Mega City

The Wulai District of New Taipei City is famed for a wealth of hot springs and cherry blossoms. The Atayal (the third largest indigenous tribe in Taiwan) also form a big presence in Wulai, which is part of their traditional territory. As a result, Wulai Old Street boasts plenty of aboriginal art stores with some amazing and unique pieces for sale. Visitors can also sample traditional delicacies sold by the local population, including millet wine, hot spring eggs, sausages and many more. Restaurants dishing out aboriginal fares are also in abundance. Wulai Atayal Museum by the entrance of the old street is very worth a visit if you are interested in a bit of local culture. At the very end of the street, it is where you board the trolley train that takes you to a beautiful waterfall.

Never leave Wulai without trying the flavorful sausages, especially the ones served at Yage. The special condiment made from soy sauce, chili peppers and minced garlic will tickle your taste buds and bring your experience to a whole new level. Another highly raved spot is Kaojia, serving ice-cold eggs that are slow cooked in the water of hot springs. If you are a bread lover, those steamed buns with different fillings, from a mixture of scallions and meat to braised pork with preserved vegetable in soy sauce, will be a delight for sure.

The 260-meter-long Sanxia Old Street is the longest and most well-preserved old street in northern Taiwan. This once-bustling commercial street is now home to myriads of ancient shophouses that were built during the Japanese Colonial Era and still retains a nostalgic ambience. Fully demonstrating the skillful craftsmanship back then, the quaint architecture on Sanxia Old Street is left with a lingering Western influence as a result from the Meiji Restoration. A wealth of Baroque red-brick buildings with an embellished facade is a perfect combination of tradition and innovation in the most elegant way possible.

Today, Sanxia Old Street is dominated by a significant number of traditional businesses such as teahouses, handicraft stores and indigo dye shops, allowing visitors to dive into the local culture and take the time to appreciate the heritage. Die-hard foodies will have a blast trying many different delicacies, including, sushi, pig blood cake, croissants, just to name a few. The croissants here are more like buttery rolls in the shape of a bull horn than the French version, and they are stuffed with a diverse variety of fillings to please all tastes. If you are looking for a lively cultural experience in Taipei, then welcome to Sanxia Old Street.

With a height of 80 meters and a width of 10 meters, Wulai Waterfall is the highest waterfall in Northern Taiwan. Even during dry seasons, the water pouring over the waterfall is still deafeningly loud and makes the air misty, hence its local names — Waterfall Amidst Clouds.

Pubu Road is no doubt the best spot to view the waterfall, but you can also take the cable car over the waterfall to have a panoramic view of the stunning waterfall. If visiting in spring, you will be amazed by the blooming cherry blossom, and a gust of wind will bring a blizzard of white, pink and pale yellow petals to earth.

As the third largest aboriginal tribe in Taiwan, the Atayal form a big presence in Wulai, which is part of their traditional territory. You can find many small shops and stalls selling everything from indigenous handicrafts to local delicacies. If you’re into exploring the culture, then the nearby Wulai Atayal Museum is for sure the place for you. Together with Beitou and Yangmingshan, Wulai is one of the three premier hot spring resorts in Northern Taiwan. Traveling can be exhausting sometimes, so why not melt away any residual road trip muscle gridlock by immediately submerging yourself in a hot spring soak at one of the commercial spas open to the public in Wulai?

Besides the nostalgic old street, the incense-choked Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple is another main draw of the historic town of Sanxia. Originally known as Changfuyang (長福巖), the temple has always been the local center of religion, society and economy ever since its establishment in 1769. However, it had to undergo many renovations over time due to the destruction caused by earthquakes and wars in the 19th century. After Taiwan’s restoration, a local artist named Li Mei-Shu voluntarily took the renovation work and urged that Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple should boast elements of Chinese history, culture and folk art. He then led a group of students from a college of art and started this long-term construction. The artist passed away in 1983 but has pretty much dedicated his life to this project. The renovation is still going on though. Perfectly combined with religion and art, Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple is a living museum of traditional architecture that dazzles your eyes with its exquisite carving and complex structure form.

When people first migrated to Taiwan from Anxi County in China, their local religion was brought along as well. Most of these people made a living from tea and believed the rain deity Qingshui Zushi to be the guardian of tea. Therefore, a grand temple dedicated to Qingshui Zushi was put up and known as Sanxia Qingshui Zushi Temple. Another highlight worth mentioning is the annual "Pig of God" contest that takes place on the sixth day of the lunar calendar. This cultural and religious ritual involves animal sacrifice and growing a pig to a size of extremely large proportions in order to offer it to Qingshui Zushi. Though over the past few years, the ceremony has become a controversial one with animal rights activists arguing that this sort of practice should not continue while others argue that it is a traditional aspect of local culture and should be preserved.

Wulai is a low altitude valley region in New Taipei City, noted for its ecological diversity and natural scenic beauty. Just a few minutes’ drive from Wulai Old Street, an evergreen broadleaf forest awaits you to enjoy and explore at your leisure, and that is Neidong National Forest Recreation Area.

There is a surprise around every corner within this forest, where a wealth of flora and fauna can be found. Butterflies and beetles will greet you from all directions, and like a natural botanic garden, the lush forest is full of moss, lichen and greenery. If you are lucky enough, you might spot wild monkeys walking between the canopies and swinging through the jungle. But there is one thing for sure: wherever you go, the churning birds and buzzing insects will accompany you throughout the journey.

Neidong Waterfall, also known as Xinxian (信賢) or Wawa Valley (娃娃谷), is definitely the big draw here. Named one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Taiwan, this three-tier waterfall generates the most negative ions of all the forests in Taiwan, which contribute to your wellbeing and help alleviate your body.

The Yingge District of New Taipei City is known as the ceramic capital of Taiwan, where the rocks contain substantial amounts of limestone, and limestone makes an excellent ceramic material. This small town has a long history of ceramics that goes back more than 200 years ago. It is even named “the little Jingdezhen (景德鎮)” in Taiwan.

Yingge is also home to the very first museum dedicated to ceramics in Taiwan. Established in 2000, Yingge Ceramics Museum explores some 200 years of ceramic techniques and folk culture. Meanwhile, it also describes itself as an educational institution, whose main objective is to engage visitors in learning experiences to enhance their curiosity and interest in ceramic art.

For those who are ready to have a more in-depth experience at Yingge Ceramics Museum, the regularly scheduled public tours will serve you best. With its greyish white architecture and fair-faced concrete surface, Yingge Ceramics Museum is not only a historic and cultural emblem, but also a place of lasting peace of mind dominated by a touch of zen.