carvings, musical instruments and colourful costumes. Fine examples of Taiwanese aboriginal handicrafts are displayed and video footage offers an educational summary of the histories of the tribes themselves.
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Su Ho Paper Museum
Don't blink or you might walk right past the store front housing this four-storey Su Ho Paper Museum. Fulfilling the lifelong dream of Taiwanese paper-maker Mr Chen Su Ho, this museum features special exhibits of ultracreative uses of paper (eg paper sculpture or installation art). No matter when you visit, you can make your own sheet of paper in the museum's workshop and learn about materials and processes. An English audio guide is available. Exhibits change two or three times a year.
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Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall
Occupying an entire city block, the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall serves as a cultural centre (concerts, performances and special events), a large public park and a museum of the life of the man considered the founder of modern China.
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Taipei 101
Towering above the city like the gigantic bamboo stalk it was designed to resemble, Taipei 101 is impossible to miss. At 508m, Taipei International Financial Centre 101, as it's officially named, is the world's tallest building (Dubai eat your heart out, for now at least!). Construction began in 1997 and the exterior was completed in 2003. In addition to holding the world record for height, Taipei 101 also holds the record for having the world's fastest elevator.
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Taipei Arena
'Build it and they will come', seems to be the motto behind this brand-new Taipei Arena. Vast, cavernous and shaped like a flying saucer, the Taipei Arena hosts concerts, sporting events and noteworthy performances like the 2007 Taipei running of Cats (the musical, not actual felines themselves). Check out the website for the latest schedule.
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Taipei Astronomical Museum
Opened in 1997, the Taipei Astronomical Museum houses four floors of constellations, ancient astronomy, space science and technology, telescopes and observatories. Though a good place to while away an hour with the kids, what keeps this otherwise excellent museum from being a must-visit is a dearth of English content though every exhibit features English and Chinese, but most of the actual information is in the latter language only.
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Taipei Children's Art Museum
Opened in 2003, the highly interactive children's Taipei Children's Art Museum features artwork by children and regular programmes to encourage children to participate in the creation of art. Dedicated to the nurturing of children's hearts and minds through art, the museum offers an excellent counterpoint to the rote 'learning through repetition and imitation' educational methods prevalent in Taiwan.
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Taipei Mosque
Built in 1960, the Taipei Mosque seems at first strangely out of place in this city of Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian temples. But with its green crescent-peaked domes and tall minarets, the mosque adds additional depth and texture to the spiritual cloth of Taiwan's capital city.
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Taipei Sea World Aquarium
Though the Taipei Sea World Aquarium probably won't win any awards from the Jacques Cousteau foundation, it's ok as a quick diversion. The fish are pretty, and kids should have a good time checking out the reasonable variety of sea creatures on display. Probably the only aquarium we've ever seen in a high-rise building.
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Taipei Story House
the Taipei Story House was built in 1914 by an aristocratic tea trader. Its style was said to have been inspired by a building he saw while visiting the 1900 Paris Expo. Today the house is an exhibition space for Taipei nostalgia and history. Exhibits change frequently and might include goodies such as toys, matchboxes and comic books.
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Tien-Ho Temple
More proof that good things come in small packages, the Tien-Ho Temple seems, from the outside, but a narrow (though exceptionally ornate) storefront in the busy Ximending district. But walk through the narrow gate and you'll find one of Central Taipei's most beautiful Buddhist temples, complete with statues of Matsu, ancient Chinese generals, a bell tower and a small dragon-shaped pond filled with huge carp.
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Ximending
Like Tokyo's Ginza, Ximending is the ultraconsumerist heart of Taipei's mainstream youth culture. This eight-branched intersection dates from the Japanese era and is now chock-full of shops selling fashion, fast food, sneakers, sunglasses, scarves, Sanrio, Sony and spaghetti. If it's young and trendy, it's here.
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Xingtian Temple
The Xingtian Temple is one of the city's busiest. It's dedicated to Guangong (AD 162-219), a famous red-faced general who became deified and is worshipped as the god of war and, by extension, martial arts. Business people also flock here as Guangong was said to be adept at finance.
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Zhishan Cultural & Ecological Garden
Just south of Tianmu's Yangming hospital and a few blocks east of the Zhishan MRT sits one of our favourite parks, a jungle-filled mountain just north of the Shuangxi river (also a lovely park in its own right). It's filled with gardens and shrines and the top of the mountain has a temple dedicated to a much revered Sage and General called Chen Yuan Kwang who lived 1500 years ago.
