Anping Old Streets

Taiwan

　　To the right of the Anping Fort entrance (with your back to the fort), you’ll find some of the oldest streets in Taiwan. As you wander about, look for stone lion masks (劍獅, jiànshī) with swords across the mouth. They were once used to protect a house against evil, but...

Great South Gate

Taiwan

　　There used to be 14 city gates in Tainan and a city wall spreading several kilometres. This old gate is the only one of the four remaining gates that still has its defensive wall intact. The inner grounds feature several cannons and a section of the old wall that is...

Anping Fort

Taiwan

　　Behind the Mazu Temple, the fort was a stronghold of Dutch power until its 1661 capture by Koxinga after a nine-month battle. Most of it has been reconstructed, but it's still an impressive site. A small museum on the grounds highlights the history of the Dutch occupation of Taiwan. Buses...

Miaokou Night Market

Taiwan

　　One of the most famous night markets in Taiwan, Miaokou's moreish mouthfuls are the main reason to find yourself in the rainy port city of Keelung, unless you're taking the ferry to or from China. Trains from Taipei (NT$41, 45 minutes) leave every 20 minutes or so for Keelung, and...

Military Dependants' Village Museum

Taiwan

　　Four houses of a military dependants' village have been restored and turned into a quaint museum. Besides exhibits on the KMT retreat from China and the US presence in Taiwan, there are replicas of former living quarters, a bar frequented by US servicemen, a movie theatre and even a small...

Tainan Art Museum Bldg 2

Taiwan

　　Created by Japanese architect and Pritzker Prize–winner Ban Shigeru, Building 2 of the Tainan Art Museum has a dozen galleries spread over five floors. The white, eye-catching structure atop flights of steps, has a pentagon-shaped roof and stacked spaces offering different touring routes. It hosts shows by Taiwanese and overseas...

Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

Taiwan

　　Set in a large park, this wonderful museum specialises in the works of Taiwanese artists, in particular, painters, sculptors, and installation and digital artists from the south. The museum is also a world-renowned authority on research on Austronesian art. Take Bus 35 from KMRT Aozihdi station. ...

Penghu Aquarium

Taiwan

　　This large, family-friendly experience is home to an engrossing collection of living sea life, from a rescued three-legged turtle and magical family of jellyfish to three types of ray that glide above as you walk through a glass tunnel. 　　The use of corals in huge display tanks along with the...

King of Medicine Temple

Taiwan

　　A foreboding temple dedicated to the King of Medicine (sometimes erroneously translated as 'Drug Lord'), the first of its kind in Taiwan. It faces the east, towards the Water Fairy Temple in a feng-shui arrangement that is beneficial for the Five Canals area. In 2015 politician James Soong Chu-yu paid...

Chihkan Towers

Taiwan

　　This old fort is a splendid place to roam around, or to enjoy an outdoor concert on weekends. However, only the foundation is the original. Chihkan has gone through many masters – Ming, Qing and Japanese, and the Kuomintang (KMT) – since the foundations were first laid by the Dutch...

Choose Chius

Taiwan

　　This is where Taiwan's first cacao grower, Mr Chiu, and his son run their restaurant and chocolate-making facility. They're the only Taiwanese chocolate maker using 100% Taiwan-grown beans and their pesticide-free products are delectable. Some things to try: rich drinking chocolate, Japanese-style ganache (生巧克力, shēng qiǎokèlì) squares, 80% dark chocolate,...

Land Bank

Taiwan

　　The neoclassical-style Land Bank dates from 1928. Japanese architects were heavily influenced by western ideas at the time and neoclassical revival was a dominant style for public monuments in the USA and Europe. The bank was built with features of a Grecian temple, yet not without taking local practices into...

Wind God Temple

Taiwan

　　Nature-worship temples are hard to come by, which makes this one dedicated to the God of Wind unique. The small structure was originally part of an official reception area for newly arrived Qing court officials to Tainan, the only remnant of which is this temple and the Official Reception Stone...

Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines

Taiwan

　　There are currently 16 recognised indigenous tribes in Taiwan, and the exhibits at this private museum cover the belief systems, festivals, geographic divisions, agriculture and art of them all. Fine examples of tribal handicrafts can be seen on each level, and videos relate the tribes' histories and other aspects of...

Hayashi Department Store

Taiwan

　　This art deco department store from the 1930s has been so beautifully restored that it's worth going in just to ascend the sweeping staircase, peer through the geometrical window openings, and have a ride on the grandma lift with the dial floor indicator. There's even a viewing deck on the...

