Taipei YouBike RIDE w/ OLD TEMPLES, KEELUNG RIVER, SONGSHAN
Went on a little bike ride from MRT Yuanshan Station to Songshan Railway Station, on the way visiting Confucius Temple, Bao'an Temple, Taipei Expo Park, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei Story House, Xinsheng Park Area, Lin An-tai Historical House and Museum, Dajia Riverside Park, Keelung River, Rainbow Bridge, Songshan Ciyou Temple, and Raohe Street Night Market.
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From Travel in Taiwan (2016, 11/12)
(Text: Nick Kembel)
Yuanshan Park Area
East of MRT Yuanshan Station lies the Taipei Expo Park, which served as venue for the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition. Many of the flower gardens and buildings created for the expo remain, and can still be enjoyed.
There you can also visit Maji Square, which in recent times has become one of Taipei’s hippest hangouts. The airy covered square includes an upscale grocery, a bagel shop, an “international food street”, featuring French, Mexican, Indian, Korean, Japanese, Thai and, of course, Taiwanese snack foods, a merry-go-round, the Triangle nightclub, a craft beer shop, a creative market, and restaurant-pubs.
Fine Arts Park Area
Continuing beyond Maji Square, you’ll pass the Pavilion of New Fashion, an imposing structure constructed of bamboo and PET bottles. Crossing Zhongshan North Road will then take you into the Fine Arts Park Area. Head left to visit the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, one of the city’s best museums. Beside its entrance area you’ll also find the Taipei Story House, a restored British Tudor-style mansion in which various exhibits are staged.
To complete your tour of Taipei Expo Park, cycle through the fairytale-like Floral Tunnel and over the eco-friendly Solar Bridge, then cross Xinsheng North Road to reach the third section, the Xinsheng Park Area. Here you’ll encounter wide-open spaces, more flower displays, a botanical garden, and the Pavilion of Dreams, home to a café that is a fine spot to stop for a drink.
Lin An Tai Historical House & Museum
North of the Pavilion of Dreams, cross Binjiang Street to reach the Lin An Tai Historical House & Museum, a gorgeously restored traditional south Fujian courtyard-style residence. If the complex seems oddly situated, that’s because decades ago it was saved from destruction in its original location on Siwei Road, and rebuilt here.
Dajia Riverside Park
Next, follow Lane 5 beside the complex to reach the Lin An Tai Evacuation Gate (No. 10 Water Gate), through which you can access Dajia Riverside Park. This lovely green expanse on the southern bank of the Keelung River between Zhongshan and Dazhi bridges is renowned as the venue for the annual Spring Wave Music and Art Festival and Taipei’s Dragon Boat Festival races. If lucky, you’ll get to see dragon-boat paddlers practicing near Dazhi Bridge.
This park also features a 75-meter-high water fountain which, when running, is a sight to behold, with the iconic Grand Hotel in the background across the river.
Rainbow Bridge
The path is flat for most of this journey, so you’ll barely break into a sweat before reaching the Rainbow Bridge. Pedestrian-only Rainbow Bridge is not in fact rainbow-colored; it is red, featuring a steel arch that is likened to the shape of a dragon leaping the river. This is a pretty spot to watch the sunset, and couples might have trouble resisting the temptation to take a romantic selfie beside the large steel sculpture of the word “LOVE” by the riverside path, with the illuminated bridge in the background.
Songshan Ciyou Temple
Before entering the 600-meter-long street in which the market is set up in the evening, you’ll want to first pop into Songshan Ciyou Temple, Taipei’s most renowned temple devoted to Mazu, Goddess of the Sea. The premises feature over a hundred deity statues, spread over six floors, with the ones at the top being the most impressive. The temple was recently restored, with a colorful new frieze added to the sides and back of the main Mazu shrine on the first floor.
Raohe Street Tourist Night Market
This night market is one of Taipei’s most famous, and many visitors say that it feels more authentic and less touristy than some of the bigger ones. The market’s most famous stall, evidenced by the long lineup even before the rest of the market really gets going, is Fuzhou Shizu Black Pepper Buns, right at the east-end entrance near the temple. At the center, another popular choice is Chen Dong Ribs Stewed in Medicinal Herbs.
Bao’an Temple 保安宮
Dajia Riverside Park 大佳河濱公園
Keelung River 基隆河
Lin An Tai Historical House & Museum 林安泰古厝
Rainbow Bridge 彩虹橋
Raohe Street Tourist Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市
Songshan Ciyou Temple 松山慈祐宮
Taipei Confucius Temple 台北孔廟
Taipei Expo Park 花博公園