We start our exploration of Tamshui at Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf, which is a very scenic spot at the western tip of Tamsui District in New Taipei City. It’s known for a beautiful sunset and fresh seafood restaurants. Despite it’s tourist attraction, it still functions as a harbor for many fishing boats.

Next to Fisherman’s Wharf is the Fullon Hotel, a luxury hotel that features a unique tower ride that gives you a birdseye view of the wharf and all of Danshui. Lover’s Tower is a 100-metre tall observatory tower that you ride up to the top to enjoy panoramic views of the entire coastline.

Danshui used to be called Huwei. It is a derivation from the ancient tongue Hoba. It means the river outlet. Danshui is located in northwest of Taipei basin. Danshui is surrounded by mountains and rivers and the scenery is beautiful.

In the distance we can see the Lover’s Bridge of Tamshui, a cable stayed pedestrian bridge that got it’s name from the date on which construction began, Valentines Day 2003. The bridge is approximately 196 meters long, and the walk across takes about 3 minutes.

We hop on board a small commuter boat that will take us from Tamshui down the coastline to downtown Danshui. As we leave fisherman’s wharf, we can see Lover’s bridge in the distance. To our left we catch a glimpse of the Fullon Hotel and Lover’s tower that we rode to the top in. Our short boat ride is almost over as we near the dock at Danshui.

We get off the boat in front of Danshui Old Street, a bustling street of restaurants and cafes in the heart of Danshui. At the end of one of the tiny streets lined with shops and cafes is a 106-step stairway up the hill to the historic Red Castle. The Red Castle of Danshui was built in 1899 when Taiwan was a colony of Japan. Today, it’s a cafe, restaurant and coffee house on the top floor. From the top floor of the Red Castle, you can enjoy great views of Danshui and neighboring Bali in the warm summer sunshine.

We conclude our visit with a leisurely walk down Danshui Old Street. The street was renovated and broadened in 2000 and a number of unique sculptures representing life and the sea in Danshui were added.

Video from our visit:

Photos from our visit:

The Miniatures Museum of Taiwan is the first museum to collect miniatures in Asia. It was founded in 1997 by Mr Lin Wen-ren and his wife. Mr. Lin and his wife enjoyed buying little houses and toy cars for their children while traveling for business purposes. While in Netherlands, they discovered miniature art and were deeply attracted. They began buying accessories, furniture, and assembled miniature houses. At the same time, the couple participated in auctions and joined international miniature art associations. They began planning a museum in 1993.

There are several magnificent original roomboxes in the collection that features tiny model roomboxes within the roombox. Another roombox is modeled after a children’s play room and features a tiny working model railroad. Yet another unique roombox allows you to “switch” between two roomboxes. A switch controls a mirror which projects the lighted image of one or the other roombox for you to see. We see one roombox that features a miniature working LCD television that’s broadcasting a show for the tiny occupants to enjoy.

The collection of miniature sport and luxury cars and automobile signs is also impressive.

Miniatures originated within German palaces of the 16th century as tools for teaching aristocratic children, but appreciation for the art form did not pass to other parts of the world until much later during the 19th century.

Bear’s Kingdom is a section of the museum devoted to handcrafted clay bears with personalities contributed by friends from all over the world.

With a remarkable collection of roomboxes and dioramas of various scales, the Miniatures Museum is a magical miniature world come true and one of the best experiences in Taipei.

Video from our visit:

Photos from our visit:

Taipei 101 rises to a height of 508 meters and was the world’s tallest building until the opening of the tallest in Dubai. We travel up almost 90 floors to see the view from the top. The tower, inspirationally designed by the internationally acclaimed architect C.Y. Lee, was started in 1998. The tower’s structure is divided into 8 sections from the 27th through 90th levels — 64 floors clearly divided into segments each 8 floors. Each segment slants outward at a 7-degree angle as it moves upward, resembling a bamboo stalk, which is a symbol of strength, durability, and ceaseless growth in Chinese traditional culture. There’s a shopping area on the lower floors of the building that features bookshops to restaurants.

We board the high speed elevator on the fifth floor to get to the observation deck on the 89th floor. The elevators are pressurized and travel at 1010 meters per minute, which set a Guiness Book World Record in 2004. It takes only 37 seconds to reach the 89th floor.

On the 89th floor we can see whole city of Taipei from the indoor observation deck. There’s also a multimedia presentation that talks about the history of this enormous building.

From the 89th indoor observation floor, you have to walk down stairs and go through a fun house of sorts that combines multimedia computer projections with clever lights to guide you on the way to the 88th floor. On the 88th floor, we find the world’s largest and heaviest wind damper. This large metal ball weighs 660 metric tons and prevents the building from swaying too much in strong winds. The 101 mascot is here waiting for your next photo shot.

We’re lucky today as the outdoor observatory is open on the 91st floor. This outside observation platform offers a completely different viewing experience from the 89th floor indoor one. Here we are able to see from close up the spire at the highest point of the 508 meter tall building.

Our visit to 101 is at an end and we take the high speed elevator back down to the mall level. Outside there are a number of interesting sculptures to pose next to and we take the opportunity to snap a few memorable photos of our experience at 101.

Video from our visit:

Photos from our visit:

Taipei’s National Palace Museum, in the suburbs of Taipei, has been called one of the premier sites of human culture. From the Song Dynasty on, China’s emperors were avid collectors of this land’s finest artworks and many of these treasures are on display here. The treasure trove of priceless artifacts became public property with the advent of China’s republican period in the early 1900s, and the National Palace Museum was opened in Beijing in 1925. Later in 1948, most of the collection was safely moved to Taiwan during the height of the Chinese Civil War. In 1965, it went back on public display in an impressive new home – the Zhongshan Museum which is now called the National Palace Museum.

