EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION Taipei, a City That Never Sleeps

metropolis of international caliber, each year Taipei joins the great global celebration A of Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The joyful sounds and smells and sights of boisterous celebration fill the entire metropolis. As “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy New Year!” greetings resound, the distance between Taipei and the world noticeably shrinks. City nights sparkle with light, splendor, action, and vitality, greeting visitors from overseas with a warm Taiwan- style embrace, and inviting them to personally experience the wonderful, action-filled “City That Never Sleeps” (臺北夜未眠)!

In this issue, we bring you to the city’s frontlines for fashion. We bring you “Taipei’s Manhattan” (臺北的曼哈頓), the Xinyi Commercial District, a grand bazaar home to upscale department stores, the massive exhibition halls of the Taipei World Trade Center, chic restaurants, sleek theaters, steamy nightspots, and many other examples of the international- caliber voguish vanguard. Here is a veritable pleasure vault of shopping and leisure- entertainment stimulation. Taipei 101 and the eslite Xinyi flagship bookstore, the largest bookstore in this country, are just two of the numerous iconic architectural sirens that draw you in with their magnetic allure. Within Taipei 101, you’ll find OTOP, a hall selling and displaying the finest of Taiwan’s regional handicraft and food items; here you will find the quintessential “flavors” of this land, a perfect place to pick up Taiwan mementoes and gift items. In this issue, we also prime you with details on the myriad Parade Carnival (遊行嘉年華) and New Year’s activities in December, both organized by the Taipei City Government. Along with the countless top-flight restaurants in the East District, and a smorgasbord of special meal deals on offer to add even more delicious flavor to the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations.

In our happy Living in Taipei section, we take you on a roaming excursion to Sishou Mt. (Four Animals Mt.), also in the Xinyi (and Nangang) District. We then take you to and through the fabulously colorful Taipei Flower Show, the in-no-way-stinky All about Feces Show at Taipei Zoo, and the electrifying annual Taipei IT Month exhibition. In our Arts section, we introduce to you the important platform for Taiwan and international artistic interchange, the 2008 Taipei Biennial, and open the doors to a very happy place, Taipei Artist Village, a space given over to free-reign domestic and international artistic creativity. There’s much more of course, but you’ll just have to trust in serendipity and ramble through the pages to follow on your own. Please enjoy.

So, dearest friends, please come one and come all! During this season of joy, we welcome you to bring in the New Year, 2009, together with us, all Sleepless in Taipei. We guarantee you that during this party of the city, you will find surprises in every corner at this fabulous city!

 Contents

Feature

04 Taipei City, Filled with the Spirit of Christmas 06 Taipei New Year Activities

Architecture

08 Standing Tall on the Global Architectural Stage – Taipei 101 10 Taiwan’s Window to World Culture The Flagship Branch of eslite Xinyi bookstore 12 Torchbearer of History, Grandiose Architecture Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 14 Home of the Immense “Double Dragons Holding the Pearl” Core Pacific City Marketplace Merry 16 Taipei – A 24-7 Eats and Drinks Funfest! Christmas 21 The Deeper the Night is, the More Beautiful It Appears Welcome to Taipei, a Sleepless City 26 Taipei’s Manhattan – The Xinyi Commercial District

Food

Taipei Serves Up Christmas and New Year’s Feasting in All Tastes and Styles 30 Crystal Spoon – True Thai Fine Dining in Ultra-Modern Trappings 31 FiFi – Home-Style Sichuanese and Shanghainese Food, Old Savored Anew 32 WASABI Festival Buffet – A Carnival of Delicacies in Recreated Japan 33 Le ble d’or – A Gold Medal Christmas 34 Louis XIV – French Cuisine of the Highest Order 35 Salsa Bistro – The Savory Passions of South America on Your Plate

Living In Taipei

36 Sishou(Four Animals)Mountain Taipei’s Scenic-View Platform, the Deeper the Night, the More Glorious the Sights 38 Big Land Transformed A-‘niu’ – 2009 Taipei Flower Show 40 2010 TAIPEI International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition Delights from Many Lands, Feasts for the Eye 41 2008 “Zoo Poo Poo” All about Feces 44 2008 IT Month Theme Pavilions 46 Isabelle Wen – This City’s Esteemed Voice for Food& Drink Trend and Fashion 48 Foreigners’ Reflections on Taipei Merry Christmas

Arts

50 2008 Taipei Biennial Sep.13, 2008 – Jan.4, 2009 52 A Cross-National Platform for Wide-Ranging Cross-Pollination – Taipei Artist Village

Creative Taipei

54 Taiwan OTOP – Taiwan’s Vault of Local-Ingenuity Treasures 56 Inspired Creator of Taipei Public Art – Tsun Tsun Art Studio 58 Chen Cao-qian and Cecilia Arts Mother’s Hands the First to Inspire Love of Aesthetics

Practical Information 60-62 FEATURE

Taipei City, Filled with the Spirit of Christmas

hen “Jingle Bells” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” Wstart rolling off tongues and wafting through the air comes Christmas time, warm breezes begin to blow through the streets of this city and changing what is always a cool and sometimes cold Christmas-season place to a merry oasis of warmth and cheer. Going to church? Putting up a Christmas tree? Buying gifts? Having a party? This is certainly the season of warm embraces and good cheer!

During the days leading up to Christmas, along Ximenting, the East shopping area, the Xinyi Commercial District (信義 商圈), and other busy shopping and entertainment areas, you can see teenagers seizing the chance and dating in 1 this romantic environment, people meeting up for dates, window-shoppings, or just having a good meal. The thick ambiance of Christmas fun fills the air of the department stores and other countless restaurants and pubs. The twinkling giant Christmas trees and brilliant, colorful decorated worlds of The Mall (遠企購物中心), Miramar Entertainment Park (美麗華百樂園), Core Pacific City Living Mall(京華城), and other shopping heavens bring joyful light to the entire city.

In the night of Christmas Eve, churches around the city, such as the Bread of Life Christian Church (靈糧堂) and Holy Family Catholic Church (聖家堂) hold Christmas mass, caroling, or other types of ceremonial celebrations. The inspirational lights of Christmas trees, meaningful nativity scenes, and dulcet tones of Christmas choirs fill these spiritual places with a sense of joy and hope. Each year the Sanaihui Shipai Church (三愛會石牌教會) in Beitou District (北投區) works 2 with local residents to decorate a 100-meter-long section of Lane 71, Sec. 1, Shipai Rd. (石牌路) for the festive season, the unique and very pretty scene giving rise to the well-deserved moniker “Christmas lane” (聖誕巷). The church’s pastor, Minister Lin (林牧師), who organizes all 3

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1.a Santa outfit from Shin Mei Export Goods Wholesale 2-3.Jin Mei Export Handicrafts 4 sells Christmas and New Year’s decorations in endless variety. 4-5.On “Christmas lane” you’ll enjoy a terrific Christmas carnival and choir singing during the festive season. 6.At Christmas, Mayor Hao and citizens sing carols out.

 Discover Taipei  Information

Taiwan Party Shop offers wonderful balloon decorations American Club Taipei for holiday celebrations. Tel: (02) 2885-8260 Add: 47, Peian Rd. (below Grand Hotel, in direction of Dazhi) activities, reports that from the 5th of December, you’ll Hours: 06:30 - 23:00 Daily be entertained every night from 6 till 10 with brilliant Website: www.americanclub.org.tw lighting that is used to highlight 3D creations of the Bread of Life Christian 美麗華摩天 Miramar Entertainment Park Ferris Wheel ( Church in Taipei 輪) and Maokong Gondola(貓空纜車), along with all Tel: (02) 2362-3022 kinds of sleighs and Christmas trees, with Christmas song Add: 24, Sec. 2, Heping E. Rd. embracing you from all directions. You’ll feel as though Website: www.llc.org.tw/llcpage you were in a wonderful, magical dreamland, and on the 20th—the weekend before Christmas Day—a Holy Family Catholic Church special Christmas musical concert will be staged. Tel: (02) 2392-0701 Add: 50, Sec. 2, Xinsheng S. Rd. If it’s festive and boisterous fun with crowds of good Website: www.catholic.org.tw/hfc friends that you love best, come on out to the New Year’s Eve gala of Taipei American Club (臺北市美僑 Sanaihui Shipai Church 協會), being held for the 40th year in a row this year. Tel: (02) 2821-4532 Celebration is kicked off early with the Annual Holiday Add: 3, Alley 15, Lane 71, Sec. 1, Shipai Rd. Ball on Dec. 6, and of course there is a party on New T.P.S. (Taiwan Party Shop) Year’s Eve. If you’d like to throw your own Christmas or Taipei Zhongxiao branch New Year’s bash, there are terrific spots like a reserved Tel: (02) 2776-4667 room at one of the city’s top-flight hotels, where all your Add: 34, Lane 190, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd. pals can gather, party your hearts out, and have the Hours: 10:00 - 21:30 hotel handle everything for you! Website: www.partyshop.tw

If you’d like to handle everything yourself, that’s Shin Mei Export Goods Wholesale easy to DIY too. The city has a sleigh-full of stores selling Tel: (02) 2721-6232 decorative items. Here’s what you’ve got. Taiwan Party Add: 53, Lane 190, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd. Shop (臺灣派對商店) has full Santa outfits, allowing you Hours: 10:30 - 22:00 to transform yourself into the jolly old man! You should Website: www.shin-mei.com.tw also head to the clutch of specialist export-handicrafts Jin Mei Export Handicrafts outlets in the back of the Dinghao shopping area (頂 Tel: (02) 2771-8703 好商圈 ) on Lane 190, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd., including Add: 41, Lane 190, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd. Shin Mei (鑫美) and Jin Mei (津美), who start their Hours: 10:30 - 22:00 Christmas-goods push and special sales promotions in November. Or explore the greatest concentration of 6FP Christmas decorations sellers, in the stretch behind Taipei Tel: (02) 2550-9976 Railway Station (後車站商圈) incorporating the Huayin St. Add: 9, Taiyuan Rd. Hours: 10:00 - 20:00 pedestrian area (華陰街徒步區), Taiyuan Rd. shopping Website: www.6fp.com.tw area (太原路商圈), and Changan W. Rd. (長安西路), well-known as the veritable bustling “Santa’s Village” of Holiday House Christmas-theme merchandise. At stuffed-with-goodies Tel: (02) 2559-4897 store bazaars such as 6FP (6分埔禮品批發) and the New Add: 95-1, Changan W. Rd. Year’s Shop (節慶屋), even if by some miracle you come Hours: 10:00 - 21:00 along without actually having bought anything, you’ll Website: www.newyear.com.tw have visions of countless of Christmas-adornment delights dancing in your head for weeks after!

 Discover Taipei  FEATURE

During the holidays the Xinyi Commercial District stages a bountiful series of New Year’s activities, a Parade Carnival, and the fabulous Taipei 101 fireworks show.

Taipei New Year Activities

“ ive, four, three, two, one…Happy New Year!” Every image of “Taipei 101 – Taipei – Taiwan” (101大樓─臺 Fyear in cities around the globe, excited people 北─臺灣) is sent around the globe, proclaiming this gather together to bring in the new year, launch new island’s delights to every continent. Taipei’s party hopes and dreams, and revel in grand celebrations. is broadcasted globally along with parties in other And our Taipei City, as a proud member of that major cities in myriad countries, serving as a mirror select group of Asia’s premier international-caliber on this proud metropolis and playing a key role in metropolises, of course wouldn’t miss this party for the the city government’s ambitious efforts to “Bring world! This year, in addition to the crowds-beloved Taipei to the World” (將臺北帶向全世界). Each year cavalcade of pop stars in Civic Plaza fronting Taipei many tens of thousands of happy folk converge City Hall and the brilliant fireworks show launched from at the “party central”, the Civic Plaza, to become the Taipei 101 Tower, you can also gorge yourself on a a part of what is one of the biggest New Year’s special “New Year City Map” (新年城地圖), highlighting extravaganzas on the planet. the city’s endless parade of spots for great eats and In 2006, the scope of the celebration was boldly drinks and also revel in a colorful festival-of-floats expanded with the cooperation of businesses in parade being staged for the first time. What a better the surrounding Xinyi shopping area, with a whole way to hail the arrival of year 2009! new series of New Year’s Eve activities added. The big Taipei New Year’s Eve bash was kicked off in This year the city’s Department of Information 1996. The city government decided that year to stage, and Tourism will publish, as usual, the free “New for the first time, a huge outdoor soiree to show the Year City Map” (新年城地圖), which will detail all people of the city what fun New Year’s Eve revelers of the city’s planned New Year’s activities plus have around the world. In 2004, the spectacular Taipei all the fun and treats planned at Xinyi shopping 101 fireworks and light show was added to the mix, area in December—along with many, many making this party the most grandiose and fervently super-consumer coupons for gift giveaways, attended New Year’s jamboree all around Taiwan. discounts, and other terrific promotions.

During the Taipei 101 New Year fireworks show, you Perhaps the greatest difference between this get to see the world's highest soaring fireworks. The year’s celebrations and those of past editions monument lights up like a giant beacon, and in the will be the Parade Carnival (遊行嘉年華) staged same way serves as a beacon attracting media crews early, on Dec. 27, in the Xinyi shopping area. Not from around the world who send live satellite feeds only will ingenious and color-stuffed big-scale of the spectacle to their audiences. By doing so, the floats from entrants such as the 2009 Deaflympics,

 Discover Taipei  2010 Taipei International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition, digitalization of the cable-TV , and other representatives be rolling by, there will also be a cavalcade of cartoon stars on hand to drive the crowds into the happiest state of bliss, especially the kids. The fun and frenzied frolicking for this year’s New Year activity-countdown has thus clearly been upped a notch or two. The festive revelry, as you’d expect, will be brought to a crescendo at the giant gala in Civic Plaza and environs on New year’s Eve, the crowds pressed cheek to cheek, onlookers brought to a natural high with the sky-high Taipei 101 Fireworks Show that will burst into life and bring in the spanking-new year at exactly one second past midnight. Because the waves of people on New Year’s Eve Information are like the waves of a billowy sea, the city implements strict traffic controls in the Xinyi district/Taipei 101 area. No motorized vehicles are allowed access. The New Year's Eve Party: municipal authorities also strongly recommend that Countdown to 2009 you take public transportation—MRT, bus—to and from Time: Dec. 31, 2008/19:00 - 01:00, Jan.1, 2009 the controlled-access district and adjoining areas. Venue: Civic Plaza, in front of Taipei City Take note that Taipei City Hall Station is the closest MRT Hall (1, Shifu Rd.) facility and bus-stop location to this area, and will be MRT: Ban-Nan Line (Blue Line), Taipei City swamped with people on their way home immediately Hall Station, Exit 2 after the party ends. You thus might consider walking Telephone inquiries: to the next nearest MRT station or bus-stop location. 1999 (02-2720-8889 for callers outside Taipei city), ext. 2046 See you there!

 Discover Taipei  Standing Tall on the Global Architectural Stage Taipei 101

f you’ve come to Taipei for some fun, you Iain’t done with this city shopping-wise until you’ve whipped out the credit cards at Taipei 101. This, it is easy to see why, is an iconic Taipei landmark, the symbol of this city as the Empire State Building is for New York, the Eiffel Tower for Paris, and the Shanghai World Financial Center (上海環球金融中心) for Shanghai. This is also the most representative and proudly proclaimed symbol of this city as we step out onto the world stage. You can see why folks say that if you’ve visited Taipei 101, you’ve visited Taipei City.

The tower, inspirationally designed by the internationally acclaimed architect C.Y. Lee(李祖原), began its constructions in 1998. Pay close attention and you’ll see that the number 8 figures prominently as a design motif, for 8 is pronunced “ba” (八) and sounds like “fa” (發), as in “to send out/ create wealth,” meaning continuous good luck and prosperity. 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, the cumulative exterior visual effect being resemblance to a bamboo stalk, a symbol of strength, durability, and ceaseless growth, in Chinese traditional culture.

