Taipei sightseeing Archives

In Taipei

The Gold in Pumpkin Mountain

Many tourists go to Taipei will visit the popular Jiufeng where a famous movie was filmed a long time ago. Tourists like to visit Jiufeng for unique scenery of concentration of small houses built on the hill with small alleys and stairs connecting each other. And it’s a place for the gold-digging dream back in the glorious gold mining period. Not that many people know that Jinguashi was a even bigger mining site that left abandoned. Jinguashi literally means “golden gourd rock” in Chinese. Local people named the area according to the pumpkin shape of the gold mines. Taiwanese call pumpkin “Jingua”. Now, you may complete the picture of the good old days of gold mining industry in Taiwan by visiting the Gold Museum in Ruifang district. Opened in November 2004, the Gold Museum is designed to be a Eco-Museum, retaining the historic and cultural assets, encouraging participation of the community, and showcase the history of precious metal mining industry. The Gold Museum is not a confined space with walls and gates. It covers a large area on the hill side where the gold mining industry took…

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In Taipei

Nanya Peculiar Rocks

If you go to Yilan or head east of Taiwan, driving along the northeast coastline is the best option when the weather is good. You will see the Pacific Ocean on the left hand side. The coastline is beautiful with lots of stopping points where you can hop off to take a short walk, take pictures and enjoy the scenery. Nanya Peculiar Rocks are one of the scenic spots of the northeast coastline. The rock formation and sandstones are unique in its eroded form and texture. The combination of iron rich mineral and the force of water current erosion created a nice shade of orange color band and the the wavy lines to the rocks. There are only a few parking space by the view point. In case you park across the road, please use the traffic light.

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In Taipei Sightseeing

Military Families Community Park in Taipei

In recent years, some old buildings with historic values are nicely retained and turned into cultural and educational areas. I think it’s a good idea if the implementation is right. Personally, I think Taiwan has done a good job. Si Si Nan Cun in Xinyi District is another good example. In Chinese, the name means “Forty-four South Village”. It was built as the military families quarter for the Joint Services Command’s 44th Arsenal during the end of civil war between the Kuomintang and Communist Party in 1948. Hence the name “Si Si”. In addition to the south village, there were east and west villages but they were all demolished. It is now a little nice area near Taipei 101 where you can take a little walk, learn some history, and enjoy a light meal and coffee. A little place like this would need a cool restaurant in the neighborhood to encourage people to stay and hang out. That’s Good Cho’s! It’s variety of bagels, jams and fusion light meal is another attraction of this place. A good package. Then you can…

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