Tainan Art Museum

Taiwan

　　Both buildings of the Tainan Art Museum are now open – this one (Building 1), the former Tainan City Police Station raised in the Japanese era; and the sleek Ban Shigeru–designed Building 2. At the time of research, Building 1 of the museum was hosting the exhibition 'The Glory of...

Cihou Fort

Taiwan

　　A handsome modern fort with Qing dynasty foundations that used to guard the northern entrance to Kaohsiung Harbour. From the top of the barracks and the emplacements, you can see the harbour on one side and the cityscape on the other. It's a hugely photogenic place at sunset. The fort...

Former Japanese Navy Fongshan Radio Station

Taiwan

　　This mysterious national relic in Fengshan was a Japanese naval radio station that later became an interrogation facility under the Republic of China, then a disciplinary camp during the White Terror. The grassy complex full of mango trees has nine sites of interest, including a cross-shaped communication facility with steel...

Jibei Sand Tail

Taiwan

　　Those desert island paradise photos you probably saw on Penghu's promotion brochures and websites were most likely taken at Jibei Sand Tail, a dazzling spit of sand and shells lapped by shallow turquoise waters. Amazingly, outside peak season you can often have it entirely to yourself, just like the pictures...

Fu Wan Chocolate

Taiwan

　　Cacao orchard, boutique, and hotel in one, Fu Wan makes fabulous, (mostly) tree-to-bar chocolate that's bagged multiple laurels at the International Chocolate Awards. You can buy bars, ice cream and drinks at their lovely boutique. Flavoured chocolate includes Thai curry shrimp in white chocolate and 70% dark with lychee. You...

Story House of Naval Base Zuoying

Taiwan

　　In a compound next to Taiwan's largest naval base, this small museum pays tribute to Zuoying's strong military heritage. By means of relics, photos, warship models and replicas of old living quarters, a narrative is presented of the development of the navy and the navy veterans' village, from the 17th...

Beitou Hot Spring Museum

Taiwan

　　Built in 1913 as the Beitou Public Baths, this handsome building is a copy of the bathhouses in Shizuokaken Idouyama in Japan. It is also a good example of the turn-of-the century fascination among Japanese architects for blending eastern and western architecture and aesthetics. 　　The exterior, with its high roof...

Guomao Community

Taiwan

　　Dramatic residential blocks with curved facades encircle a diaspora community in the Guomao area. The dozen-or-so 12-storey buildings were constructed for the mainland Chinese soldiers of the ROC navy and their families when an old military dependants' village had to be torn down. A self-sufficient community frozen in time, you'll...

Official God of War Temple

Taiwan

　　This is the oldest and most impressive temple in Taiwan dedicated to Guandi (Guan Gong), a Han-dynasty general deified as the God of War. He is the patron of warriors and those who live by a code of honour. Unlike most temple plaques, which remind believers to pay tribute to...

Water Fairy Temple

Taiwan

　　Hidden inside a market named after itself, Shuixian Temple (literally 'Water Fairy Temple') is a far cry from the days when it was not only a place of worship, but the guild hall and control room of the Five Canals area. Enshrined here is Yu the Great (大禹), a king...

Taroko Gorge

Taiwan

　　This 18km marble-walled gorge is Taroko National Park's crown jewel. It's a must-see attraction whether you're hiking its trails, peering at its geological features or simply driving along the road that runs right through the middle (albeit much of the way in tunnels), wondering just how high are those mountains...

Zhang Men

Taiwan

　　Besides the very tasty and varied craft brews on tap, what makes this place extra special is the outdoor rooftop seating with royal views of Taipei 101 and the city skyline. It's a prime location if the weather is good; otherwise the indoor space is cramped, with a weird sports-bar...

Nanyao Temple

Taiwan

　　Located 2km south of Changhua Train Station, this remarkable temple is one of the stops on the Mazu Pilgrimage. The distinctive character of the complex lies in the hall in the middle: check out the Doric columns, baroque-style decor and Japanese shrines that adorn the space. The sanctum, a 1920s...

Liyushan Park

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　For sweeping views across Taitung to the ocean and, on clear days Green Island, climb to the viewing platform in this steep, wooded park. It's just ten minutes' walk from the bus station. The park has other walks and an eight-storey concrete pagoda that looks much more authentic at night....

Tianhou Temple

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　Set on a big courtyard of ornate gateways lit with massed clusters of lanterns, this is Taitung's largest temple. It's a beautifully proportioned, intensely colourful landmark, dedicated to Mazu, the goddess of the sea. 　　In the evening, you might see groups of people practicing swordplay in the main courtyard. It's...