This is the first skyscraper in history to incorporate the nodal concept. This approach also ingeniously serves to suppress the natural proclivity of tall buildings to create strong downward-spiralling winds that whip toward the ground. Greenery-planted partition areas also ensure the safety and comfort of pedestrians. Non-reflective, h i g h - t r a n s p a r e n c y , e n e r g y - s a v i n g , high-heat-insulation curtain glass makes it possible for people inside to comfortably look out over the Taipei skyline. High-tech 1 materials and innovative illumination create

  a sense of visual space and depth, with the manmade and natural surrounding environments seamlessly fused. All of this adds up to a redefinition of the art of crafting international-class skyscrapers.

Here is a rundown of the internal facilities. Levels B5 through B2 are for parking, with a capacity for 1,800 vehicles. B1 through level 4 2 is a world of trendy, upscale shopping and dining, with the lovely French Garden capping off the relaxed atmosphere on level 4, an open European-style garden space with scenic natural landscaping spanning 40 meters. The fifth level is a financial center. Floors 9 through 84 are taken up by offices, and the 35th and 59th floors are locations for elevator exchange lobbies. On level 85, you can choose from two upscale theme restaurants, both of which offer stunning views. Level 89 is the location of a veritable window to the future, with the world’s highest observation deck; buy your take for just NT$400 on the fifth floor and zoom up on the fastest—Guinness-approved—pressure- controlled elevators in the world. They move at a lightning-fast 1,010 meters per minute, though you won’t feel a thing, and your ears won’t pop. In just 37 seconds, you will be at the 382-meter-high observatory on the 89th floor. Beyond the tremendous views in all directions, you can also look towards the tower center at the tremendously heavy tuned mass damper, another world-best at 660 metric tons. Other 3 treats include super-powerful telescopes, a canteen, free audio guides in 7 languages (Mandarin, Taiwanese, English, German, Japanese, Korean, and Cantonese), plus spiffy souvenir-sales service. Visitors can also make their way along the “sound and light” corridor (聲光走道) Information on level 88 to the tuned mass damper area, have a closer look at the heart of 101, and make their way to an outdoor observation deck for some wind-in-your-hair spectacular views of this grand city. Taipei 101 Observatory Since 2004, the tower has been site for the massive New Year’s Hours: 10:00 - 22:00 fireworks celebration, an event that has quickly become a right of Add: 89F, No. 7, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd. passage for citizens. As the fireworks escalate up the tower during Tel: (02) 8101-8898 the final countdown, so do the cheers from Civic Plaza nearby Taipei City Hall below, with the bombs bursting in air and another New Year Website: www.taipei-101.com.tw arriving with a roar. Taipei 101 Mall Hours: 11:00 - 22:00 Add: No. 7, Sec. 5, Xinyi Rd. 1.Looking at the Taipei 101 exterior, you see a series of bamboo-like nodes rising to the sky. The strong bamboo stalk is a traditional symbol of durability and fecundity. Tel: (02) 8101-8898 2.The viewing platform on the 89th floor is the world’s highest, and offers spectacular Website: www.taipei-101.com.tw omnidirectional views. 3.On the 4th floor, the ceiling is 40 meters high, creating a spacious, European feel with natural landscaping. 4.The mall is a grand gathering spot for trendy brand names from around the globe. 5.On the 88th floor, you can get Please refer to the map provided on p.62. up close and personal with the heart of Taipei 101, the world’s largest tuned mass damper.

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 Discover Taipei  ARCHITECTURE

Left to right: Staff in the children’s theme area explain the library’s workings to little visiting friends; in every area, there is comfy seating at the center for reading and rest. Taiwan’s Window to World Culture The Flagship Branch of eslite Xinyi bookstore

n the very last day of 2005, as excited the eslite flagship store being this building’s most Opeople converted from all over on the conspicuous tenant, the contrasts of the exterior Xinyi Commercial District (信義商圈) for the great facade of the President International Tower are New Year’s countdown, you could not be more extremely complementary, exuding a dignified impressed by the giant “Creating a Museum for and grandiose demeanor. Reading and Living” (打造一座閱讀與生活的博物 The interior space is the design work of the 館) poster draped over the President International celebrated Taiwan architect Chen Rui-xian (陳瑞憲). Tower (統一國際大樓). The museum mentioned He has created what will strike you as a veritable here is none other than the eslite Xinyi flagship museum of the written world spanning 2,700 ping bookstore (誠品信義旗艦書店). With the countdown (1 ping = 36 sq. ft.). From the second through the to midnight to bring in 2006, the doors were thrown fourth floors are nothing but books, and each open for the grand opening of the flagship outlet, genre given its own dedicated space: the “Books and “Taiwan’s Window to World Culture” (臺灣面向 in Simplified Characters Hall” (簡體字館), “Literature 世界的文化窗口) came to life. This is Taiwan’s biggest Hall” (文學館), “Japanese Bookshop” (日文書店), bookstore, an arbiter of the city’s cultural vision “Arts Bookshop” (藝術書店), “Stylish Stationery and style, the acme in terms of reading, music, Hall” (風格文具館), “Children Hall” (兒童主題館), and fashion, aesthetics, and lifestyle. Eslite is one of more. Each of these areas has a row of tables and the best representatives of this city’s emergence chairs for comfy reading, creating ambiance of a as an international metropolis, and if you want to museum in North America or Europe, with artworks understand more about Taiwan, you must visit here. for you to admire and sitting chairs at the center to The flagship’s home is within the impressive have a rest if you’d like. President International Tower (統一國際大樓), which With each specialized topic given its own area, stands with Taipei 101 as giant-landmarks for Taipei it was only appropriate that the design for each City Hall to its north and south. It was the creation of these specialty knowledge oases be uniquely of Japanese architect Kenzo Tange, and all who distinctive as well. With the detective-novel look upon it can clearly see its defining features section, for example, tables and mirrors have been are the circular tiered-step roof and the great arranged in such a way as a labyrinth is created, encircling pathway. In fact, because of obstacles, reflecting the sudden twists and turns of the plots. the pathway stretches only three-quarters of the In the 4F arts section, the floor is a mosaic evoking way around, and is divided into two sections. The the building materials of Taiwan’s early days. The south section, acting as the front entrance to the ceiling is like a painter’s palette, and the lighting bookstore, has a sunken moat-type plaza and fixtures are in the form of apples; the overall effect eco-friendly pool combined with green turf and is avant-garde that nevertheless maintains an air of a camphor-tree grove, a wide and welcoming sophisticated elegance. The literature section has open space facing the sunny south side. With

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Chinese birdcage-style light fixtures as the focal 1.The façade of the eslite Xinyi bookstore is sleek and ultra- point, with the area divided into three sub-sections. modern in look. This is a veritable “museum of reading and living” for Taipei. 2.In the second-floor magazine area, you’ll find The natural sciences section is, believe it or not, in 6,000 titles from around the globe, on everything from current the style of a Mongolian yurt, and the cookbook trends to fashion to business and everything else. Readers section actually has a lights-foods kitchen! can travel the planet, and all that’s newest, via the printed word. 3.The ceiling on the first level is festooned with attractive We finish with eslite chairman Robert Wu’s (吳清 chandeliers featuring peonies and imitation palace lanterns, creating an aesthetic of grandeur and broad space. 4.On the 友) business philosophy: “Books are the carriers of third floor is the simplified-character book area, its lines and knowledge, the bookstore is the home of books, illumination clean and simple, evoking the air of a European and it is also the place where we hospitably host shop for treasured old tomes. the reader” (書是知識的載體，書店是書的家，書店也 是我們款待讀者的心意). In keeping with this belief, Information the eslite bookstore is intended as a welcoming oasis where the reader can set his/her mind at ease and let both mind and soul run free. eslite Xinyi flagship bookstore Hours: Mon-Thu 10:00 - 24:00, Weekends10:00 - 02:00 Add: 11, Songgao Rd. Tel: ((02) 8789-3388 eslite online bookstore: www.eslite.com/index.aspx

10 Please refer to the map provided on p.62. 11 ARCHITECTURE

Torchbearer of History, Grandiose Architecture Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

“ ational Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall was my most difficult design project ever,” says the architect NWang Da-min (王大閔), remembering the tremendous pressure he felt and the need for paying close attention to every minute detail, for all eyes were on him. “Dr. Sun was a revolutionist, so the design for his memorial of course had to be innovative, if not revolutionary itself. His behaviour and lifestyle was special, sober and uncomplicated, so there was no room or tolerance for tawdry and garish decorative flourishes. While solemnity was needed, there also needed to be warmth and affinity. True Chinese architecture is austere, pure, simple, honest, extremely natural and unaffected, showing deference to the surrounding larger environment.”

The memorial hall has been an imposing Taiwan landmark for 36 years, and has stood watching over the country’s people through thick and thin. The exterior is towering, stately, and majestic, exuding a sense of boldness and unyielding strength, simple and unadorned without neglecting delicate and subdued detailing. The body is of red brick, balanced with 14 grand pillars of grey. Capping this is a magnificent yellow-tile roof resembling a mythical roc spreading its wings for flight. Sitting amidst plush and ornately landscaped garden grounds, the extremely popular Zhongshan Park (中山公園), the luxurious greens are reflected in the waters of the city’s largest manmade lake, Emerald Lake (翠湖), the sweeping shore side weeping willows that lean over and brush its surface adding immeasurably to the tranquil beauty. In the middle of the lake stands Cuiheng Pavilion (翠亨亭), and from the north and south sides two curving bridge sections reach out to it, interlinking. To commemorate Sun’s birthplace, this is named Xiangshan (Fragrant Mountain) Bridge (香山橋). Whether you find yourself resting quietly in the pavilion, or standing on the bridge embracing the surrounding lakeside loveliness, you’re embraced in turn by the peaceful and relaxed air that wafts about this place of peace. The night scenery here sparkles with illumination, a veritable coruscating pearl amidst the glowing Taipei night-time sea.

12 Discover Taipei 13 The Zhongshan Hall was built in the classic Chinese palace style, with ebullient cherry blossoms filling the landscape in front during the Yangmingshan Flower Season.

The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is home The renowned Zhongshan Hall (中山樓) on to a world-class and world-renowned Yangmingshan, perched on Yangmingshan’s performance theater that brings in the slopes, comes under the managerial auspices of biggest names from both home and abroad. the memorial hall. It was the design inspiration of It also houses a classically elegant exhibition architect Xiu Ze-lan (修澤蘭). She brought it to life in space, exceedingly pleasing to the eye, 1965, a gift from the government commemorating that spans thousands of ping (one ping the spirit of the “National Founding Father” (國 equals 36 sq. ft.), with premier-quality art 父), Dr. Sun Yat-sen, whose honorific name was exhibits scheduled each month. There is also Sun Zhongshan (孫中山), on his 100th birthday. The a state-of-the-art multimedia movie theater edifice reaches 34 meters high and takes up a and audiovisual center, the Zhongshan whopping 15,000 square meters in total area. The lecture hall (中山講堂), and a vast specialist various architectural elements that make up the library lined with many lifetimes of learning whole reflect the beautiful aesthetic traditions of in over 300,000 books. The multi-interest Chinese palace-style architecture: the galleries of program of events and activities plays a the gate tower and main building, the communal key role in promoting domestic artistic and halls, courtyard, columns, doors, windows, etc. cultural talent, making this facility a bastion Whether you have a passion for culture or a of local culture, attracting legions of foreign passion for architecture, or simply a simple passion visitors in to learn more of the spirit of Taipei for beauty, this is a most rewarding place for you and greater Taiwan. to spend a few hours exploring.

Information

Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Yangmingshan Zhongshan Hall Hours: 09:00 - 17:00 Visitor hours: 08:30, 10:00, 13:30, 15:00 Add: 505, Sec. 4, Renai Rd. Add: 15, Sec. 2, Yangming Rd. Tel: (02) 2758-8008, ext. 15 Tel: (02) 2861-6391 Website: www.yatsen.gov.tw Website: www.yatsen.gov.tw

Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

1 2 3 1.The grand concourse fronting the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is a favorite place for local folks to do their early-morning exercises. 2.The classically elegant Yat-sen Gallery regularly holds exhibits on the best on painting and calligraphy. 3.The grand auditorium can seat 3,000 people, and is a regular venue for big-ticket stage shows by local and 12 international performers. Discover Taipei 13 ARCHITECTURE

Home of the Immense “Double Dragons Holding the Pearl” Core Pacific City

n the east district of Taipei is a model of architecture that is unique—Core Pacific City—sitting on the Iborder of the Xinyi and Songshan districts. It is one of the most innovative sites in the innovative world of Taipei mall life. The complex was designed by the award-winning Jerde Partnership of the US. This was the first structure in Taiwan to be built in an “L” shape, with the two sections of the L holding a giant spheroid building between them. The sphere, home to a large-scale shopping facility, also holds the record as the largest spherical shopping complex on the globe. This one-of-a-kind architectural marvel was constructed from the ancient Chinese auspicious image of the “double dragons holding the pearl” (雙龍 抱珠). Among many related engineering superlatives are the fact the diameter of the sphere is 58 meters and its foundation goes down 85 meters, the deepest foundation structure on the island, built around four massive carrying columns. Perhaps the most amazing treat when visiting the complex, however, is the 70-plus-meter-tall ceilings, creating the effect of a massive “grand canyon,” making this place an extraordinary visual phenomenon. This magnificent palace to commercial man’s ingenuity sparkles in the sunlight, in the night-time synthetic light, and in your eyes, standing proud among the world’s elite of first- class architectural achievements.

The complex features the most advanced, international-caliber software and hardware facilities. It soars 15 stories high, and is divided into eight core areas. Among these, the sphere is home to Mira department store. Using natural occurring phenomenon as its theme, it fills the sphere with creative designs that gives out a vibrant energy. Level B1 awaits the magical Cinemark movie complex, with 13 cinemas and a total of 2,100 seats, featuring plush five-star performance-theater trappings, a top-grade sound-and-lighting system, and pioneering VIP seating with F&B（Food & Beverages） services for movie-gazers. When hungry, head to B3 to explore the expansive, food-fecund Gravity food court. The first floor is called the “Shoe Palace” (鞋殿), with good reason—10,000 pairs on display, making this place a shoe heaven for those shoe-aficionados. There’s more vanity-satisfaction on offer on this level with 20 outlets for international name-brand cosmetics. Those dedicated more to tots than selves will love floor five, Taiwan’s biggest space for kids toys and maternity goods, with a “6-star-design” area for kids to play, a paradise where their dreams come true. Back in adult-land, at the 9th floor K9 Lounge KTV, a combo KTV and lounge experience, the 80 private rooms take you on a trip round the world, each dressed up to evoke

14 Discover Taipei 15 The one-of-a-kind “great orb” is particularly dazzling at night. The eco-friendly Christmas tree and Christmas-lamp show fills the city’s east side with the bright spirit of the season of joy and giving.

the pleasures of a different land, each a place of plush taste and elegance. Finally, at Xland on the 12th floor, you can explore the cuisines of 24 different cultures in an exotic fused world of cultural expression from far-flung places, superior delicacies, and premium entertainment—a place where the city’s cosmopolitan and well-traveled folk feel at home.

