Taipei, Taiwan

Date: February 7, 2019 – February 10, 2019
Location: Taipei, Taiwan

February 7, 2019 was spent traveling from Shanghai, China to Taipei, Taiwan.

February 8, 2019

It was cloudy with occasional rain but we decided that we would still go and take the Maokong Gondola to Maokong.

The line to get on the gondola was long. It moved faster than we were expecting and we were able to get on in about an hour.

While we were waiting in line just outside the building, at the top of the hour we were able to see the animals on the clock move and short song played.

The Maokong Gondola is 4.3 km long and has 4 stations where you can get on and off. The trip from the lowest station to the top takes about 30 minutes.

Some of the cabins have a clear floor and are called crystal cabins. We didn’t take one going up as it was an extra 40-minute wait, but we waited an extra 10 minutes to get one going down.

At the top of Maokong there were a lot of people.

We walked to an area where there were a bunch of tea houses and restaurants.

We had lunch and tea.

We then walked to the Tian En Temple.

After taking the Maokong Gondola back down we took an Uber to Taipei 101. Taipei 101 opened in 2004 and at the time was the tallest building in the world at 508 meters, 1,667 feet. Taipei 101 remained the tallest building in the world until 2010 when Burj Khalifa opened in Dubai at 828 meters, 2,717 feet. Today Burj Khalifa remains the tallest building in the world but Taipei 101 is still the 10th tallest building in the world.

The elevator set a new record for being the fastest elevator when it was opened. It can take passengers from the 5th to the 89th floor in 37 seconds, reaching a speed of 37.7 mph. When Brian and I took the elevator up we could see the screen showing the elevator going up but the elevator accelerated and decelerated gradually so it was a very smooth ride and didn’t feel like we were moving.

On the 89th floor is the indoor observation deck. In addition to the windows to see over the city, there are many informative displays that show short movies about the construction, records the building held, symbolism of the design and clips from past firework displays.

This is the Tao Zhu Yin Yuan residential tower that opened at the end of 2018. The building will have 23,000 trees and shrubs planted on the roof and balconies to absorb carbon dioxide emissions.

On floor 91 of Taipei 101 is the outside observation deck. It was windy when we were there so you could not walk all the way around the building.

On the 88th floor you can see the tuned mass damper. It is made of 41 circular steel plates each 125 mm, 4.92 inches, thick to form an 18-foot diameter sphere weighing 660 tonnes (1.5 million pounds). The device counters the effects of wind and seismic activity on the skyscraper. Without it, the top floors of the building would sway back and forth in a strong wind by several feet.

Going to the observation area of Taipei 101 was really interesting and we recommend it for anyone in the area.

February 9, 2019

This is the outside corner of Liberty Square. A large public plaza is inside the wall.

This is Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall that we approached from the side.

At the top of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, stairs look out towards the main entrance to Liberty Square. On the right is the National Concert Hall and on the left is the National Theater.

In the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a large statue of Chiang Kai-shek with a guard standing on each side.

At the top of the hour there is a changing of the guard ceremony that takes about 15 minutes.

There was a very interesting part of the changing of the guard when all of them spun their rifles with one hand.

This is the main entrance to Liberty Square.

From the main entrance to Liberty Square looking in with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in the center, National Concert Hall on the left and the National Theater on the right.

We walked through a small park.

In the park we saw a Grey Heron.

We walked along Dihua Street. The street was built in the 1850s and has been the major trading center for Chinese herbs, dried fruits, teas and nuts.

This is the Baoan Temple.

The temple was built in 1804 but was renovated in 1995. The roof was very colorful and has a lot of detail.

Across the street is the Baoan Temple Garden. There was a display for the Lunar New Year.

At the back of the garden is a small pond with a dragon in it.

The garden also has some short paths with figures set up.

On our way back to our Airbnb we saw what looked to be a fair.

We checked it out and there were a bunch of stalls set up selling local products. The area is open everyday but there are more stalls on the weekends.

After the stalls, where some of them were selling food, there was a food court set up. It was all near the Expo Dome. We went back the next day before going to the airport for lunch.

I was surprised by how much I liked Taipei. I would spend more time there as there are some hikes in the area that we didn’t do because it was rainy and cloudy.  The city is large so taking the subway is essential as even one stop can be almost a mile away.