One day trip to TAIPEI CITY

Breakfast: Yonghe Doujiang > Longshan temple > Ximending> shilin night market
[go to the food court]

Take MRT to Longshan MRT

take the MRT to Ximending (Ximen station exit 6),
Jiantan MRT station for a visit to the nearby Shilin Night Market

Start your day early by eating a traditional northern Chinese breakfast. On your way out
of the hotel, ask the concierge for suggestions. Yonghe Doujiang (永和豆漿) is a
popular 24-hour outlet located throughout the city. Fuhang Doujiang (阜杭豆漿
, Shandao Temple station exit 5) is a popular eatery, though the long line on weekends is
not worth the wait. Although doujiang (soybean milk), shaobing (sesame
flatbread), youtiao (long Chinese donut), and other northern snacks do not originate from
Taiwan, these mainland transplants were popularized in the Taipei suburb of Yonghe in
the 1950s by refugees of the Chinese civil war who arrived in Taiwan in the late 1940s.
The descendants of the 2 million refugees who arrived from Mainland China around 1949
comprise only 13% of Taiwan's population, but over a third of the population of Taipei
where they dominated the government until the early 1990s.
After breakfast take a taxi or the MRT to Longshan Temple (Longshan Temple station
exit 1), built in 1738 in traditional Fujianese style. You are now in the heart of what was
once the Qing dynasty settlement of Bangka. In contrast to the hipper and glitzier districts
further east, the working class residents of Taipei's oldest neighborhood regularly speak
Taiwanese instead of Mandarin. The temple opens at 6am. Go inside the temple and
watch the locals pray for fortune and good health. Spend about 30 minutes to absorb the
atmosphere and architecture. If you're feeling particularly religious, the incense is
complimentary.
Next, take a taxi or the MRT to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (Chiang Kai-shek
Memorial Hall station exit 5), which overlooks a central square flanked by the National
Concert Hall and the National Theatre. If you arrive early enough, you will see elderly
people practicing taichi amid the picturesque stone paths and koi ponds. The Memorial
Hall opens at 9am; expect to spend an hour there. Climb the stone steps to see the
bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek, flanked by two motionless guards. A changing of the
guard ceremony occurs every hour (but if you plan to visit the Martyrs Shrine in the
afternoon, feel free to skip the show for later). Descend the elevators to the ground level
to view the exhibits on Chiang's life, complete with his sedans and uniforms.
Ready for lunch? Exit through Memorial Hall's northern doors at the ground level and
through dazhongmen onto Xinyi Road, and take a taxi or either the 20, 22, or Xinyi New
Line buses for a short ride along Xinyi Road over to Yongkang Street, famed for its
collection of local eateries. If you're in a group of two or more, try the original Din Tai
Fung (鼎泰豊) restaurant near the corner of Yongkang and Xinyi Street, serving the best
xiaolongbao (小籠包, steamed pork dumplings) the world has to offer (arrive around
opening at 10am to avoid the wait). Or visit Gao Ji (高記) just around the corner for the
same but without the crowds. Tu Hsiao Yueh (度小月) serves Tainan-style danzai
noodles. On a side street off Yongkang (Jinshan S. Road Lane 31) is Yong Kang Beef
Noodle (永康牛肉麵), serving another mainland Chinese transplant that has become a
staple of Taiwanese cuisine and perhaps the best option if you are alone. Remember to
head to Yong Kang 15 for some shaved ice for dessert.

Afternoon[edit]
From Yongkang Street, re-board the the 20, 22, or Xinyi New Line buses or take a taxi
further east along Xinyi Road to Daan MRT station. Take the MRT to Dazhi station and
transfer to a taxi or the 208 or 267 buses for a visit to the National Martyrs Shrine, built
in classical Ming architecture to hold the memorial tablets of the 330,000 war dead of the
Republic of China. A changing of the guard ceremony involving two sets of sentries
occurs every hour when the memorial is open from 9am to 5pm. Stay to watch this before
heading to your next destination.
Alternatively, if you're no fan of modern Chinese history and military ceremony, head
over to Taipei 101, the eighth tallest skyscraper in the world. From Yongkang Street,
take a taxi or the Xinyi New Line or 20 bus along Xinyi Road. The building houses an
upscale shopping mall in the first four floors and a food court in the basement. To visit the
89th and 91st floor observatories, head to the fourth floor of the mall to board the world's
second fastest elevators (cost: NT$450 for adults, NT$400 for kids under 12). Expect a
line at the bottom and provide yourself with about an hour at the top. After you're done,
walk north from Taipei 101 to the Taipei City Hall station and take the MRT to Dazhi
station. From Dazhi station transfer to a taxi or the brown 13 bus to the National Palace
Museum. Given the tourist crowds at Taipei 101, this option is ideal only if you are ready
to head there by noon, or if you're visiting on a Saturday when the National Palace
Museum closes two hours later, or if you are prepared to skip the National Palace
Museum entirely.
From the Martyrs Shrine, take a taxi to the National Palace Museum, which houses the
most complete collection of Chinese art and artifacts in the world. The bulk of the
museum's holdings were once housed in the Forbidden City in Beijing as the most-prized
possessions of the Chinese emperor. During the final weeks of the Chinese civil war,
these items were shipped to Taiwan under the orders of Chiang Kai-shek to keep them
out of Communist hands. The collection is so expansive that only 1% is exhibited at any
given time. In the Main Building (cost: NT$160, or NT$80 with student ID), start from the
3rd Floor and work your way down, visiting the permanent exhibitions before visiting the
special exhibits on the 1st Floor. Try to arrive by 3:30pm, so you will have a good 3 hours
before the museum closes at 6:30pm. The museum opens until 9pm on Fridays and
Saturdays, when admission is free after 6:30pm to Taiwanese citizens.

Evening[edit]
No visit to Taiwan is complete without a visit to a night market. From the Palace Museum,
take the 304 or S19 bus to Jiantan MRT station for a visit to the nearby Shilin Night
Market for a dinner of traditional Taiwanese snacks. The market has an indoor food
court, as well as numerous food carts in the streets between the Jiantan MRT station and
the Shilin Temple. Try some oyster omelets (蚵仔煎), ba-wan (肉圓, round pork
dumplings), fried chicken steak (炸雞排), fried buns (生煎包), meat soup (肉羹), oyster
vermicelli (蚵仔麵線), pearl milk tea (珍珠奶茶), or if you're adventurous, stinky tofu (臭豆
腐). Remember not to get too much of the same thing so you can try different foods from
different stalls. If you can't read the menu, just point to what others are eating. After
dinner, head to the streets of the night market to shop for clothes and other goodies.
If you still have some energy left, take the MRT to Ximending (Ximen station exit 6), the
heart of Taipei's Japanese-influenced youth subculture. People-watch the pedestrianized
streets, which are particularly lively once high school students are let out in the evening
but die down at around 10pm.