Starting in 2005, Core Pacific City stages annual Christmas celebrations with original themes. A favorite highlight is the festive Christmas tree all decked out in coruscating LED lights. A big bonus is that the LED lighting means reduced power consumption and carbon-dioxide emissions, a nice Christmas present for The magnificent “grand canyon” design creates a truly Mother Nature, who worries about her ever-warming wondrous space, whether filled with natural or synthetic environment. The City is filled with the festive spirit of lighting. Christmas joy from the time the tree is lit at the end of November—and whether you see it as a Christmas Information tree or an eco-friendly tree, or both, the hearts of all are warmed at its sight. This warmth is heightened by the fact the tree-lighting ceremony is combined with Core Pacific City charity activities to bring joy and warm-heartedness Hours: 10:00 - 22:00 to the lives of disadvantaged children. The Core Add: 138, Sec. 4, Bade Rd. Pacific City’s 2007 White Christmas Lights Show (白色 聖誕燈火秀) was voted most sparkling Christmas tree Tel: (02) 3762-1888 in an online Upaper-sponsored poll, and this year the Website: web01.livingmall.com.tw mall intends to outdo its own scintillating standard. Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

14 Discover Taipei 15 2

1 3

1.In the recommended-theme area, each month a book exhibit on a new theme is staged, highlighting related titles that are well worth reading. 2.In the second-floor foyer area, enjoy a photo exhibit entitled “24 Hours, A Flash of Light – eslite dunnan Photographic Works.” 3.The B1 level houses a stimulating food bazaar of succulent originality. Taipei -A 24-7 Eats and Drinks Funfest!

hen you say “Taipei,” you mean an international metropolis of unbounded convenience. Each day Wall day, 24 hours, you’ll find exactly the type of spot with exactly the type of drinks and eats you’re hankering for. This city is the king of the world for convenience-store concentration; along big streets and small alleys, there’s always a 24-hour 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, or other familiar and brightly-lit name in view. For the full range of everyday items you head to the 24-hour hypermarts such as Carrefour’s Guilin outlet (桂林店) or Tesco’s Songshan branch (松山店), among others, all of which mean shopping paradise for night-owls. The Taipei night brims with life and vitality, and animal spirits, and to help you out on your night crawls we here introduce other never-close-their-doors spots you’ll be ever so pleased to learn about. eslite dunnan store, Nightspot of Literary Light In Taipei’s east district, there is a place where one might call a “Spiritual Buffet Store,” a nightspot that does not fill up with second-hand smoke, does not have a cover charge, and does not charge a service fee. In the heat and the dark of the night, however, what it does have for you is bright lights and comfy trappings in a large, roomy leisure space. Yes, we speak of that mecca for lovers of the published word, a grand space to boost your intellectual batteries, the eslite dunnan store (誠品敦南書店), the only large- scale bookstore on this planet to stay open round the clock, 24 hours a day.

Walk into this facility and you are enveloped in a world of elegant, stylish design. You are surrounded by bright-looking people speaking Mandarin, English, Japanese, Cantonese, and myriad other tongues. You might even bump into one of the frequent Hong Kong tour groups that make this a must-visit stop on their itineraries. You’ll truly understand why this site was chosen Asia’s best bookstore in the 2004 Asia’s Best review in Time magazine, Asia edition—the sole pick from Taiwan, in any category, to that point!

16 Discover Taipei 17 Since changing to round-the-clock operations in 1999, the branch has drawn many an overseas media crew in search of the answer for the question “What type of people frequent a bookstore in the midnight?” Each night, folks stream in to browse the tomes and ramble through the “Creative Market” (創意市集) just outside the bookstore’s portals. Making no mistake, this place has emerged as a prime “hotspot for the humanities” for the late-night tribe. Having stayed open for 10 full years without closing its doors, the dunnan store has now undergone a thorough renovation to ensure it continues to offer a fresh face and top-shelf service, and re-raised the curtain on Oct. 11. “Neoclassicism” (新古典主義) is the grand theme used throughout, a warm sensibility of cultured, literary sophistication predominating, making the dunnan store a space that “modernizes the ancient,” fusing new and old in an inviting retreat where lovers of books can give free reign to their addiction!

The presentation emphasis is on one-of-a-kind, original character in both merchandise and space design, and therefore continuation as a destination of refinement for the refined lover of literature. 1

N.Y. Bagels Café – For that Genuine New York Flavor “Besides the Statue of Liberty, New York means bagels!”. What you’ve just read is the pithy slogan of the N.Y. Bagels Café, whose famous bagels come from iconic H&H Bagels, one of the top three bagel purveyors on the gold of U.S.A.

The owner, Bob, fell in love with H&H Bagels while studying in the Big Apple. Upon graduation he eagerly signed an agreement with the firm to represent it in the Asia-Pacific zone. Not only did he import the refrigerated, unbaked bagels directly from New York, he also researched on 2 3 how to make ready-made meals of lox (smoked salmon) sandwiches, smoked turkey sandwiches, and other classic deli selections. His menu includes far more than this, however, with all sorts of Italian pasta dishes, Junior’s New York cheesecake, myriad drink concoctions made with Ghirardelli chocolates, and an almost unlimited line-up of milkshakes, coffees, and other beverages. As far as the knowing palates of Westerners resident on the island are concerned, here is where you’ll find the real thing, that genuine back-home taste.

The 24-hour Xinyi store has a light and friendly high-ceilinged design, with a comfortable and commodious 4 space. It is right by the Xinyi commercial district, and you’ll frequently spot the familiar faces of local and overseas artists and entertainers in for a meal. According to store manager 1-2.The counter and well-lit dining area of the 24-hour N.Y. Bagels Café Renai Ivy, the Renai outlet, also opens 24-7, sees its customers outlet. arriving in waves; the first wave in from 10 pm to 11 pm for 3-4.At the N.Y. Bagels Café Xinyi store, also a pre-party bite, ending around dawn at 5 am. Another open 24 hours, bagels are the theme for the entrance-area decorations, leading very noticeable tidal wave comes in each Wednesday and to a spacious, high-ceilinged eating Thursday night when the big local nightspots have their area. Ladies’ Night.

16 Discover Taipei 17 MARKETPLACE

At Cashbox PartyWorld KTV, you can sing with friends until your heart’s content in private rooms fitted with ultra-sophisticated sound and lighting systems.

Cashbox Party World KTV – Over 1000 English and Japanese Tunes for You to Croon In Taipei, music plays a central role in people’s lives, especially singing. Being unlucky in love? Sing it out loud! Happy as can be? Sing it to the world! On your birthday, sing! On the weekend, sing! If you have a need to croon, whatever the reason, whatever the time and whatever the place, Cashbox has a location near you with doors thrown wide open in greeting.

Cashbox Party World has four branches located in Taipei, operating 24 hours a day. Three of these spots are close to the MRT stations, the SOGO branch (MRT Zhongxiao-Fuxing Station), Dunhua branch (MRT Zhongxiao-Dunhua Station), and the new Zhonghua branch (MRT Ximen Station), with the fourth, the Linsen Branch, on Linsen N. Rd. near Changchun Rd., Max, who is from the operations and marketing department, states that beyond its state-of-the-art facilities, every Cashbox outlet offers a stupendous selection of English and Japanese tunes to make overseas visitors feel right at home and encourage them to bellow to their heart’s content—about 1,100 English hits, more than 1,400 Japanese. The chain also takes safety and hygiene issues extremely seriously. So sit back and relax with a sense of safety and joie de vivre in your own private den-like room, all decked out with spiffy lighting and sound systems and ultra- sleek dance floor, with delicious food and drink service at your beck and call, and let yourself become intoxicated with the sweet sounds of your own lilting voice. Let yourself be carried away with the warmth of your joy and with the warmth of the friendship brought by your singing buddies!

A Local Brand that has flourished, 85°C Would you happen to know—at what temperature does coffee achieve perfection? At the Yongji St. outlet of renowned local chain 85°C Cafe, the boss and franchisee of the premises, who has quality-guaranteeing Class II baking certification, will enthusiastically tell you—yes, you’ve guessed it—the perfect temp is indeed 85 degrees Celsius.

Overlooking a major city crossroads, 85°C Café is prized by the night-owl crowd for its reasonably priced coffees and cakes.

18 Discover Taipei 19 Taipei is the kind of place that the deeper the night, the more lovely the sparkle. And the deeper the night, naturally, the more energy you'll need. And being able to buy coffee 24 hours is just what the doctor orders for premium-grade nightlife—and 85°C Café stays open all hours precisely to fill your prescription. “Business is much better at night than during the day!” says the lady boss, confirming the preferred living pattern of the people inhabiting this metropolis, which proudly proclaims itself Asia’s “city that never sleeps.”

“85°C Café” is a local brand name that has flourished over the past few years. The chain was launched by a former master chef—sweets and desserts the specialty in question—at one of the city’s five-star international hotels. Much time and fastidious research was put into finding the best recipes, the premium roasting techniques, and superior sources of materials—yet the average price of the items on the house menu are a mere NT$35 to NT$60. Surprised? Head on over and you’ll also find yourself delighted, as have countless other Taipei-ites, all of whom bring their famously discerning, picky, and experienced palates!

Nothing Trumps the Trump Bowling Club Trump Bowling Club has, to date, had a glorious run of six years, and is still growing strong. This is one of the city’slicensed 24-hour bowling facility. Feel the need at odd hours to bash some pins? Here you’ve got a big-time 500-ping open hall with 17 lanes. The space is divided into three big sections, and groups can reserve private areas, with price calculated by the hour, to ensure complete freedom from interruption or bother. According to assistant manager Zhan (詹), because of public-safety rules and in light of the fact this is a basement facility, smoking is prohibited in all areas. Lanes are cleaned twice each day, and all shoes and balls are cleaned each and every day. All this is done to ensure bowlers a good time with peace of mind about safety and hygiene. This has made Wangpai a hit with safety- and health-conscious foreigners looking for a relaxing recreational outing. Making things even more easy and convenient, you can order simple noodle dishes from the in-house kitchen or bring your own munchies. What better choice can you think of for healthy exercise with a gang of good friends when that familiar night-urge to get out on the town takes control?

The 24H Trump Bowling Club provides a superb space for exercise that is comfortable and sparklingly clean, a great alternative selection for late-night entertainment.

18 Discover Taipei 19 MARKETPLACE

Top-Flight Massages Starting with the Bottom of Your Feet According to Tourism Bureau statistics, a staggering one-half of all the many Japanese tourists who come to explore this country each year go for at least one foot massage—clear proof of the quality of the local masseuses, for the Japanese are true aficionados of the art of massage. The technique is external, in no way incursive, this making it appropriate for all comers, whatever the age, gender, or nationality, ensuring the most professional service for customers. In 2005, an impressive NT$30 million in financial capital was put forward to establish Taipei’s prestigious Foot Massage Center (6星集足體養身會館).

The Foot Massage Center brand has become one that local and foreign media vie strenuously to get access to report on, holding it up as the benchmark-model name for massage. Frequent the place yourself and you’ll bump into many a pop star, in for a stimulating session of body-relaxing reinvigoration. Prices are reasonable yet bring you five-star pop-star service. Add to this the fact that you can get your hands on this service whenever you desire, 24 hours day and night, and you’ll see you’ve got the unbeatable location for after-hours Whether body or foot, the trained massage therapists will relaxation, simulation, and reinvigoration! deep-probe your troubles and massage your discontent away.

Information

eslite dunnan store (24H) 85°C Café Yongji Branch (24H) Tel: (02)2775-5977 Tel: (02) 2748-5225 Add: 2F, 245, Sec. 1, Dunhua S. Rd. Add: 269, Yongji Rd. Website: www.eslite.com/index.aspx Website: www.85cafe.com

N.Y. Bagels Café (24H) Trump Bowling Club (24H) Tel: (02) 2752-1669 Tel: (02) 2776-6111 Add: 147, Sec. 4, Renai Rd. Add: B1, Sec. 4, Civil Boulevard Website: www.nybagelscafe.com Foot Massage Center Cashbox PartyWorld KTV (24H) Taipei Nanjing Center (24H) 24H Reservations & Inquiries Hotline: Tel: (02) 2762-2166 (02) 40-666-999 Add: 76, Sec. 5, Nanjing E. Rd. Website: www.cashboxparty.com Website: www.footmassage.com.tw

Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

20 Discover Taipei 21

The Deeper the Night is, the More Beautiful It Appears Welcome to Taipei, a Sleepless City

f the “Shanghai Night” (夜上海) of the 1930s were a time and Iplace of elegant and sumptuous splendor, here in the 21st century this is, as the locals like to say, a “city that never sleeps” (不夜城), eyes always wide open, oozing sleek fashion and vogueishness. Night-time entertainment venues of all stripe and ilk fly their beckoning banners. Locals and vistors would love to gather in night clubs on weekends to relax themselves from the busy and fast-paced life during the daytime. In this section, we will introduce you some characterisric nightspots, and please spend the next few pages with us blissfully get the low-down on how to get down in the Sleepless City!

Warning: Driving While Intoxicated is a crime. Stay off the roads if drunk.

20 21 Fusion-style Nightspot Hotspot – LUXY LUXY has been open and thriving for five years. What you get is an entertainment-nightspot fusion of “luxury” and “sexy.” On weekend nights the place pulses with partying locals and expats. Many well-known international artists and pop stars are brought in to perform, including the Black Eyed Peas, 50 Cent, Fort Minor, Grand Master Flash, Coolio, and ONYX, and a long lineup of super DJs from around the international scene have been lined up for their parties. The space is divided into different-themed halls. It can also accommodate large-scale activities such as business functions with dining, private parties, and new-product unveilings. This year for the Christmas season, maintaining customary practice, top-tier entertainment-artist groups and DJs will be brought in from overseas to thrill you with live performances. For more info, please check out the club’s website.

LUXY boasts stage facilities that are international-class, and brings in the best of international performing talent as well, your experience topped off with top-shelf foods Room 18’s signature “the Player” and drink mixing, along and spirits. with roasted mutton kebabs with rosemary

Room 18 – Place of Glitter, Place of Stars Room 18 is owned by a Taiwan entertainer and thus a favorite hangout for other pop entertainers as well. Everyday folk come to do some big-name spotting. Designed with the latest European and North American fashion, Room18's spacious layout allows people partying the night away in groups to comfortably hang out together. Whether you need to groove to hip hop, R&B, nostalgic, pop, funk, or any other conceivable style, all desires can be satisfied. Top-notch local DJs and heavyweight international DJ names are booked each week to wow the frenzied crowds, rocking the house with the best in tunes. Be sure you’re in the house on New Year’s Eve, as the doors to the rooftop are thrown open for well-lubricated patrons to watch the booming Taipei 101 fireworks show and join in the city-wide countdown to another new year.

22 23 An Artistic Banquet in Nightspots – BarCode BarCode is an ultra-new space that is the creative masterpiece of elite Taiwan interior designer Chen Yue-fu (陳岳夫). In here you can appreciate the beauty of space creation. The ceiling of streamlined wood radiating out in all directions, giving you the illusion as if the barcodes dancing in the skies. The exclusive VIP boxes are open-partitioned, offering unobstructed views of down below from a commanding position up high. The artistic picture-frame partitioning allows those outside to look in and this inside to look out, intensifying the interior nightspot scenery to the point a visual feast of aesthetics. Come Christmas the interior is once more magically transformed, stuffed to the rafters with Chritmas colors and special Christmas theme meals are rolled out from the kitchen, allowing happy folk to gorge themselves on the festive spirit.

The festive fun of the in house Under the New Year’s outdoor party, crystalline night with specially created lights of the Xinyi mouth-watering Chinese District and the hors d’ouevres. creative eye of one of the premier local interior designers, this is a nightspot of sumptuous artistic originality. At in house Move to the Groove of Live DJs In house, a fashionable lounge at the first floor of Neo19, is characterized by large sheets of glass falling to the ground, the high-ceilinged and commodious space, and tropical plants placed throughout. During the day, selected house music is played, thumping walls and vibrating the floor, and in the evening the heat picks up with live DJ sets pumped out to get people on the four dance floors. The food menu is broad, with classic recipes from American, Mexican, and Italian kitchens given a twist with unique sauces invented by the upscale club kitchen. The afternoon-tea service is also highly popular, with 12 types of light refreshments in unlimited quantity made available to guests ordering a beverage. Also tremendously popular are the different theme parties thrown each month—excitement is already growing for the planned Christmas and New Year’s Eve bashes, so you’d best start your own party planning right now!

22 Discover Taipei 23 A Veritable Rock and Roll Museum Carnegie’s Carnegie’s is a theme restaurant dedicated to British rock and roll. Carnegie’s has three personalities, depending on the time of day: during the day people flock here for the great business lunch and for leisurely afternoon tea on the outdoor patio; towards night friends gather at the long, high-ceilinged bar for a drink or two and a laugh or three, or dine on fine international culinary creations by candlelight; later this spot becomes this city’s most boisterous bar, with British DJs engendering such unbridled passions that there’s always a crowd of foreigners dancing and frolicking on the big bar itself!

Walking into Carnegie’s, you feel like as if you’d actually strolled into a museum dedicated to rock and roll. Nostalgia reigns supreme, with paraphernalia everywhere celebrating the glories of everything from classic oldies to hot billboard- topping dance tunes. The materials are expansive and comprehensive, brought over from London and Paris by the rock-and-roll-loving British owner, celebrating greats such as Elvis, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, and many more. You’ll marvel at the seemingly endless collection of old black-and-white photos, posters, the new-era Chinese food and drink selections at Person along guitars, statues of early-days musicians, and other with the specially concocted New Year’s meals treasures. You’ll no doubt be highly stimulated to hear about the Sexy Santa party being thrown at At Person Savor the Elite in Fine Christmas. Now that’s the true spirit of Christmas for you! Foods and Spirits Person is a sister club of in house, and one of Carnegie’s Taipei is the largest of the Carnegie’s hotspots the new-style bars offering Chinese-style dining in Asia, its spacious, high-ceilinged set-up stuffed to bursting and drinking in the Xinyi District. The menu is with British rock-and-roll memorabilia from all eras. dedicated to passing on quintessential Shanghai and Sichuanese culinary genius. You’ll sit yourself down in a bustling world dedicated to the wonders of the Chinese wok with an endless supply of fresh, cool, crisp draft beer to ease all the tastebud-teasing foods down to a happy place, immersed in an atmosphere of warm, embracing congeniality. For New Year’s Eve, the in house and Person kitchens are cooking up a fabulous joint silver-white party, with the passionate ambiance of the night doubtless to be stir-fried to perfection.

24 25 Information

LUXY Hours: Wed, Fri, Sat 22:00 - 04:30 Thurs 22:00 - 03:00 Tel: (02) 2711-0011 Add: 5F, 201, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. Website: www.luxy-taipei.com Room 18 Hours: Wed, Fri, Sat 22:30 - 05:00 Tel: (02) 2345-2778 Add: B1, 88, Songren Rd. (Neo19 Building) Website: www.room18.com.tw BarCode (Taipei branch) Hours: 20:30 - 03:00 Tel: (02) 2725-3520 Add: 5F, 22, Songshou Rd. At Jiangzi BBQ, friends come together to enjoy the very best Website: www.room18.com.tw/barcode barbecue and delicious sweet beer chilled to a perfect minus-2 Celsius. in house Hours: 12:00 - 03:00 Experience Night-time Exuberance Tel: (02) 2345-5549 in the Xinjiang Style – Jiangzi BBQ Add: 90, Songren Rd. Website: www.inhouse19.com When you’re strolling along Renai Rd. in Taipei, the fiery-red sign of Jiangzi BBQ (疆子烤肉堂) fairly Person bursts out and grabs you by the lapels. The spicy Hours: 11:30 - 03:00 smells of meats barbecuing in Xinjiang style waft Tel: (02) 2725-3932 over and embrace both your body and soul, Add: 90, Songren Rd. Website: make you compelled by an irresistible force to www.inhouse19.com/inhouse/diningroom.jsp sit down and satisfy your overexcited sense of taste with a grand feast of hearty meat and Carnegie’s drink. Jiangzi BBQ is open into the deep night and Hours: Mon, Tues, Thurs, Sun 11:30 - 02:00; dedicated exclusively to the art of barbecue. Wed, Fri, Sat 11:30 - 05:00 The chewy sensation of soft chicken cartilage Tel: (02) 2325-4433 and kebabs of beef, pork, and chicken are its Add: 1F, 100, Sec. 2, Anhe Rd. Website: www.carnegies.net most classical “essence of Xinjiang” delectables, meant to be downed with drinks. For something Jiangzi BBQ a little more indulgent, explore the palate- Hours: 16:30 - 01:00 頂 massaging marinated boneless beef short rib ( Tel: (02) 2771-1116 級牛五花 牛小排 ), beef short rib ( ), and medium- Add: 449, Sec. 4, Renai Rd. rare ruby-red meat selections, guaranteeing to Website: www.jz-bbq.com.tw leave you slavering. You’ll agree, these are all the fixings needed for the most pleasant of evenings with good friends. Take good note that Jiangzi BBQ is no more than 200 meters from Taipei City Hall, making this the perfect culinary oasis for you during the rip-roaring celebrations on New Year’s Eve.

Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

24 Discover Taipei 25 Taipei’s Manhattan The Xinyi Commercial District

26 27 he heart of the Xinyi District (信義區) is the Xinyi TCommercial District (信義商圈), given birth as part of development plans created by the city government, launched in 1987 and quickly emerging as the location of Taipei’s Manhattan the most alluring and attractive city landscape. During the day, this is a pulsating mercantile and financial center; at night, it re-emerges as a sleek and sexy gathering spot, for the chic and stylish. On weekends and holidays, the district The Xinyi Commercial District miraculously turns into a super-stage for a mind-teasing cavalcade of performances and activities, leading the district to rightly be nicknamed “Taipei’s Manhattan” (臺北 的曼哈頓).

The city government and city council are located in the heart of the commercial district, and have been instrumental in the comprehensive development of the area, especially the success of the visual focal attraction, the iconic Taipei 101, long the tallest skyscraper on earth. Planning and development have been so successful that this district is where you’ll find the prosper real-estate on the island. The prestige means many major enterprises have vied to set up shops here, along with premier upscale hotels, restaurants, pubs, department stores, and other outfits. It seems all the conceivable shopping and leisure needs of local citizens can be satisfied here in what has become the frontline of the city’s fashion. The area is awash with people on holidays, window-shopping and actually shopping and generally having a grand old time.

The lights coruscate at night in the Xinyi Commercial District like a sparkling diamond, and the sky-bridge network extends from the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A4 building all the way to Taipei 101 and the Taipei World Trade Center, tying the entire district together above-ground, the twinkles and sparkles of the lights of night making the area that much more alluring.

26 Discover Taipei 27 The Xinyi Commercial District is home to an addictive concentration of unique-character shopping spots, movie centers, chic restaurants, and fab nightspots, making this a throbbing locus for holiday shopping and entertainment.

The Source of Everything – Fashions and Trends, Culture and Arts Among the many sources of pleasures you’ll find in this mecca are Vie Show Cinemas, centerpiece of Taiwan’s biggest chain, the four department stores of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi New Life Square (信義 新天地) complex, Novel Hall, New York New York department store, Neo19 Shopping Complex, Taipei 101 Mall, the Grand Hyatt Taipei, the Agora Garden hotel, and the flagship store of eslite bookstore, the largest bookstore in Taiwan.

The colossus among these numerous enterprises is Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s Xinyi outlet. Its A11 building is the original, before expansion, opened in 1997 and dedicated to the satisfaction of the individual ego. This place, along with Vie Show Cinemas, are where it all started in terms of commercial-core development. Next in line was the A8 building, opened in 2002, dedicated to the satisfaction of all consumer needs. Not long after—2003—A9 bursts on the scene, a grand display emporium for the finest in international trend-setting goods. The three buildings together form an urban-center and horizontally integrated design of shopping center. What you might call a “lady” building, the A4, joined the party in 2005, serving nothing but the needs of ladies. The fab four together constitute the Xinyi New Life Square, conveniently interconnected by sky bridges and long, covered galleries. Both inside the buildings and the surrounding grounds are numerous squares for staging activities, causing this to be the most thriving and boisterous spot in the entire Xinyi Special District (信義計畫區). On weeknights and on holidays, fun-lovers swarm the area, with street artists dotting the landscape and bringing smiles to happy faces, adding a breath of artistic flair.

The Xinyi Commercial District is today the most valuable and coveted land in Taipei. In the early part of 2009, a number of new commercial buildings are set to come online. Beyond the development of the public land around the MRT Taipei City Hall Station, the President International Development Corporation (統一開發公司) will open a combined-function complex with inter-city transportation, retail, and tourist-hotel facilities. The Kelti Group (克緹國際集團) will throw open the doors of a complex with an

28 Discover Taipei upscale hotel and business office as the primary offerings, called the Xinyi Commercial Building (信義商業大樓). Shin Kong Life Insurance (新光人壽) is also constructing the upscale artsy hotel which will be run by My Humble House–Sheraton (寒舍喜來登). The new A5 building will house a shopping center run by a renowned market operator from Hong Kong, and Cathay Life Insurance is building a 37-floor tourist hotel and shopping mall on the A3 square. These magnificent new editions will write a new chapter in the already thrilling book of the area. On weekends and holidays, street Strolling along Corridors in the Sky – Easy Living in performers are out in force, drawing big crowds and raucous raves, Xinyi Commercial District adding even more passion and Perhaps the most delightful perk that the area offers to visitors is the Xinyi romance to the district. Commercial District Sky Bridge System (信義商圈空橋系統). This network is the inspiration of the Taipei City Government, bringing people up from the street to the second level, interconnecting buildings with the Taipei Financial Center as hub. No vehicles, no obstacles—just people up in the air. The system has engendered seamless interaction between the financial, commercial, and shopping crowds, creating a unified center of business. This adds vigor and foot traffic to businesses along the second level and brings a whole new universe of business-activity experience along the “high streets” for foot travelers.

The sky-bridge network was undertaken both to beautify the landscape and to augment pedestrian-dedicated space. The system stretches a long 2300 meters in total, and from your starting point at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi A4 building near the MRT Taipei City Hall Station, you can pass right through the entire Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi New Life Square, head on through Vie Show Cinemas, then meander through New York New York, cross high above Songzhi Road (松智路), and connect with Taipei 101 and, after this, the Taipei World Trade Center. Not a single droplet of rain will befall you. No red lights, nor scurrying vehicles. Only comfort awaits you on your leisurely, and quite scenic, meander through the shopping area in the Xinyi commercial district.

These sky-bridges are a world away from the normal pedestrian overpass you are familiar with. They help you bypass all forms of traffic and plays a key role in local beautification and economic development. At night, the interior lighting of each sky-bridge makes it an attractive source of balanced illumination in its immediate area, lighting up the pretty structure for safe travel and adding luster and allure to the district’s nightscape.

Information

Transportation MRT: Take the MRT Ban-Nan (Blue) line to Taipei City Hall Station and walk to each individual location. Bus: 1. Take bus 284、202、266、277、611、612 or 20 to stop at mouth of Songshou Rd.; district can be reached on foot immediately. 2. Bus 20, 202, 261, 263, 266, 270, 277, 28, 281, 284, 311, 32, 46, 537, 611, 612, 621,647, 650, 651, 665, and 669 take you to stops at Taipei City Hall, Taipei World Trade Center, Xinyi District Administration Center, and the Grand Hyatt Taipei.

Please refer to the map provided on p.62. 29 FOOD Taipei Serves Up Christmas and New Year’s Feasting in All Tastes and Styles

n December, Taipei is full of Christmas cheer, and to help all of you in town from lands far away, we here Itake you on a whirlwind tour of the best local dining spots for your Christmas and New Year's feasting. We bring you Thai where concerns both visual and taste aesthetics, genuine home-style Sichuanese and Shanghainese, festival-style Japanese buffet, culinary selections from different lands chosen to match delicious micro-brewed beer, exquisite French multi-course meals, and the Latin flair of Chilean salsa- stimulated foods. To all our friends from overseas, we hope we've helped ensure a Christmas and New Year you'll savor forever.

The Thai set meal for two, a festive Thai repast made specially for Christmas, and the open-concept bar, with its bold red-tone theme. Crystal Spoon True Thai Fine Dining in Ultra-Modern Trappings

Crystal Spoon restaurant is a special place for fine Thai dining where the eye and the palate are both ensured a feast of stimulation. Here you can unhurriedly explore the delectable adventure of classic Thai, using the simple spoon and nothing but, peppery hot dancing about within a world of sour.

Walk into the restaurant and you are meeting with elegant and tasteful design trappings. The facade that invites you to Crystal Spoon is striking.The interior, brightly lit with high ceilings and sparkling with the light from coruscating crystal chandeliers, makes you feel as though you've stepped in a sumptuous lounge bar. The red- theme open-concept bar creates a modern, stylish dining atmosphere. The dishes—the very finest and most quintessential from the proud and venerable Thai culinary genius—are presented in sophisticated, elegant, and delicate manner. The attention to detail and attentive service gives you the illusion of an upscale resort hotel in some exotic hideaway place on lands far away.

All the Thai specialties here can be ordered a la carte, allowing you to experiment with traditional favorites, each crafted in the original way: cold dishes, shrimp cakes, curries, thick rice noodles, and all sorts of spicy stir-fried delicacies with zesty sauces. You'll also have the chance to experiment with Thai-style abalone soups, among with other rare treats in Thai restaurants. Make it in the afternoon and you'll be treated to thirst- quenching traditional Thai drinks and tongue-teasing snack foods. Responding specifically to the demands of Xinyi Commercial District (信義商圈) clientele, the restaurant also offers you a wide range of mixed drinks and red/white wines. Even your special Christmas needs are also taken care of; bring a special friend to share the Christmas Set Meal for Two (聖誕節雙人套餐), a wonderful collection of the best in Thai tastes—a veritable trip through Thailand via its culinary taste map.

30 Discover Taipei FiFi Home-Style Sichuanese and Shanghainese Food, Old Savored Anew

Facing the shaded, verdant boulevard on Renai Rd., you will find a special place to spend your leisure time operated by renowned Taiwan clothing designer Isabelle Wen (溫慶 珠). This is FiFi, its full name in Chinese“FiFi Tea and Alcohol Salon”(Fi Fi茶酒沙龍). Here you enjoy dining in an unusual and magical environment. The name“FiFi”is taken from Isabelle's nickname in Chinese, pronounced“Fei Fei”(菲 菲), the character“菲”meaning luxuriant, beautiful and fragrant. The idea of“tea and alcohol”is to bring new style and panache to the age-old and much-beloved Chinese tea-drinking custom and having drinks with delicate food, reintroducing traditional sophistication to the modern lifestyle. This establishment drips with classical Eastern elegance and richly alluring decor adornment, a grand statement of the unmatched Isabelle Wen style.

On the second-floor is Changyu Hall (常玉廳), where you can enjoy the same dishes that have long graced the tables of the Wen clan. Many of these dishes are secret family recipes that Wen herself has enjoyed since F i F i h a s t h e s t r o n g childhood. Her ancestral home is in Sichuan, China, and aroma of classical Eastern though her mother was Hunanese, she spent many years in elegance and the tastes of Sichuan and Shanghai as Shanghai. Isabelle grew up discovering the joys of creations experienced in the owner's own family from childhood. by enjoying the foods cooked by the master of the house kitchen. By offering us all the Wen-family Sichuanese and Information Shanghainese favorites, Isabelle takes a nostalgic trip back through time while at the same time creating a new joyful experience for herself. Among the many house specialties CRYSTAL SPOON you'll have to choose from are braised Dongpo pork(東坡 Add: 4F, 45, Shifu Rd.(Taipei 101 Mall) 肉), the self-invented Fei Fei's brown-sugar fried pancakes (菲菲黑糖煎餅), and many more. Each dish is a 100% faithful, Tel: (02) 8101-8123 exact recreation of Fei Fei's home-cooked gems. Hours: Working days 11:30 -14:30, 17:30 - 22:00 The home-style meals at FiFi are the perfect beacon for Holidays 11:30 - 22:00 hungry night-time revelers at Christmas and New Year's Eve. Website: You'll be wrapped up completely in home-cooked, Wen- www.crystalspoon-thai.com family congeniality and warmth. After your meal, move on out to the third-floor alfresco patio, where on New Year's Eve FiFi you can soak in the sweet musical sounds wafting over from the nearby party at the plaza before Taipei City Hall, look Add: 15, Sec. 4, Renai Rd. up at the glorious fireworks show bursting forth from Taipei Tel: (02) 2721-1970 101, and bring in the New Year all wrapped up in Taipei's Hours: 11:00 - 24:00 inimitable air of boisterous vitality. Website: www.isabelle-wen.com

Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

Discover Taipei 31 FOOD

WASABI Festival Buffet A Carnival of Delicacies in Recreated Japan

When you sit yourself down at the WASABI Festival Buffet (WASABI 日式自助餐) on the fourth floor of Taipei 101 Mall, you'll see that all the delightful ceremonial touches brought to the food experience in Japan are shown great respect here. The buffet are stationed just like the classic-style versions cherished on the home islands, with the classic festival-style vendor stands displaying the various foods on offer—a stand for barbecued treats, deep-pot stews and soups, sashimi, and sweets. Each and every traditional Japanese snacking specialties can be found here. You'll sometimes forget you're not actually at a traditional carnival in Japan as you taste your way from stand to stand, sating both your hunger and your curiosity at this happy and boisterous fine-food festival!

Behind all the stands, your chefs are busy performing in the open- view kitchen, ready to customize your order to precisely suit your preferences. The interior space of the 250-seat buffet facility is the masterpiece of Japanese master designer Yukio Hashimoto, a visual panoply of East, West, ancient, and modern, admirably giving life to the surpassingly stylish Wasabi essence. The kitchen, chock-a-block with five-star culinary talent, employs every culinary trick of the trade to ensure Japanese-cuisine“equality of quality and quantity”(質量並重) and ensure you a five-star night.

In keeping with its festival-carnival attraction to customers, each year at Christmas time, WASABI religiously rolls out a sleigh-full of special seasonal-theme dishes. This year the theme is“white,”so if you're wondering what in the world a meal of white might be like, you'll just have to get yourself over to WASABI for that true“White Christmas” experience! The five-star chefs use nothing but the best ingredients, displaying their buffet masterpieces to savory effect at the WASABI Festival Buffet stands.

32 Discover Taipei Information Le ble d'or A Gold Medal Christmas WASABI Festival Buffet

The eslite Xinyi bookstore is filled with the fragrant Add: 4F, 45, Shifu Rd.(Taipei 101 Mall) aroma of books. But there's another scent in the air as Tel: (02) 8101-8166 well, coming from the Le ble d'or Beer Cellar (金色三麥酒 Hours: 11:30 - 22:00 窖) downstairs. Subdued mood lighting and homey wood- plank flooring—these are two prime ingredients of the beer Website: www.grandformosa.com.tw cellar. There's a nice romantic bonus on tap, with live jazz vocalists singing their hearts out for you on Wednesday Le ble d’or through Saturday from 7 to 9 pm. The primary draw, of eslite Beer Cellar Branch course, is the fresh and tasty micro-brew served, Le ble d'or Beer, crafted by Le ble d'or Brewery (金色三麥). Add: B1, 11, Songgao Rd.(inside eslite Xinyi bookstore) The menu is an eclectic mix from around the culinary Tel: (02) 8789-5911 globe. There are nestum wheat with rice, German pig Hours: 11:00 - 24:30 knuckles, Italian pasta, Italian sausage, and a whole lot more. To properly celebrate Christmas, each outlet in the Website: www.lebledor.com.tw Le ble d'or chain will offer deliciously yummy full turkey dinners with all the trimmings. Santa Claus will also be Please refer to the map provided on p.62. in to spend some time with you. Both Santa and Le ble d'or want to be sure you enjoy a full course of home- style Christmas cheer while far from home. As an added blessing, the brewery is bringing out an extra-strong brew just for the Christmas and New Year season. It is the well- named Festival Beer, raising your festive spirits with the best in micro-crafted spirits. Cheers!

At Christmas, Le ble d'or is all decked out in colorful Christmas trappings, and you can feast on delicious turkey dinners with all the trimmings along with the restaurant's signature Italian sausage.

Warning: Driving While Intoxicated is a crime. Stay off the roads if drunk.

Discover Taipei 33 FOOD

Louis XIV French Cuisine of the Highest Order

Louis XIV (路易十四) French restaurant is tucked away down the alleys framed by Xinyi Rd. and Siwei Rd.. Though it carries the name of the great Sun King, you'll see no over-exuberant stylistic embellishments here; what you'll find here is more like a splendid little inn tucked away in a prosperous market town. The guiding light behind Louis XIV is Phoebe Wang, who left the world of advertising to now serve as general manager and executive chef of her own restaurant. She is supremely confident in her skills, while there may be some people wondering about her lack of regular professional training and how she has been able to stand so tall in the unforgiving restaurant business for 12 years. Phoebe, who has already published a number of cookbooks, says that each year she spends a good chunk of time overseas studying under recognized masters. She has studied at numerous renowned Michelin three-star restaurants, and was the first chef in Asia granted a much-coveted audience with the great French chef Fabrice Devignes. These interchanges have brought vision to reality in the form of the magically creative Louis XIV menu. Phoebe, known as the“Queen of Sauces”(醬汁女王), refuses to rest on her laurels, instead always seeking out bold new worlds where no chef has gone before.

This year for Christmas and New Year, Phoebe is planning a number of mouth-watering, eye-popping creative set menus. Her ingredients, and especially her sauces, may well be the best holiday repasts you've ever shared with your most special of friends.

Louis XIV this year is bringing out a king's banquet of new ingredients, recipes, and sauces for its splendid special Christmas and New Year's meals, with delectables such as Pan- Fried Duck Liver, Confit Red Onion with Port, and Cepe with Crème-Brulee.

34 Discover Taipei Salsa Bistro offers Latin American flair and flavour with its traditional Chilean dishes, made to order with virgin olive oil produced with a true-blue Chilean cold press, perfecting such classics as Sopaipilla, Ensalada Chilena, Cazuela de Ave, and Carne Mechada.

Salsa Bistro Information The Savory Passions of South America on Your Plate Louis XIV

Warm, intimate lighting caressing simple and tasteful Add: 1F, 11, Lane 76, Siwei Rd. decorative flourishes. Sensual, passionate Latin melodies Tel: (02) 2706-3416 dancing through the air. The romance of South America Hours: 12:00 - 22:30 and the culinary expressions of Chile. This is Salsa Bistro. Website: www.louisxiv.com.tw

Salsa Bistro's owner, Ali, grew up in Chile. At 20 she Salsa Bistro went off to the big city, New York, to study the food and beverage industry. She has a keen eye for quality Add: 9, Lane 141, Sec. 1, Anhe Rd. and detail, and thus insists on the freshest ingredients Tel: (02) 2700-3060 of the highest quality. This is also why she has imported Hours: 12:00 - 14:30 / 18:00 - 23:00 a top-grade cold press from Chile for her extra-virgin Website: www.chile.com.tw olive oil. With this meticulous attention to the quality of her cooking she ensures the release of the greatest taste pleasures from all her ingredients. Ali stresses that Please refer to the map provided on p.62. the final quality of food tastes begins with the intrinsic quality of the ingredients used; otherwise, the discerning tastebud is woefully insulted. She highly recommends Chilean classics such as Sopaipilla（南瓜餅）with Salsa Verdey and Salsa de Aji Colorado（青紅沾醬）, Ensalada Chilena（智利沙拉）, Empanaditas（智利餡餃）, Cazuela de Ave（田園雞湯）, Camarones al Ajillo（香辣開胃蝦）, and Carne Mechada（鍋燒牛肉）. Wondering what these are? Just one way to find out, and Ali is waiting for you.

In addition to experiencing the joys of Chilean cuisine, at Salsa Bistro you can also make your way through an extensive list of Chilean wines praised around the world. The list of perfect matches of riches from the spirits cellar and riches from the food menu are endless, for you a better way to explore the sensual soul of South America.

Warning: Driving While Intoxicated is a crime. Stay off the roads if drunk.

Discover Taipei 35 LIVING IN TAIPEI

Sishou(Four Animals) Mountain Taipei’s Scenic-View Platform, the Deeper the Night, the More Glorious the Sights

f you find yourself on Taipei’s wonderful “Sishou(Four Animals) Mountain” (四獸山), don’t get yourself Ito think you’ve wound up in a den of wild beasts. No, where you’ve brought yourself is to Taipei folks’ refuge from the urban hubbub, their Arcadia garden. This place means not only bracing daytime hikes, but scintillating sunsets and coruscating nightscapes. But even more, this is a superb location for watching the grand panoply of the city’s annual New Year fireworks extravaganza!

This is one of the most expansive mountainous areas within city limits. The “Four Animals” signify the four separate peaks that make it up—Tiger, Leopard, Lion, and Elephant Mountains—which do indeed look like their namesakes from certain angles. The leopard and lion sit between the other two, their forms kind of “joined at the hip” you might say. To ensure the protection and encourage citizen participation in the preservation of this precious mountain-forest area, the city government has declared the area the Sishou Shan（Mountain）Public Forest (四獸山市民森林).

Situated tight by the dense jungle of buildings that is residential/commercial Taipei, Sishou Mountain is dedicated to foot travel, and pathways predominate. Cars, motorcycles, and bicycles have easy access to the foot of these hills, but can go no further, so as to avoid emissions and noise pollution. Healthy foot travel is the raison d’etre for any visit. Two pathways, the Tiger Mountain Nature Trail (虎山 自然步道) and Elephant Mountain Nature Trail (象山自然步道), together form a long crest trail. Stretching an invigorating six kilometers, this is called the Sishou Shan（Mountain）Public Forest Crest Line Nature Trail (四獸山市民森林稜線自然步道). Though the “crest” trail might sound daunting at first, there is no need to fret, however—even though you’ll be on a “crest” trail, your highs will not surpass 200 meters in altitude, and you can complete the whole things anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes. Easy!

The Tiger Mountain Nature Trail runs about one kilometer long. This pathway is designed to handle large-scale access of natural-ecosystem-loving recreational visitors, and is immensely popular. The scenic watercourse landscaping and successful firefly-recovery program here are big draws, and on the average day you’ll be accompanied by many a human friend. Note that on holidays humans stream through as thick as water. The Elephant Mountain Trail is longer, about two kilometers. Its bed is made of granite that is smooth and very comfortable to walk on. Along the way, you’ll find many an inviting open-air pavilion supplying grand wraparound vistas for you to stop and enjoy a breather, perfect spots for the whole family to share in special moments to be long savored and often fondly recalled.

36 Discover Taipei The hills and crooks of Sishou Mountain expose you to a splendid variety of flora species and a savory buffet of terrain variation. Besides mountain slopes, cliffs, precipices, crags, and bluffs, there are many more to this nature artist’s tableaux. Add gurgling and hurtling streams, deep ravines and gullies, you’d better get the picture. The insects love it and have set up homes in droves and splendid variety, to the delight of nature-lovers. Amphibians have enthusiastically set up their studios as well, and if you watch closely, you’ll count more than ten types of froggies. This place is the finest type of nature-studies classroom you’re sure to find. The many temples, big and small, that dot the periphery of the sector have become prime gathering spots for human-species friends of the mountain, and you’ll always be greeted by the friendly sounds of people banter mixed with the local birdsong.

Elephant Mountain has a population of six giant rocks that are fave spots for night-watchers to gather, bringing it local renown as a prime night-scenery destination. From here you can take in the whole of the ultra-busy Taipei Basin and even as far as the mouth of the Danshui River headed out to sea. The field of view can’t be beat. The neon sea of the Xinyi Shopping Area and dancing lights of the skyscraping Taipei 101 tower are directly before you, just out of touch. The dazzle and beauty take your breath, first time and every time after, making it no surprise that you’ll almost always find yourself sharing the joy with serious photographers and film crews who’ve happily lugged up all their gear.

The small and large mountain temples are favored spots for resting and relaxing; the winding nature paths are superb for daytime jaunts, but perhaps even better for scintillating night views once lights and lanterns start to twinkle.

Information

Transportation MRT: From Houshanpi Station on the Ban-Nan line walk to nearby Fengtian Temple (奉天宮) and the trailhead Bus: Tiger Mountain Nature Trail: Take bus no. 46, 54, 69, 207, 257, 263, 286, 651, or Xinyi Main Line to Fengtian Temple bus stop (奉天宮站) or Fude Elementary School bus stop (福德國小站), then along Lane 251, Fude Street to the trailhead. Elephant Mountain Nature Trail: There are three street choices. 1. take bus no. 1, 22, 32, 33,37,38, 226, 266, 288, 665or B5 to Wuxing Elementary School bus stop (吳興國小站), then walk five minutes to Lingyun Temple (靈雲宮) and the trailhead. 2. take bus no. 33, 46, 207, 257, 263, 277, 286, 299, B10, Xinyi Main Line, or Boai shuttle bus to Yongchun High School or Songshan High School of Commerce and Home Economics bus stop, then walk to the trailhead at Yongchun Hill Park. 3. take bus no. 20, 37, 46, 277, 612, or Boai shuttle bus to Songde Stop and access the trail via the stone steps on the right side of Taipei City Hospital Songde Campus. Recommended Itinerary Fengtian Temple – 25 mins – Tiger Mountain peak – 20 mins – Leopard Mountain – 15 mins – Lion Mountain – 20 mins – Elephant Mountain – 20 mins – Mouth of Lane 76, Sec. 6, Xinyi Rd.

Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

Discover Taipei 37 LIVING IN TAIPEI

Big Land Transformed A-‘niu’ 2009 Taipei Flower Show

ach year as the new year approaches, it is time once again for the always-welcome ETaipei Flower Show (臺北花卉展) to step out onto the stage. Daan Forest Park (大安森林 公園), nicknamed the “lungs of the city” (都市之肺), is all dressed up in brand-new flowery attire, each lovely, big and small, decked out in alluringly showy dress.

This time round is the 13th edition of the big show. To make sure everything on show is novel and unique, and to make sure Daan Park appears as never seen before, the organizer has chosen a clever theme for the 2009 edition “Big Land Transformed A-niu!” (ㄋㄧㄡˊ轉吧，大地). This is an approximation, “A-niu” a play on “Anew.” What gives, you ask? Well, next year is the Year of the Ox (牛年; see Note below). “Ox” is pronounced “niu” (牛). “Turn around/transform” is also pronounced “niu” (扭). So there you have it. Simple! And fun too! Every ingenious technique that can be thought of is being used to display the phenomenon of spinning revolution, and all participating organizations are on-board to effect a revolutionary transformation of Daan Park. Your head will be left spinning, we promise.

The organizer, the city government’s Parks and Street Lights Office of the Public Works Department (臺北市政府工務局公園處), is dividing the park into 13 exhibit areas. It will handle the design of 7 areas on its own, and the city’s Department of Economic Development (產業發展局) one other. The Chi-hsin Agricultural Development Foundation (七星農業發展基金會), Chihsin Environmental Greening Foundation (七星環境綠化基金會), Hsiliu Environmental Greening Foundation (錫瑠環境綠化 基金會), and horticulture-related departments from various colleges and universities (大專院校園藝相 關科系) have also been invited to participate. The city’s 12 administrative districts will also be doing their part in the spirit of the Chinese-zodiac theme, and will cooperate in the big project by spiffing up 12 neighborhood parks, meaning festival-goers will always have nearby neighborhood parkland to step into in addition to meandering through the Daan Park wonderland itself.

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1. The “Children’s Play Paradise” will feature traditional folk toys and games as well as a 3D amusement area constructed from landscaped plants. 2. In “Toot Toot Town,” all sorts of cars have human features, introducing the many types of autos out there in a friendly way. 3. In “Dreamland Circus,” comical monkeys riding bikes in the form of topiary sculptures create a boisterous and whimsical atmosphere. 4. Groups from post-secondary programs show off their talents in a creative-artistry area. (Photos courtesy of Parks and Street Lights Office)

38 Discover Taipei In addition, the Taipei Landscape Engineering Association (臺 北市景觀公會) has asked the top three winners of the 38th National Information Landscape Gardening Competition (38屆造園景觀職類全國技能 競賽) to give demonstrations on their landscaping techniques, and will stage a thrilling landscaping competition, open to the 2009 Taipei Flower Show public, on the day of the opening ceremonies. Daan Park will Time: 2008/12/20～2009/1/18 be completely transformed under the skilled and enthusiastic Location: Daan Forest Park green hands of the city government, school teams, teams from Add: 1, Sec. 2, Xinsheng S. Rd. horticulture-related organizations, and other groups, all working Tel: (02) 2303-2451 / (02) 2700-3830 together hand in hand. And the colorful and compelling special （Daan Forest Park） activities staged on non-working days during the flower-show Website: pkl.taipei.gov.tw period will add just that much more festive fervor—artistic and cultural—to the frenetic fun. Transportation:

2009 Taipei Flower Show will be extra-fragrant and extra- MRT: Get off at Daan Station and walk blossoming, acting as a vanguard extravaganza for the 2009 10 minutes Taipei Deaflympics and the 2010 TAIPEI International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition—two extremely large-scale Bus: Daan Park, Xinyi & Xinsheng S. international events of tremendous importance to the city—what Roads or Heping & Xinsheng S. you might call three international flowers blooming in seamless Roads bus stops sequence, and in wonderful colors. 1. Xinyi Road buses: 0 East, 3, 20, 22, 38, 204, 226, Xinyi MainLine, Zhinan Bus Co. No. 3 (Taishan to Tapei Zoo route) Note: The 12 animal symbols of the Chinese zodiac were 2. Xinsheng S. Rd. buses: 0 South, borrowed from the system of symbols used for the folk- 72, 109, 211, 280, 290, 311, 505, 642, 643, 668, 672, 675, Songjiang wisdom 12 Earthly Branches, used to tell time (years, months, MainLine, and inter-city buses 12 2-hour segments of the day, etc.). They are, in sequence, plying the Keelung-Taipei national the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, freeway route chicken, dog, and pig. Years are tallied in cycles of 12, each 3. Heping E. Rd. buses: 3, 15, animal reappearing every 12 years, with 2009 a Year of the 18, 52, 72, 74, 211, 235, 237, 278, Ox. 295, 662, 663, Heping Main Line, Dunhua Main Line

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Discover Taipei 39 LIVING IN TAIPEI

2010 TAIPEI International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition Delights from Many Lands, Feasts for the Eye

he 2007 and 2008 Taipei Flower Shows (臺北花卉展), hailed by all as richly rewarding Tdraws, were in fact designed as warm-up demonstration events for the grand 2010 TAIPEI International Gardening and Horticulture Exposition (2010臺北國際花卉博覽會) extravaganza. It was a successful model, and Taipei was chosen as host of the 2010 event, taking the reins from such luminous earlier host countries as Germany, Belgium, Japan, France, and Italy. Specifically, it is the Taipei City Government and Taiwan Floriculture Development Association (臺灣區花卉發展協會) that have been chosen as hosts by the AIPH (International Association of Horticultural Producers). The plan is for a trial run in Sep. 2010 and the curtains to be formally thrown open for the world to see on Nov. 6.

The 2010 celebration of Mother Nature’s natural beauties will have its primary exhibition sites located at lovely outdoor locations such as Yuanshan Park (圓山公園), Taipei Art Park (美術公園), Xinsheng Park (新生公園), and Dajia Riverside Park (大佳河濱公園) during its six- month tenure. This will be a big show and you’ll have 15 different exhibition halls to visit, dedicated to pertinent themes such as Taiwan’s “Gardening and Horticulture Strengths” (花 卉園藝實力), “Distinguishing Cultural Arts Characteristics” (文化藝術特色), “Guardianship of the Environment” (環境生態關懷), and “Leading-Edge Technological Achievements” (先端 科技成就). The city government is also meticulously preparing a grand competition showing off the local gardens and floriculture styles of nations from all points on the global map. Also in store are soothing Blue Highway local-waterway yacht cruised and sizzling night- time fireworks dazzle-fests. Make sure you’re in Taipei at this time, for the entire world will be coming to lay their greatest beauties—floral, that is—at your feet. You’ll be charmed.

The city government has extended a warm invitation for assistance from experts of all other countries to ensure the best and brightest—talent and color—for this international celebration. Teams from India, Pakistan, the Netherlands, Japan, Thailand, Korea, Spain, and Hungary have all planted firm promises to come early to ensure the most brilliant possible participation in the exhibition, competitions, and other countless activities. The city has asked over 30 countries to participate in activities that will greatly augment the beauty and color for your entertainment.

Information

2010 TAIPEI International Gardening Office of the TAIPEI International and Horticulture Exposition Gardening and Horticulture Time: 2010/11/06～2011/4/25 Exposition Locations: Zhongshan Stadium, Yuanshan Park, Te l : (02) 2578-2250 Taipei Children’s Recreation Center, Taipei Fine Fax: (02) 2578-3821 Arts Museum, Taipei Art Park, Lin An-Tai Old Website: www.2010taipeiexpo.tw Homestead, Xinsheng Park, Dajia Riverside Park, and other spots (91.8 hectares in total)

40 Discover Taipei 2008 “Zoo Poo Poo” All about Feces

id you know that you could make paper from feces, and even use Dfeces to build a house? Come to the wonderful ““Zoo Poo Poo” All about Feces” at Taipei Zoo and you’ll learn all you need to know. Here, everything about feces comes up roses, and you’ll go away thinking of poop as nothing but good—maybe. The “Zoo Poo Poo” All about Feces (2008來了便知道) program kicked off on August 2, and should you decide on a nature-call pilgrimage to the zoo’s lavatories during a visit, we promise you it will broaden your horizons!

No matter who you are, while you’re exploring the zoo grounds, you’re sure to answer the call of nature at one of the public lavatories at least once. The zoo’s lavatory facilities are always spic-and-span, eco-friendly, and well-known for being special in character. They frequently are the subject of public praise, often for their water-saving toilets, use of recycled rainwater, and attractive design in coordination with the surrounding zoo area in which they sit. In 2007, the zoo came up with the odd but strangely fascinating concept of teaching visitors about animal doo-doo while they visited the human doo-doo washroom facilities around the park with its Fertilize Your Knowledge exhibition, using humor and ingenuity along with aesthetically tasteful displays to let people know the true values and merits, and the many interesting uses, of falsely labelled animal poo-poo “rejects.”

Discover Taipei 41 LIVING IN TAIPEI

According to Ye Jie-sheng (葉傑 生), the head honcho at the zoo, in order to dispel the natural sense of revulsion and the misconceptions about animal waste, the zoo set up exhibits at five of the park’s lavatories last year, including displays entitled Poop Art, Group Your Feces, PoOwer, Toilet Treasure, and Have a Bowel Movement. The idea met with great applause, and it’s been decided to broaden the fun this time round with displays at 17 of the park’s 22 lavatories, all addressing a different 1 theme. The popular “Dr. Poop” (便便超人) will be back at their stations, delivering their deep knowledge of everything you’ve always wanted to know about scat, sporting their easy-to-spot “poo-poo hats” (便便帽) and professorial overcoats. Each lavatory exhibit as said will be on a distinct topic, and there will also be three informative and entertaining Q&A sessions at each location, along with accompanying illustrations and photos. The emphasis is on stimulating life- long interests in the kids, who will hopefully pursue these study subjects down the road, and to make a washroom visit for one and all an even more stimulating and satisfactory experience than it already is, filling you back 2 up with intriguing questions to ponder on feces, health, and the environment.

1. PoOwer uses cartoons to explain how pig manure can be transformed into a natural bio-based power resource. 2. Group Your Feces uses realistic models of animal feces along with pictures of animals to explain different types of feces according to differing food intake. 3. The special exhibit on animal feces features special displays set up at 17 of the zoo’s public lavatories, each expounding on a different subject. 4. The public washrooms at Taipei City Zoo are well known for 3 being sparkling clean, eco-friendly, and very special spots to visit. 4 Information

All about Feces – The Animal Poop Exhibition Time: Opened Aug. 2, 2008, one year duration Location: Taipei Zoo Add: 30, Sec. 2, Xinguang Rd. Website: www.zoo.gov.tw

42 Discover Taipei Exhibition Subjects and Locations

Subject Lavatory Number Lavatory Location

Poop Art 1 Plaza inside main entrance

Walls of Dung 2 Visitor Center

Group Your Feces 4 Formosan Animal Area

Dr. Poop Poo Manners 5 Children’s Zoo

Amazing Feces 6 Insectarium

Poo Everywhere 7 Koala House

PoOwer 12 Desert Animal Area

Toilet Treasure 13 Aquatic Plant Garden

Know the Poo 14 Asian Tropical Rainforests Area

Have A Bowel Movement 15 Hippopotamus Area

Poo To Go 16 Australian Animal Area

Heavenly Droppings 17 Bird World

Those Three Little Words 18 African Animal Area

Froggy Business 19 Bird World Station

Poo Health 20 Temperate Zone Animal Area

Poo Medicine 21 Penguin House

Easy Way Out 22 Amphibian and Reptile House

Discover Taipei 43 LIVING IN TAIPEI 2008 IT Month Theme Pavilions

Your Mobile World, Anything Is Possible T Month has been rolling since way back in 1979. It’s now in its 28th year, and has long been this land’s Ibiggest ICT consumer-electronics sales exhibition. This year, the focus of the main exhibition is on wireless- broad band technology, with three large-scale themed-exhibit areas: “Multimedia Mobile World” (酷炫 影音區), “Lightweight Mobile World” (輕薄時尚區), and “Charming Mobile World” (魅力手持區). Seven big international brands, Acer, ASUS, BenQ, HTC, Intel, Optoma, and Sony have all been invited to exhibit. At the exhibition, “Guide angels” (導覽天使) will also be available, ambience-invigorating Demo Shows will be staged, and stimulating nightclub-style entertainment will rotate throughout the venue. For this round, 14 governmental organizations and 350 ITC providers will be setting up displays. The show is itself rotated each year among major cities in Taiwan, and each edition sees a veritable tide of people, a mind-boggling two- million-plus each round!

Multimedia Mobile World

The Audio-Video section will have two sub-sections, “Micro Projection World” (微型投影世界) and “Audio-Video Amusement Park” (影音遊樂園). In the Micro Projector World, you will marvel at Optoma’s introduction of the world’s first LED micro projector that weighs a miniscule 120 grams, with specialized light and portable micro-projector models for home and office use. Besides the much-enhanced color and contrast technology, they have full connection capability with cellphones, MP4 players, cameras, and other devices. In the Audio-Video Amusement Park, Sony will proclaim its concept claiming that “the cellphone is no longer just for talking, but a life-enhancing assistant for online access, navigation, and entertainment” (手機不只是用來通話，還可以用來上網、導航、娛樂，是生活中的好幫手), unveiling super Smart display technology that is both handy and compellingly attractive.

44 Discover Taipei Lightweight Mobile World Visitors to the exhibition enjoy free entry, and are regaled with preferential-price sales each and every This area is divided into three sub-sections, the day. For details, check the official website (address “Mobile Aesthetics Hall” (移動美學館), “Mobile 01 below). If you’re looking for top-quality merchandise World” (移動01世界), and “Mobile Future City” (移動 at lower prices, keep a close eye on the website or on 未來城). announcements in the daily papers. In the “Hall”, renowned high-tech producer ASUS will display new and trendy compact notebook computers, smart cellphones, UMPCs, and other ergonomic devices. In the “World,” Acer will utilize head-snapping 3D projection technology to present the trendy external forms and the functions of its products, along with video appearances by leading figures from various fields and territories to introduce these inventions. Information You’ll get an up-close-and-personal experience of mobile technology that will be dazzlingly fun while bringing you useful information! In the 2008 IT Month “World,” BenQ will explore the mind-boggling Time: 2008/11/29～2008/12/7 convenience being created in our everyday lives by wireless networks and the supreme handiness Venue: Halls 1 and 3, Taipei World Trade Center of mobile broadband Internet access with ultra- mobile notebooks. You’ll see a powerful display of Website: www.itmonth.org.tw technological innovation and application that will leave your head shaking in wonder.

Charming Mobile World The show is itself rotated each year among major cities in This area will have two intriguing and large sub- Taiwan, and each edition sees a veritable tide of people, a mind-boggling two-million-plus each round! sections, the “Trendy Touch Control Station” (潮 流觸控站) and the “Mobile Fun Hall” (行動享樂 館). In the former, a mesmerizing design mix of complementary greys, blacks, and whites are used to show off HTC’s boundless catalog of award-winning (locally and overseas) information- technology products, along with a new-era smart cellphones on display. In the latter, Intel will wow you with its low-power-consumption Atom-based MID and high-efficiency Centrino 2 notebook, where their instantaneous WIFI and 3G wireless network access meets the needs of people everywhere.

Discover Taipei 45 LIVING IN TAIPEI

5 6

7 3 ashion 1. 2006-07 Autumn/Winter F ture” Collection - "Love & Adven 1 staurant 2. Butterfly, a Sichuanese re st and West blending elements of the Ea arty at FiFi 3. 2007-08 New Year's Eve P ion Show, 4. 2006 Spring/Summer Fash "Twirling Sofi," at Khaki f the 2007 New 5. At the crucial moment o t “golden Year’s countdown a brillian loose on shower” of fireworks was let at FiFi. the third floor outdoor area area on the 6. the Changyu Hall dining 2 second floor at FiFi level at FiFi, a 7. FiFi’s Market is on the first 4 g all that’s sleek fashion shop displayin llection. new in the Isabelle Wen Co Wen) (Photos courtesy of Isabelle Isabelle Wen This City’s Esteemed Voice for Food & Drink Trend and Fashion

r g designers. Look upon he Taiwan’s foremost clothin elle Wen (溫慶珠) is one of nored sab urrent fashion and time-ho less, naturalistic fusion of c and you see the seam ely applies the I ast and West. The media fre th a perfect blend of the E tradition, along wi omfortable with such and style, but she feels unc ous” (華麗) to her creations term “gorge s the new and old, Chinese seeks to express, she says, i tion. What her design style that is descrip —creating a city character co-existing in this great city and Western clearly shown an attractive mosaic.

46 Discover Taipei ent in the ow of her creations is a big ev 987. Each seasonal fashion sh ELLE WEN brand was born in 1 ously opened up The ISAB od and drink, and has continu e the leap into the world of fo ld of fashion. In 2004, she mad ’60s at Sofa Lounge Bar, wor trict (東區). Step back into the racter and flair in the East Dis t new hotspots of unique cha nto the fusion of East and Wes lcohol salon” (茶酒沙龍), and i f the Far East at FiFi “tea and a g spots into the exotic feel o f the hottest in-vogue gatherin 蝴蝶). These have become some o uanese restaurant, Butterfly ( at the Sich t side. nes and alleys of the city’s eas the young crowd along the la for alleys because says Wen. “I chose the back e I am most familiar with it,” hose the East District becaus evoke the flavors of “I c re. But in fact they very much thing could possibly be in he people gaze in, assuming no erely the locals, like a small places well-known among m mysterious, small and cozy, work Paris’ Marais quarter: big town where people like to e. For Isabelle Wen, Taipei is a illed with passion and romanc e places for market village f is extremely important to hav ight. Therefore, she believes it the office and play smart at n hard at oy an after-party dinner. tantly, places to relax and enj ople to party and more impor pe entertainers and ces for big international stars, ak out for Taipei, providing pla y goal is to stand up and spe e and see that my city “M e people of the world to com of fashion, and in fact all th artists, friends from the world evidence is there for all to see hetics and food & drink!” The -class melding for cultural aest drink, has achieved a world nse) of aesthetics and food & e knowledge (or common se is idea, and equipped with th a renowned — driven by th ck a deep chord with many n and culture has indeed stru Wen’s acute sense of fashio Isabelle e fashion-brand realm. arts and entertainment, and th name from different worlds of 母 n pretty oases of quiet and ngshan and Tianmu (天 ), i were spent around Yangmi ntan Wen’s earlier years o, located on the slopes of Jia ins her current choice of studi amidst the hubbub. This expla metropolis. pastoral beauty wilight settling gently upon the an take in the broad vista of t Yuanshan (圓山), where you c n, and so this is of (劍潭) on r herself in the world of fashio ct that she gained a name fo wever, it was in the East Distri the world of food & drink. Ho r and arbiter of good taste in et up shop as an entrepreneu s. course the place she has s orld-class norms and standard 信義計畫區) is the establishment of w the Xinyi Special District ( business, The specific goal in ground in the realm of fashion onate creations and her back Wen’s innate instinct for passi st contribution, With Isabelle predestined. This year her late t of the planning area seems ntribution to the developmen her co bookstore building. loor of the eslite Xinyi flagship FiFi, roared to life on the sixth f Christmas and New Year’s ousehold, the celebration of in a somewhat Westernized h y “Because I was raised aipei 101 fireworks show from m I’ll be able to watch the big T t for me,” says Wen. “This year Isabelle Eve is very importan s at FiFi too!” And if you’re like g in some excellent live band n Renai Rd., and we’re bringin mingshan for a spot at FiFi o y up the quiet late-night Yang ne, you might make your wa after the crazy partying is do d another fine year for Wen, ace a “Happy New Year!” an ar down below, wishing this pl view of the twinkling big city f her people.

