Back in Taipei
I returned to Taipei to meet my brother, who was joining me on my travels of east Asia. Our plan was to spend about a week in each of Taiwan, South Korea, and finally Japan. Most of our time together in Taiwan was spent back in Taipei. I didn't mind this at all as there were still a number of museums and attractions I hadn't had the chance to visit yet; and while I would visit some sites again, doing so with my brother is always a blessing and a new experience in itself.
In Taipei we: visited a couple of museums, joined a walking tour of the city, and went up the Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taiwan). We also went on a couple of hikes near the city, but for both hikes the weather was cloudy so the mountains we climbed were shrouded in fog, preventing us from seeing any views.
I saw the Lungshan Temple again, this time with the tour so I learnt a bit about its history, including that half of it survived a bombing attack during World War II.
We visited the 101st floor of the Taipei 101, it is the tallest building in Taiwan and was once the tallest in the world. The observatory of the 101st floor was beautifully decorated as a secret garden.
These photos were taken on the 89th floor observatory. Because the weather was bad parts of the view was obscured by clouds.
The tuned mass damper in the Taipei 101. This large iron ball can swing to counteract any movement in the building, from wind or earthquakes, thus reducing sway and keeping it stable.
Taipei 101 and the city skyline reflected in the pool outside the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial hall.
The rose garden at the Shilin Residence Park. We visited just as night was falling and I loved how they lit up the garden with lamps so we could still enjoy it.
The streets in and around the Shilin Night Markets. Many of the commercial streets in Taiwan were always full of brightly lit signs in all sorts of colours, and the Shilin area was perhaps one of the best example of this busy, commercial, aesthetic.
The National Palace Museum. This museum has one of the largest collections in the world with a particular focus on Chinese artifacts and history.
Jiuwu Peak Hike
To the south of the city is Jiuwu peak that ordinarily would have fantastic views of Taipei. Unfortunately, on the day we went to hike up it, the weather was cloudy and the views were obscured by fog. Actually, most of the final week I had in Taiwan had pretty bad weather. However, we did not let this dampen our mood too much. The first part of the trail was to Elephant Mountain (184 meters high), a peak I had previously visited, but then we continued higher up the mountain range to Jiuwu Peak (375 meters high) and on the way back we stopped by thumb mountain peak (320 meters high). While the views weren't great the nature certainly was and I loved how there was such a wonderful hiking trail literally right next to a giant urban city. We could get to the trail head in under 10 minutes from the metro station.
The trail up to Elephant Mountain and then onwards towards Jiuwu peak.
Our first sight of Jiuwu Peak. The trail crossed along a short saddle from the south to the northern peak.
Jiuwu Peak. Most of the time the view was nothing but a white void of mist, but the clouds parted slightly a couple times so we could just make out the shadow of Taipei 101.
Thumb Mountain peak was lower than Jiuwu, and hence just beneath the cloud cover, and so we actually could see a bit more of a view.
The Thumb Mountain Peak had these exposed rock surfaces carved with many Chinese characters. The very top of the mountain had multiple tiles set onto the rocks that perhaps, on a nicer day, could be a very great place to sit and enjoy the view.
Qixing Peak Hike
To the north of Taipei is the Yangmingshan National Park. It features a mountain range including several peaks and sites with volcanic activity such as hot springs and fumaroles. The tallest mountain in this range is Qixing peak at 1,120 meters, and this would be our destination. To get there we needed to take a bus from the Shilin District of Taipei to one of the visitor centres in the national park. This bus was smaller than the usual coaches I had experienced in Taipei and it was packed with hikers and visitors. Every bus we took in the national park was always full and we often had to stand, holding on to the railings as best we could, as the bus driver swerved quickly up the winding mountain roads. We started hiking from the Lengshuikeng visitor centre, through fog and a bit of rain, almost all the way up to the summit. We returned by another route down the mountain and then took a bus to the Xiaoyoukeng visitor centre where we could see a fumarole field.
The trail up the mountain involved many steps, always within the ever present fog.
We descended the mountain, through a lush rain forest shrouded in mist.
As we descended the mountain, the clouds parted for a moment, offering us a view of the city far in the distance.
On the descent, I was amazed by how lush and green the forest was. Plant life of different forms seemed to grow on every surface, from the rocks of the path, to the branches of the trees; I had to stop and try to capture some of this atmosphere, both at distance and up close.
A couple of small bubbling vents at the fumarole field.
Unfortunately the mist returned by the time we arrived at the fumarole field, so we couldn't see much, but we could hear the sound of the gas escaping from the earth. the second image is looking down the slope towards a fumarole that I could hear but not see.
Even with the constant fog the hike was still a good one. We spent the full day climbing the mountain and exploring the park; it was really nice to spend that time out in nature. What I found most interesting was the varied flora of the park: with sections of open grassland containing short shrubbery, then sections where the grass like plants were taller than us so it was like walking through a hedge maze, and finally there was the lush green rain forest. This park is a place I would love to visit again, to see this scenery under a clear blue sky, though even so, it was still beautiful, even shrouded by mist.
The original plan had been to walk from Qixing peak straight down to Xiaoyoukeng but that part of the trail was closed, hence our more circuitous route.
Juifen
I visited Juifen again, this time only as a day trip. The town was so beautiful I had to bring my brother here. I won't repeat too many photos here as I have many more from my previous post. But, there were a few unique sights I saw this time around that I missed from my first trip so I will share them with you here.
From a lookout located to the east of the main town I could spot the end of the Juifen old street and the lookout there situated above a mural of working miners. The second image was taken from the road beneath the mural.
There was a rushing river with a set of small waterfalls in the middle of the town that I had somehow completely missed last time.
I was counting on visiting Taipei again as there had been so much I didn't get to do when I had first arrived. Taipei was still a busy place but worth it for the many gems it had to offer, both with its museums and parks, and with the beautiful natural scenery nearby.
I was also able to enjoy the food here at some of the excellent restaurants that we visited. My favourite being this vegetarian ramen place, but I also found places that sold excellent dumplings of all sorts of different varieties, and I'm always a fan of dumplings. I certainly savoured the amazing food here before traveling to places where vegetarian food was harder to come by.
Even after over a week in total visiting the city there are still places left on my list that I didn't get a chance to see. Its a city I would love to visit again, but still, with the time I did have I thoroughly enjoyed it. I am thankful to the guides that showed us around, and to all the staff that run the various museums and parks, for creating such a welcoming atmosphere and helping us to experience the best of Taiwan.
Thanks for reading – Edward
Written 11th of February 2025