Beinan Site Park

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　If you've got an hour to wait for a train, a fine way to spend it is strolling through this landscaped park. It features a significant Neolithic site, but is more visually interesting for the reconstructed straw and bamboo prehistoric houses designed on the evidence of the archaeological findings. 　　An...

Xiaoyeliu

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　The seafront rocks within this coastal park are geological curiosities, many forming cuesta structures: angled geological sandwiches with alternating soft and hard layers where differential erosion creates a range of picturesque shapes, often evoking culinary names, notably mushrooms and tofu. 　　The park has several view-platforms, an area of attractive banyan...

Seashore Park

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　A pleasant place to smell the sea air, this park's signature feature is known immodestly as the Taitung International Landmark (台東國際地標; Táidōng Guójì Dìbiāo). That's a snaking arc of artistically pointless pedestrian ramp with rattan-weave shading that puts on a ten-minute light show at night and a central pavilion that...

Taimali

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　If you've got your own wheels, Taimali offers a pleasantly low-key alternative to Taitung as a travel base with long beaches, flower-patched mountains, coffee plantations and sweeping viewpoints looking north across the crashing surf to distant silhouettes of the Coastal Range Mountains. 　　The seemingly endless curl of Taimali Beach is...

National Museum of Prehistory

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　This hi-tech and engaging if occasionally disorientating museum charts Taiwan’s geological birth and human prehistory as well as introducing the island's indigenous Austronesian peoples. 　　There's a cafe serving indigenous food (closed Tuesdays) and the vast building is set in attractively manicured parkland. It's 8km west of central Taitung. The only...

Taitung Railway Art Village

Eastern Taiwan & Taroko National Park

　　A spur line once brought trains to the centre of Taitung. That line was decommissioned in 2001 and has since been turned into an excellent cycle path. The old station building now hosts an information centre, exhibition room, bus station and graphic design gallery. The area all around has been...

Zhongxin Market

Taichung

　　There are only a few outlets left in this once-busy market – meat and vegetable operators are around from 4am to 10am; food stalls in the periphery open for breakfast and lunch. Some older people still live in the tiny shops; while a gallery, a bookstore and a cafe have...

Audit Village

Taichung

　　An attractive example of the old building-turned-artsy-marketplace formula, the handful of old civil-servant dormitories known as Audit Village are now the site of a browse-worthy handicraft market, with some cafes and pastry shops. Some of the ltter were particularly impressive (think delectable custard tarts, light-as-air souffle pancakes, and crumbly Chinese...

Taichung Park

Taichung

　　A historical landmark, this beautiful 20-hectare park was designed by the Japanese in the early 1900s. The elegant Japanese pavilion was a later addition – purpose-built for a visit by the Japanese prince to witness the launch of the Taiwan Railway. All around the lake, stately banyans offer shade to...

Qianyue Building

Taichung

　　Highly Instagrammable semiderelict building with large areas covered by awesome graffiti. In the abandoned spaces of this former shopping mall, you may be able to make out a banquet restaurant, tuition school and residential flats (some occupied by artists). Ascend to the roof where there's a cylindrical structure that used...

Pi-Lu Monastery

Taichung

　　Built by a devout Taichung family in the 1920s, Pi-Lu Buddhist Monastery looks more like a mansion than a monastery, with its red-bricked facade, Doric columns and portal entrances. Framed by pines in the garden out front, the monastery stands graceful and reverent, though not without a hint of quirkiness,...

National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

Taichung

　　Taiwan's top fine-art museum features the works of both established and upcoming Taiwanese artists, as well as famous foreign creators such as Japanese 'Polka Dot Lady' Yayoi Kusama. There's a hands-on play area and storybook centre on the lower floors to keep children entertained. ...

Gaomei Wetlands

Taichung

　　Beautiful wetlands teeming with life rendered surreal by the sight of wind turbines on the horizon. It is especially photogenic at sunset and makes for a nice day out for the family. Take a local train to Qingshui (清水), then board bus 178 (NT$20, 30 minutes). There are only five...

National Museum of Natural Science

Taichung

　　A fantastic place for kids and botany fans, this massive museum has over 50 exhibit areas covering space, the environment, rainforests, gems and minerals, dinosaurs, and Han and Austronesian cultures. Galleries have fun, interactive displays; there are also theatres and a huge botanical garden. Some zones impose separate admission charges...

Hualien Railway Culture Park

Hualien

　　Worth a five-minute look, this area's main sight is a 1932 wooden courtyard building containing a fairly basic history of the East Coast Railway since 1908 (mostly in Chinese). Across the road is a beautiful banyan tree, a cafe, more wooden buildings and an old locomotive that lets off steam...