Isabelle Wen en Fashion Enterprise” The president of “Isabelle W

Discover Taipei 47 LIVING IN TAIPEI

Foreigners' Reflections on Taipei

dam is here in Taipei studying Chinese at National Chengchi AUniversity (政大). Beyond learning basic conversational skills, he’s also tackling colloquial Chinese by enthusiastically making local friends. Chat about the many great local snack foods and he would blurt out his favorite, “E-a-jian!” (蚵仔煎), or oyster omelette, in the finest local-style Taiwanese. And though there are many renowned local night-markets among the expatriate crowd, he haunts one little known to foreigners, the South Airport Night Market (南機場夜市). That’s going native for you!

Since it is clear Adam is quickly picking up the language of the nightlife outside regular school hours, it is no surprise he’s enthusiastically exploring the verbal and non-verbal language of the city’s entertainment nightspots as well. The Living Room, he says, which is on Nanjing E. Road, is a prime spot to go with friends to sing the night away and revel in the music scene. If you want Adam to explore the local drinking culture, he advises, there’s no better Age: 26 place than the Taiwan Beer & Live Band restaurant (臺灣啤酒346 Vocation: Copywriter 倉庫餐廳) on Bade Road. Another great outing is to gather some Home: England friends and head to a 24-hour bowling alley, one of the cheapest Reason in Taiwan: Study Chinese forms of grand fun available on the weekend. His original plan was Time in Taipei: 1 month to be in Taipei six months, but Adam is doing some hard thinking now about extending his joyful experience.

When asking about Taipei’s nightlife, there’s no better source of insider info than Ricky, who is fluent in Chinese. You’ll find his tracks at all the best and hottest spots, including the renowned US chain Hooters, source of finger-licking good roadhouse food, Sofa, a lounge bar for those who simply like to drink and indulge in good music, Brown Sugar, a restaurant and bar where jazz is king, and plush dance clubs such as Pasoul, Plush, Luxy, and Room 18.

But hold on there! Don’t just think that Mr. Ricky leads a life devoted to luxury and dissipation! Taipei’s nightlife scene offers many another kind of spot when many another manner in which to expend your energies. On weekdays, Ricky likes to zip down to The Tavern at the corner of Keelung and Xinyi roads to catch a good soccer game on TV or engage in feisty bouts of table soccer. And on weekends, when there’s no worry about getting up for work next day, he’ll choose pool or bowling. Ricky’s been here for five years and counting, and for him, to using the local way of saying things, the deeper the Taipei night the deeper the “high”! Ricky Age: 26 Vocation: Jewelry trade Home: India Reason in Taiwan: Work Time in Taipei: 5 years

48 Discover Taipei William hails from the “Great White North”, the nickname Canadians use for their winter-rich land. He followed his dad to Taipei, and is enrolled in Chinese studies at National Normal University (師大). Among the local friends he’s made, a number work in local nightspots, and so naturally, just like all the other members of the city’s youth tribe, on the weekends you’ll see William out at all the trendiest nightspots, hooking up with friends, listening to good music, and dancing the night away.

“In Canada,” he says, “there’s a dress code at all the pubs. Look at my shoes for instance; I couldn’t get away with something this informal back home. But in Taipei it’s different, you can dress however you like. After work, for example, you can just come as you are, with whatever you have on. I really like the relaxed atmosphere here!” Everyone can be himself and enjoy himself to the fullest extent, and show off his true colors in his own inimitable style. At Carnegies, for example, a must-hit spot for foreigners on William Anhe Road, come the night he even has the confidence to step Age: 26 out on the dance floor. In William’s eyes, Taipei indeed sparkles Vocation: Student ever brighter the deeper the night rolls on! Home: Canada Reason in Taiwan: Study Chinese Time in Taipei: 7 months

Discover Taipei 49 ARTS

2008 Taipei Biennial Sep. 13, 2008 - Jan. 4, 2009

he Taipei Biennial is organised by the Taipei Museum of Fine Arts. The 6th edition, curated by Manray Hsu T[Germany/Taiwan] and Vasif Kortun [Turkey], takes place between September 13, 2008 and January 4, 2009.

In addition to the Taipei Museum of Fine Arts, which is the main venue established for the Taipei Biennials, the 6th edition also includes projects in the Beer Brewery, on the mega-digital screen at the Taipei Arena, in Taipei Art Park, at the Zhongxiao Xinsheng MRT Station, and an intervention at No.13, Qidong Street. The Biennial will also employ a number of advertising boards in the city, spreading the exhibition throughout different neighbourhoods and bringing the project into view when least expected.

In addition, upon the invitation of the curators, the artist/activist Oliver Ressler presents an exhibition within the context of the Biennial titled "A World Where Many Worlds Fit" that is dedicated to resistance movements.

The Taipei Biennial originates from a constellation of correlated themes all connected to neo-liberal capitalist globalisation. The threads of investigation in the exhibition include urban transformation in Taiwan, circumstances for immigrant and illegal labour, mobility, borders, divided states and micro-nations, permanent war condition, ecological breakdown, global unrest, and the opportunities for change. All these threads are processed and witnessed through do-it-yourself practices, individual stories, and humour. While art does not provide answers, it has the capacity to reflect on these issues from multiple angles, to work with different forms of enquiry and determine when to focus on individual moments. As with the approach of the Biennial, no story is infinitely singular. Each area of focus is associated with many other questions, for example, the mobility of a tourist, a temporary worker, or a foreign bride are certainly not the same, not even similar. Towards this end, the Biennial has been commissioning as many new works as possible, or asking the participating artists to rethink and adapt previous projects in light of their presentation in Taipei. There will also be existing works presented in juxtaposition to the new ones. The exhibition will include thematic compilations and farcical and biting videos.

1 2 3

1. Democracia / Welfare State Series / Four-channel video-installation / Stands Courtesy of the Artist 2. Bert THEIS / Asian Pentagon / Bamboo installation / Dimensions variable / 2008 / Courtesy of the Artist 3. Bbrother / Beyond the Wall / Mural painting / Courtesy of the Artist (Photos courtesy of Taipei Fine Arts Museum)

50 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 51 There will be performative works and 2008 Taipei Biennial Lecture Series interventions in the city, some of which will be documented and reconfigured in TEL: (02)2595-7656 ext. 315 the exhibition venues. The Beer Brewery, 14:30-16:30 / Auditorium a site that has been through an extended process of transfor mation from its 11/22 2008 Taipei Biennial: The Appearing and inauguration as Taiwan's first beer factory Disappearing of the City. Joyce Chi-hui Liu, (a production and distribution site built Professor, Graduate Institute for Social Research during the Japanese occupation), to a and Cultural Studies, National Chiao Tung state monopoly that went through the University process of privatization, re-branding and finally relocation to a site outside of the 11/29 Insights and Oversights Regarding the 2008 city centre. While the factory's history can Taipei Biennial. Chung Ming-der, Dean of the be read as a classic example of shifting College of Theater Arts, Taipei National University states of use in any post-industrialised city of the Arts in the world, the exhibition is interested in seeking the nuances and specificities 12/06 2008 Taipei Biennial: The Interpretation and found within the general. The brewery's Concealment of Images. Liao Gene-fon, daily operation will continue during the Director of the Department of Motion Picture, exhibition run, and its space will be utilised National Taiwan University of Arts as a real place rather than an insular exhibition zone. 12/13 The Aesthetic Value of “Absence” in the 2008 Parallel programming includes a Taipei Biennial. Huang Chien-hung, Assistant conference co-presented with the Dictionary Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Taipei of War that takes place on October 24 National University of the Arts and 25, 2008; a film programme related to the themes of the exhibition co-hosted by the Urban Nomad Film Festival; and in collaboration with Taipei Drift, an 2008 Taipei Biennial Art Appreciation Tours International Workshop for Art Academics, TEL: (02) 2595-7656 ext. 315 2008. 14:30-15:30 / Tours start from the museum lobby By means of these projects the curators and artists will explore the diverse 11/23 Individual Territory and Meta-Images at the opportunities that this Biennial is capable 2008 Taipei Biennial. Wang Su-fong, Deputy of creating and responding to. Researcher, Taipei Fine Arts Museum

12/07 Temporarily Eternal at the 2008 Taipei Biennial. Li Information Chi-ming, Researcher, Taipei Fine Arts Museum 12/14 Routine Mobilizations in the 2008 Taipei Biennial. Taipei Fine Arts Museum Ku Shih-yung, Professor, Graduate Institute of Address: 181, Sec. 3, ZhongShan Plastic Arts, Tainan National University of the Arts N. Rd. Tel: (02) 2595-7656 12/21 Virtual and Real Space at the 2008 Taipei Biennial. Chang Hwei-lan, Director of Art Center, Museum Hours: Kao Yuan University Tuesday-Sunday 09:30 - 17:30. Open on national holidays. 12/28 Form, Image and Concept at the 2008 Taipei Closed on Mondays Biennial. Lin Pey-chwen, Professor, Department Saturday Night from 17:30 - 20:30 Free admission. of Multimedia and Animation Arts, National Taiwan University of Arts Website: www.tfam.museum

50 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 51 ARTS

A Cross-National Platform for Wide-Ranging Cross-Pollination Taipei Artist Village

ou might have likely passed Taipei Artist Village (臺北國際藝術村) on Beiping E. Rd. all the time without Yknowing it’s there. The village is housed in a former city government office building long left unused, standing quiet and unassuming among the forest of nearby government buildings much bigger and more eye-catching, largely hidden from view by a small bamboo grove, passersby nary aware of its earthly existence, an oasis of quiet amid the hubbub, time also passing right on by it with nary a glance.

In 2001, the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs (臺北市政府文化局) decided on a renaissance. It specializes in bringing new life to neglected spaces. Dedicated artist villages were inspected in New York, Paris, London, and other big international cities as models, and then the Taipei Artist Village was brought to life. Reflecting this city’s special assets and vitality—the first international artist village in Taiwan—was given a new face for its new mission. In 2004, management responsibility was officially turned over to the Taipei Cultural Foundation (臺北市文化基金會), assuring the long-term role of the village as a center for originality, and the TAV’s program of events and activities was broadened to bring local citizens and artists from overseas together for mutual exposure and interchange.

Today 200 artists from 35 countries have set up shops as artists in residence, and nearly 70 artists from Taiwan have gone to similar artist villages in cities around the world to broaden their creative boundaries. Taipei Artist Village has quickly emerged as a pivotal platform for artistic and cultural exchange, for Taipei and indeed for all of Taiwan. It is this island country’s largest artist village, and the only such institution in Taipei currently able to engage in an international-exchange program.

52 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 53 The Taipei and Grass Mountain Artist Villages Serve as an Accelerator for Creative Artistic Energy Bursts

In 2008 Grass Mountain Artist Village and Taipei Artist Village jointly launched the bold AIR Taipei (Artists International Residence) project (臺北藝術進駐計畫). The Grass Mountain facility is a quiet and secluded oasis in Yangmingshan National Park, offering four villa-style residences and an outdoor 1 performance stage and serving as an idyllic space for creative inspiration amidst the glories of pristine nature as well as for stimulating interchange with the local people. In the past the emphasis was on building hardware facilities, but in the new current phase, building on seven years of accumulated experience, TAV is emphasizing a more holistic artists-in-residence experience of broadened scope to engender the widest possible range of stimulation. It is also seeking to spawn bursts of blossoming energy and creativity from the broadest garden of inspirational sources.

Application procedures and forms for the AIR Taipei program can be found online on the official TAV website, with materials in English (www.artistvillage.org/en_artist_apply.php). If you want to be kept informed about the artist-in-residency program, about requests for artwork submissions, and about other goings- 2 on at TAV, foreign readers can subscribe to the village’s e-paper, 1. The open studio allows common folk to also available in English (www.artistvillage.org/news_newsletter. experience the creative process first-hand php). Enjoy! and to interact with experienced artists. 2. Brazilian visual artist Leda Oliveira interacts with visiting students.

(Photos courtesy of Taipei Artist Village)

Main Nov./Dec. Activities at Taipei Artist Village: Information

11/8-11/24 Private exhibition by Taiwan visual artist Wu Shang-lin (吳尚霖) and related activities Taipei Artist Village (TAV) Hours: 10:00 – 19:30 11/30 Discussion and demonstration performance Add: 7, Beiping E. Rd. with experimental Kun Opera troupe 1/2 Q Te l : (02) 3393-7377 Theater Fax: (02) 3393-7389 Early Dec. Double exhibit with experimental Kun Opera Website: www.artistvillage.org troupe 1/2 Q Theater and European visual artist Jayne Dyer Grass Mountain Artist Village Hours: Mon, Wed, Fri 13:00 – 18:00 12/13-12/14 Winter Open Studio at Taipei Artist Village ad Add: 92, Hudi Rd. Grass Mountain Artist Village; full facilities open (beside first parking lot in to public Yangmingshan National Park) Te l : (02) 2862-2404 Check www.artistvillage.org for the latest information, Website: www.artistvillage.org particularly for any changes to event times or itineraries.

52 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 53 CREATIVE TAIPEI Taiwan OTOP Taiwan’s Vault of Local- Ingenuity Treasures

2 " TOP” is short for “One Town One Product” (一鄉鎮 O一特色), the name of a scheme whereby Taiwan’s villages and towns band together to highlight their very best and most iconic handicrafts and foods. The idea is to gain greater exposure for Taiwan local brands and to develope their brand image. The Small and Medium Enterprise Administration(SMEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs has now specially set up a dedicated Taiwan OTOP Outlet (臺灣地方特色產品館) in the iconic Taipei 101 where the best in craftsmanship and gift items from around the island will be collected and proudly displayed. This display will tell the story of this proud 3 country and her people, showing off the brilliant colors of this place and hopefully touching the hearts of visitors who have come here from faraway lands.

OTOP has its origins from the OVOP (One Village One Product) concept first proposed in Japan in 1979 by Dr. Morihiko Hiramatsu who was then serving as commissioner of that country’s Oita prefecture. With this vision in mind, the SMEA set up the Guidance Services for Local and Community Culture Industries program (地 方特色暨社區小企業輔導計畫) in 1989, and in 2007 moved to consolidate the quintessential local products of 319 identified townships under the Taiwan OTOP (臺灣 OTOP), hailing local and foreign consumers and actively proclaiming the special merits of the special products of 4 Taiwan’s many very special regions.

1. San Yi Duck Gem Box—boxes decorated with wooden birds 2. An Ta Pottery is well-known for its celadon 3. Organic Green Tea—the products of Yuanchang Tea Factory 4. the products of Sun Yi Duck Gem Box 5. the USB products of Bamboola workshop 6. the insight view of Taiwan OTOP 7. the products of Dragonfly Beads Art Studio

1 8. the products of Tsun Jen Toung studio

54 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 55 The Taiwan OTOP center in Taipei 101, opened 7 in March this year (2008), is on the fifth floor of the Taipei 101 Mall in the “Hall of Taiwan Beauty” (臺灣 之美館). Here, in a space of more than 10 ping (1 ping equals 36 sq. ft.), you can hold in your hand the ingenuity and craftsmanship that has emerged from the island’s four corners—and her offshore islands too. Feel the pride and depth of culture of 8 Taiwan’s native people’s in the lovely works of the Dragonfly Beads Art Studio (蜻蜓雅築) in southern Sandimen (三地門), the care taken in the products of Yuanchang Tea Factory (元昌茶廠) in Guanxi (關 西), in the products—no nails, only tenon ties used— of Nantou’s (南投) Bamboola workshop(大禾竹藝工 坊), and in the exquisite wooden-duck carvings and colorings of the San Yi Box-stocked Gem (三義ㄧㄚ 箱寶), which is a factory, not a product. The marvels continue with Hsinchu’s Jeng Yi Glass (正一玻璃) and its delicate glass souvenir items, with Yingge’s (鶯歌) These unique handicraft, foodstuff, and scenic- An Ta Pottery (安達窯) and its sumptuous celadon spot promotional items, which come from 25 ware presented as everyday-use items, with the Tsun cities and counties, 319 townships, are the Jen Toung (存仁堂) studio’s ceramics of distinctive embodiment of local folk traditions and knowledge pattern and coloring, and with the works of many filtered through a slow-moving process of care another ingenious, highly skilled creator. and selection of those items that are best. They capture local cultural essence and added-value originality, and show off found-nowhere-else local tastes and styles. By bringing them to the attention 5 of sophisticated shoppers in the international- vision locale of Taipei 101, it is the intent that these products take their rightful place on the big international stage, as precious and highly valued gift and souvenirs items that capture the essence 6 of this island’s culture and people. The store also provides straightforward packaging along with added-value services such as item-background info, promotional materials and consultation, merchandise ordering, and purchase advice. There’s obviously no need to say this is a terrific spot for expats and foreign tourists to do some fabulous Christmas and New Year’s shopping, but there— we’ve said it anyway!

Information

Taiwan OTOP Hours: Sun-Thur 11:00 - 21:30 / Fri, Sat, holidays and day prior to holiday 11:00 - 22:00 Add: 5F, 45, Shifu Rd. (5F, Taipei 101 Mall) Tel: (02) 8101-7693 Website: 101shop.otop.tw

Please refer to the map provided on p.62.

54 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 55 CREATIVE TAIPEI

Inspired Creator of Taipei Public Art Tsun Tsun Art Studio

rolific artist Lai Tsun Tsun (賴純純) throws herself into all sorts of creative Pendeavors—two-dimensional painting, three-dimensional sculpture, public art, and much else besides. In Taipei, on any given day, you will come across many of her public-art pieces. Head down to National Taiwan University to savor the work she created in 1997 for the Center for Condensed Matter Sciences (凝態科學研究中心) and Physics Building (物 理大樓), titles “The Power of Cohesion” (凝聚的力量). Or zip over to the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology to take in her 2005 beauty, the “Tree of Life” (生命之樹). Want more? At the National Taiwan Library you’ll be greeted by the 2006 “Wisdom.com” (智慧.com) and at the MRT Nangang Exhibition Center Station the 2008 “Fleeting Light, Flying Shadow, River in the Sky” (光隙、掠影、空中之河). With long and fruitful experience in the wonderful world of public art, Tsun Tsun approaches all her works from the position of the onlooking spectator when deciding “How shall I render this?” (如何給予). She’s found this perspective the best for bridging the gap between artist and admirer, and most powerful when conveying her message.

Over the past ten years, she has dedicated her spirit and energy to the creation of public art installation. Her works are found all over the international stage, including Japan, Hong Kong, and the US. “I love the feeling of harmonizing open spaces with large-scale public works of art,” she enthuses. “The results move far beyond the mere aesthetics of visual beauty. The greatest challenge is tactile, in finding the correct materials to use that best engender a lively language of communication and stimulate interaction with large masses of people — to deliver a bolt of invigorating energy, inspiration, and emotional comfort in that fleeting moment that people take to gaze upon this unique creation!” Tsun Tsun hopes to awaken the public to their everyday surroundings and to feel love and concern for their public home while she does her part to beautify our public spaces and living environment.

Tsun Tsun still has many a source of new inspiration — notably acrylic glass. Her first venture into this creative realm was in 1986 with the piece “Neither come Neither go” (無去無來). Her talent was immediately recognized with the Taipei Fine Arts Museum’s Exhibition of Contemporary Chinese Sculpture Competition First Prize (現代雕塑首獎). Today she is, in fact, the only artist in all Taiwan engaged in this artistic area. In her view, the space between two surfaces can “in depth” to compose strong spatial tactility, and with the visual permeability of acrylic glass having some of the same properties as glass, she can “create a three-dimensional effect with flat surfaces” (平面創造出三度空間的效果). The ultimate effect of one of her sparkling works, with different permeability depending on thickness of the acrylic glass, with layer upon layer of different-colored liquid acrylic laid down and fused, and with dedicated burnishing, is eye - dazzling, coruscating beauty as rays of light penetrate deep within and produce visual magic!

“To me,” says the artist, “the floating colors of acrylic glass are like faeries dancing in the air. The contrasting shades and hues of the light refracting burst with energy and, in fact, stimulate the viewer with bursts of energy too.” To walk into Lai Tsun Tsun’s studio, bursting with the brightness and colors of her countless creative delights, is to have your spirits burst forth in joy and take flight!

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So, now that you’ve gotten to know a little bit about the effervescent Tsun Tsun the artist, next time you’re in Taipei and find yourself standing before one of her public - art masterpieces, don’t forget to breathe in a little bit of her love of aesthetics and take away a bracing jolt of her energy, would you? She’ll appreciate that.

1. River in the Sky, a public artwork shown at Nangang Station on the MRT Neihu Line, 2008 2. Youth Melody, a public artwork shown at Nanshijiao Station on the MRT Zhonghe Line, 2008 3. Breathing : Dapinglin Station, MRT Xindian Line,ventilation shaft, two public artworks, Breathing and Flowing, constituting “Natural Scenery in the City,” incorporating the ventilation-shaft tower at Dapinglin Station on MRT Xindian Line, 2006 4. Wisdom, a public artwork shown at the National Taiwan Library in Taipei, 2006 5. The Ocean, an acrylic glass piece, 1999 (Photos courtesy of Lai Tsun Tsun)

Information

Tsun Tsun Art Studio Lai, Tsun Tsun. (Jun T. Lai) one of Taiwan's inspired creator Tel: (02) 2507-5128 Add: No. 5-1, Lane 87, Yi-Tung St., Taipei, Taiwan Website: www.junjunart.com

56 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 57 CREATIVE TAIPEI Chen Cao-qian and Cecilia Arts Mother’s Hands the First to Inspire Love of Aesthetics

raditional Chinese needlework does not only show off Tcraftsmanship virtuosity, but through the sentiment and skill brought to bear, it clearly expresses the deep struggle of woman in traditional life. In fact, speaking of “craftsmanship,” perhaps for needlework the word should be “craftswomanship.” In days of yore, the needlework skills painstakingly learned during girlhood were affectionately used to show love for family as wife and mother. Needlework was not just an expression of individual artistry, but a direct method for enhancing both quality and quantity in family life. Fine needlework toys were made to add to the joyful atmosphere at festival time and new shoes and clothing were made to bring in the Chinese New Year, warming the hearts of all members of the home and serving as clear expressions of benevolence and blessings.

The founder of Cecilia Arts (中國女紅坊), Chen Cao-qian (陳曹倩), was given a Western-style education and graduated with a Master degree in biology. But her lifelong passion has been the promotion of traditional folk arts. In July 1996, she took the leap and formally opened Cecilia Arts to pursue this quest, pouring the idea of “innovation and tradition, ancient arts and new thinking” into the Cecilia Arts brand and everything the studio does. In each creation, you will discover “the continuation of tradition, masterly creation, originality in design, and the transmission of warm sentiment” (傳統的延續、精湛的製 作、創新的設計及溫馨的傳遞). The emphasis is put on everyday-use articles that are both practical and admirably alluring, attained through tireless research and experimentation.

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1. a fabric mosaic piece, “Auspicious Door Leaves,” shown in 2004 at the National Museum of History 2. an embroidery piece, “Happy Curtains,” shown at the 2004 National Museum of History exhibit (Photos courtesy of Chen Cao-qian)

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3. from the “Happy Fortune Butterfly” series, an embroidered broach 4. works from an embroidered pouch series 5. Chen Cao-qian works from a joint exhibition at the Presidential Office Building Art Gallery entitled “A Contest of Beauty and Color” 6. Knitwork—Embroidered floral tigers with pasted fabric and paper-cuts, entitled “Double Happiness Tigers” (Photos courtesy of Chen Cao-qian)

Right now you can savor Chen Cao-qian’s innovative vibrancy in works being shown as part of Information a joint exhibit in the Art Gallery of Presidential Office Building (總統府藝廊). The show, which opened Oct. 4 and will close Dec. 31, is entitled “A Contest of Cecilia Arts Beauty and Color” (逗豔), Chen’s own creations Hours: 10:30 - 18:00 displayed under the theme “Mother’s Hands Were Tel: (02) 2771-7799 the First to Show Me Love of Aesthetics” (母親是啟蒙 Retail location: 美感的第一雙手). You’ll be bedazzled by her masterly 7F-1, 59, Sec. 4, Zhongxiao E. Rd. display of aged arts now in danger of fading away— Website: www.cecilia-arts.com embroidery, needlework, cloth puppets, and much else—but perhaps more, these works clearly convey Presidential Office Building the attentiveness and patience brought to their work Visitor Service Center and lives by the virtuous and self-sacrificing women of traditional society. The themes used in these Inquiries: (02) 2312-0760 particular works are flowers and birds in traditional Add: 122, Sec. 1, Chongqing S. Rd. Chinese style, the 12 animals of the Chinese zodiac, the golden chicken garrisons houses (金雞鎮宅), and Presidential Office Building Art a rich variety of other animal and human icons from Gallery the Chinese cultural tradition. All auspicious symbols Holidays (full facility open): presented in a rich tapestry of colors and patterns of 2008/11/2 08:00 - 16:00; no reservations invaluable originality. necessary

When in Taipei, you’d be wise to step into the Non-holidays (access restricted to world of Cecilia Arts and bring away a refined work designated areas): of art to give as a memento to someone special or Mon-Fri 09:00 -11:30 to keep as your own private treasure. This is because Reservations for tour groups, or first- each piece is a vivid portrayal of some fable or tale come first-served queuing from the vast panoply of Chinese folk tradition or of a timeless nugget of folk wisdom or convention. While you sit and admire your work of maestro Chen Cao-qian’s consummate originality, you can also sit and admire the beauty of Chinese tradition and the newfound beauty you have brought home to embellish your quality of life.

58 Discover Taipei Discover Taipei 59 PRACTICAL INFORMATION

How You Get from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Taipei

For the trip between Taipei and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, whether by inexpensive, high- quality coach, safe and fast taxi, or high-grade professional airport limo service, you’re spoiled for choice in satisfying your particular time and money needs.

ou’ll find airport-taxi service to the north of the Arrivals hall of Terminal I and to the south of the Arrivals Yhall of Terminal II. All personnel have been strictly vetted by the aviation police, ensuring your safety. The fare is the meter count plus 50%, with freeway tolls extra. It is 30-40 minutes from the terminal to Taipei, and the average fare comes in around NT$1,100.

The locations for passenger-coach bus service are to the southwest of the Arrivals hall of Terminal I (exterior vehicle pickup corridor) and to the northeast of the Arrivals hall of Terminal II (again, on the exterior vehicle pickup corridor). Tickets can be purchased at dedicated service desk in the Arrivals halls. With frequent service, this is by far the most economical tool of transport offered to you! Fares and travel times depend on chosen routes and the number of stops, of course, but in general range from NT$125 to NT$140 one-way, with the average travel time into the city at around 60 minutes.

For busy businesspeople for whom time is money and who value their time and privacy, and also for tourists who prefer to arrange transportation ahead of time, the Mocca Power airport shuttle service might be a more suitable option. Staff are highly trained, professional, providing service of the utmost quality. A single one-way journey will cost NT$800, and beyond the friendly door-to-door service you can also request other special services as well, such as arrivals-lobby pickup with sign, pet delivery, and more. A complete service package can be set up with a one-stop reservation. Drivers who speak English, Japanese, and Cantonese guarantee warm and comfortable service without communication obstacles.

Taxi Passenger Coach Bus Mocca Power Co.

Service locations: to the north of Service locations: to the southwest of the Service locations: to the Arrivals hall of Terminal I and Arrivals hall of Terminal I (exterior vehicle the southwest of the to the south of the Arrivals hall of pickup corridor) and to the northeast Arrivals hall of Terminal I Terminal II of the Arrivals hall of Terminal II (exterior (exterior vehicle pickup vehicle pickup corridor) c o r r i d o r ) a n d t o t h e One-way journey fare: meter northeast of the Arrivals count plus 50%, with freeway Coach-service companies: Taiwan Bus hall of Terminal II (exterior tolls extra; average fare to Taipei Corp., Evergreen Bus, Fe Go Express, vehicle pickup corridor) around NT$1,100. Toward You Air Bus Reservations tel: Terminal I Arrivals hall taxi-service One-way fare: NT$85~145 0926-170-090 counter tel. no.: (03) 398-2832 Journey time: 40~60 minutes depending One-way fare: NT$800, Terminal II Arrivals hall taxi-service on routes (60~90 minutes for Toward You travel time 30-40 mins counter tel. no.: (03) 398-3599 Air Bus, which has more stops) Frequency of service: Every 15~20 minutes (Toward You Air Bus 20~30 minutes)

60 Discover Taipei NON-EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS

Unit Tel. No. Taipei City Govt. Citizen Hotline 1999 English Directory Service 106 IDD Telephone Service Hotline 0800-080-100 ext.9 Time-of-Day Service 117 Weather Bureau 166 Traffic Reports 168 Tourism Bureau (MOTC) 24-Hour Toll- 0800-011-765 Free Travel Information Hotline Tourism Bureau (MOTC) Toll-Free 0800-211-734 Traveler Complaints Hotline International Community Service 0800-024-111 Hotline Tourism Bureau Information Counter, Terminal 1:(03)398-2194 Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Terminal 2:(03)398-3341 Government Information Office, (02) 3356-8888 Executive Yuan Bureau of Foreign Trade (02) 2351-0271 Taiwan External Trade Development (02) 2725-5200 Council (TAITRA) Taiwan Visitors Association (02) 2594-3261 Ministry of Foreign Affairs (02) 2348-2999 TAIWAN EMERGENCY TELEPHONE NUMBERS Ministry of Foreign Affairs Citizens (02) 2380-5678 Hotline Unit Tel. No. Additional Information Police Radio Station (02) 2388-8099 Crimes, traffic accidents, and other incidents for English Hotline for Taxi Service 0800-055-850 ext.2 Police 110 which police assistance is needed Consumer Service Center Hotline 1950

Fire, injury or accident, or Bureau of National Health Insurance 0800-030-598 ext.3 Fire 119 other urgent matters for Information Hotline which emergency relief is needed AIDS Information Hotline 0800-888-995

2 4 - h o u r e m e r g e n c y , Women and legal information, and Children psychological services Source for Above Information: 113 ext.0 Protection for victims of domestic Information For Foreigners Service / Tel: 0800-024-111 Hotline violence and/or sexual abuse/attack Tourism Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications Tel: (02)2349-1500 ※ Entries in red indicate service in English provided

LIST OF TAIPEI VISITOR INFORMATION CENTERS

Designation Tel. No. Address Taipei Main Station Visitor Information Center (02) 2312-3256 3, Beiping W. Rd., Zhongzheng District Songshan Airport Visitor Information Center (02) 2546-4741 Unit 9, 340, Dunhua N. Rd., Songshan District East Street Mall Information Center (02) 6638-0059 Underground Mall 4-2, 77, Sec.1, Daan Rd., Daan District MRT Beitou Station Visitor Information Center (02) 2894-6923 1, Guangming Rd., Beitou District MRT Jiantan Station Visitor Information Center (02) 2883-0313 65, Sec. 5, Zhongshan N. Rd., Shilin District MRT Ximen Station Visitor Information Center (02) 2375-3096 B1, 32-1, Baoqing Rd., Zhongzheng District Miramar Entertainment Park Visitor Center (02) 8501-2762 20, Jingye 3rd Rd., Zhongshan District Yangming Park Visitor Center (02) 2861-8975 26, Sec. 2, Hushan Rd., Beitou District Maokong Gondola Visitor Center (02) 8661-8135 8, Sec. 2, Xinguang Rd., Wenshan District

Discover Taipei 61 PRACTICAL INFORMATION

MAP(P8~P37/P54~55) The Xinyi Commercial District & Sishou Mountain

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