The museum entrance has a bronze statue of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, a Chinese revolutionary and former president after the revolution. It was unveiled in 2010 to commemorate Dr. Sun’s life.

In its 40-plus years here, the Taipei facility has continually been upgraded to keep up with advances in museum facilities and technique. Today, visitors are provided a world-class aesthetic and cultural experience. There are over 7 hundred thousand pieces in the collection. Only a portion of this is on display at any given time, with the rest stored in massive cooled vaults dug right into the mountainside behind the museum.

On display is a 17th century reproduction of the 12th century masterpiece “Along the River During Qingming Festival”, one of the many paintings on display. The Qing dynasty Jadeite Cabbage has been called the most famous masterpiece of the entire National Palace Museum. “Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains” is one of the few surviving works by the painter Huang Gongwang. The electronic version makes the painting come alive with computer animated little people and animals going about daily life.
In addition to the computer version, we were in luck as when we visited, both the shorter and longer piece of the original painted by Huang Gongwang in the 14th century were reunited and on display together for the first time. A painting of Four Immortals from the Southern Song dynasty was also on display.

The core of the treasury today remains the imperial collection, but it also includes priceless works from the cultures of other peoples beyond China’s, including those of Taiwan.

After perusing the museum’s impressive collection, we venture outside in the summer sun to admire some of the architecture surrounding the complex. A remarkable bronze sculpture was installed between the entryway staircases in August of 1993. On each side of the main stone walkway entrance to the musuem is a quiet formal garden. The entryway is adorned by a wonderful solid marble archway.

Video from our visit:

Photos from our visit:

The Taipei Zoo has over 190 acres of outdoor and indoor animal exhibits open to the public every day. The facilities consist of 6 main buildings: the Education Center, the Nocturnal Animal house, the Penguin house, the Koala house, the Amphibian and Reptile house, and the Insectarium. The giant panda exhibit is also a big hit with visitors, especially when the pandas come out. There are also 8 exhibitions including the Formosan Animal exhibit and the Asian Tropical rainforest display.

The history of the Taipei Zoo can be traced back over 90 years. In 1914, when Taiwan was still under Japanese control, a Japanese man established a private zoological garden in Yuan-shan in the northern suburbs of Taipei City. The Japanese Government in Taiwan purchased the property the following year and transformed it into a public park. Following World War II in 1946, the Taipei Zoo was formally taken over by the Taipei City Government. In 1970, the amusement park adjacent to the zoo was consolidated into a large park, providing entertainment and education for several generations of children and adults.

We visit the Insectarium, which is a large complex consisting of greenhouses for butterflies and damselflies and insect display tanks.

After thirteen years of planning and construction, the old zoo started back in 1914 was officially closed on August 15, 1986, which marked the end of the Yuan-shan era. The new zoo, now located in the Muzha District in the southern part of Taipei, held its grand opening on New Year’s Day the following year. Today the Taipei Zoo has four main functions: conservation, education, research, and recreation. More than four million visitors attend the Zoo on an annual basis; it has also hosted several international conferences on conservation-related topics.

To get to the upper part of the zoo, we hop on board a tiny zoo train for a leisurely ride up the hill.

The penguin display is partly inside and partly outside. Tanks surrounded by simulated natural scenery show off the little stars in their natural habitat. In addition to the penguins, there’s a display of beavers and sea otters.

We’ve had a great day at the Taipei Zoo.

Video from our visit:

Photos from our visit:

Our first stop in Taipei is the Maokong Gondola, a 4 kilometer cable car between the Taipei Zoo and Zhinan Temple and on to Maokong. We will travel all the way to Maokong Station.

The gondola rises over 275 meters between the Taipei Zoo and the Maokong station. We reach the first intermediate station on our way to Zhinan Station and the Zhinan Temple. We don’t get off here, we continue on another 1600 meters up the mountain. In the distance we catch a glimpse of downtown Taipei and the 101 tower, which we’ll visit later. We reach Zhinan Station at 264 meters high. We see Zhinan Temple off to our left, clinging to the side of the mountain, as we descend into the station.

When we get off the gondola at Zhinan Station, we’re greeted by a statue of Li Jian He, a famous Taiwan business and political leader who also was CEO of the transit company who brought us up the mountain. Located in the mountains just south of Muzha, Zhinan Temple is the perfect getaway from the hustle and bustle of Taipei. Founded in the late 1800s  it’s one of the oldest temples in Taipei. We’re in luck as this afternoon when we visited, the monks were performing a healing ceremony which is supposed to bring the believer good fortune, good health, and eternal happiness. As with other temples in Taiwan, Zhinan Temple honors Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, with four main halls, five secondary halls, and many walkways stretching out across the hillside. This Daoist temple complex spreads out all over the mountainside. On a clear day you can see excellent views of downtown Taipei.

It’s time to get back on the gondola and ride to the top of the mountain at Maokong Station. We travel another 1100 meters and climb only a mere 40 meters to reach Maokong station. Maokong is famous as a tea growing area and has many tea houses where you can drink tea and enjoy the views of Taipei.

At the top of the mountain we find a touristy crush of restaurants and farmers selling everything from tea to golden buddahs. We’ll look around a bit and then get on the gondola to go all the way down to the Taipei Zoo, our next stop.

Video from our visit:

Photos from our visit: