[Taiwan] Jiufen, Shifen, and Yehliu Geopark

On our third day in Taiwan, we took a Klook tour of a few places outside of Taipei: Jiufen, Shifen (which included a wonderful Sky Lantern experience), and Yehliu Geopark.

A-Mei Teahouse in Jiufen

As I was planning for our trip, my friends told me that Jiufen and Shifen are quite close to each other so I can do them both on the same day. They also told me that it is advisable to take a tour of both because trying to take public transportation from Taipei to Jiufen and back would be difficult, moreso if we want to go to Shifen as well. Thankfully, I found a tour on Klook that included not only Jiufen and Shifen but also Yehliu Geopark, another place I really wanted to visit.

Yehliu Geopark

We started our day in Shifen. Actually, the initial plan was for us to visit Shifen in the afternoon but our tour guide told us that there were many tours scheduled that day and many visitors were expected to do the Sky Lantern experience in the afternoon. To avoid the crowds, we shifted our schedule. We had two main stops in Shifen: the Shifen Waterfall and the Sky Lantern Experience. We went to the waterfall first.

Shifen Waterfall

Our guide told us that Shifen Waterfall is the largest one in Taiwan by width and volume of water. It is touted as the Little Niagara of Taiwan. My family and I spent a few minutes admiring the beauty of this natural wonder and taking photos.

Photo op at Shifen Waterfall

Before we got off the bus to see it, our tour guide told us that we might also want to take a quick look at a small waterfall underneath the bridge that we have to cross to see Shifen Waterfall. This small waterfall is nicknamed the Spectacles Waterfall because of how it looks like: it flows between two caves that kinda look like eyes or eyeglasses because of how  close they are to each other. I made sure that my family and I got to see and appreciate it before heading back to the bus.

Spectacles Waterfall in Shifen

Our next step was Shifen Old Street where we would have our Sky Lantern Experience. The tour I booked doesn't include the Sky Lantern experience so I had to get our passes separately (also through Klook, check out this link). That said, our tour guide informed everyone that those who didn't have tickets could still get them through her (so anyone who takes the main Klook tour I took but forgets to book the Sky Lantern Experience separately can still enjoy it by coordinating and paying tickets through the tour guide).

Railway at Shifen Old Street

Up to four people can fly one lantern. The sky lanterns have four sides, all with different colors. Each color signified something different and we could choose which color combination we wanted. For our lantern, I picked red for health and peace, pink for bliss and joy, blue for career and promotion, and yellow for money and wealth.  When we arrived, our lantern with the colors we chose was already prepared. We then started writing our wishes on it. We then went out onto the railway where we were assisted in lighting up our lantern and setting it to flight. It was a spiritual and moving experience to declare your wishes in this way and send it to the heavens. Hopefully our wishes come true.

Our sky lantern!

I also have to commend the people at the Sky Lantern Experience, they took great photos and videos of us with our sky lantern. The woman giving us directions and taking our photos asked us where we were from and when she learned we were Filipino, she said a few Filipino words such as "hawak" (hold) and "bitaw" (let go). Cool!

Releasing our sky lantern

Before leaving Shifen Old Street, we went to Stall #69 to enjoy some peanut ice cream.

Peanut ice cream from Stall #69

We also pre-ordered rice-stuffed chicken wings while on the bus, and our tour guide brought them to us at Stall #69. She said that this is a popular street food item in Shifen so we decided to try it.

Rice-stuffed Chicken Wings

Our next stop was Jiufen. Our guide told us that decades ago, Jiufen was a bustling town, known for gold-mining. The gold rush here ended around 1971 but it regained popularity when it was featured as a film setting in the Taiwanese movie A City of Sadness.

Jiufen

Because of that, Jiufen became a major tourist spot in the country again. Visitors of this charming town can enjoy great views of the sea and of the mountains. Jiufen Old Street is also known for shopping and food. One of the most popular landmarks here is A-Mei Teahouse, with its old Taiwanese aesthetic made even more beautiful by its many red lanterns. It is said that this teahouse served as the inspiration for the bathhouse in the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away. Naturally, we took a lot of photos of this sight. If we had more time, I would have loved to enjoy some food and refreshments here but our schedule was quite tight.

Photo op next to A-Mei Teahouse along Shuqi Road

I will say that it can be quite a challenge to navigate Jiufen Old Street because of its many narrow winding pathways that go up and down. Add to that the large crowds that go through Jishan Street (the flat street with many shops and restaurants) and Shuqi Road (the steep stone stairway that intersects with Jishan street).

Large crowds heading up Shuqi Road

As such, we barely got to do any shopping here. We mainly took photos and had lunch at one of the restaurants along Jishan Street where we got to enjoy some local fare like xiao long bao.

Enjoying xiao long bao in Jiufen

Our guide also recommended a great pineapple cake store along Jishan Street: Lao Zhen Xiang Bakery. We got to try some freshly baked pineapple cake and it was really good so we ended up buying one box. I would have loved to get more many places in Jiufen including Lao Zhen Xiang don't accept credit cards. Sadly, we didn't have enough cash with us so we couldn't buy more.

Pineapple Cake from Lao Zhen Xiang Bakery

Our final stop of our day tour was Yehliu Geopark, which is known for its amazing rock formations that were formed over time through weathering and erosion. Our main Klook tour didn't include tickets to Yehliu Geopark as well so I purchased entrance tickets separately, also through Klook (through this link). The people in our tour who didn't get to buy tickets in advance purchased their tickets there, aided by our guide.

Yehliu Geopark

We got to see and take photos of some of the most popular rock formations at the geopark, including the Queen's Head, which is the most famous one here,

Queen's Head rock formation

the Cute Princess,

Cute Princess rock formation

and the Heart-shaped Rock.

Heart-shaped rock formation

Yehliu Geopark is quite a large area with many fantastic rock formations to see and admire. Sadly, we only had about an hour to spend here but despite the limited time, we still get to appreciate a lot of its amazing scenery and soak in the wonders of nature.

Yehliu Geopark

It was around 430pm when we got back on our tour bus that took us back to the Taipei Main Station. It was a packed day but despite a bit of a rush, which is true for almost any tour, it was a full of superb experiences and I'm happy that my family and I got to enjoy them all.

Suspension bridge in Shifen

Next: Taichung

[Taiwan] Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall tops many lists of the best sights in Taiwan and it was also the first place we visited. We arrived in Taipei in the early morning and got to our hotel a little past 8am. Since check-in was still at 2pm, we left our luggage with the concierge and looked for a place to have breakfast. Once we had some food and coffee, we made our way to one of the most famous landmarks in Taipei and even the whole of Taiwan.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

We came in through the Daxiao Gate because it was the nearest one to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall MRT station. As soon as we arrived, I asked the guard where we can buy tickets and he said entrance is free. Wow!

Daxiao Gate

Chiang Kai-shek was president of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 until his death in 1975. This hall was built to commemorate him. One of the permanent exhibits showcases artifacts of Chiang Kai-shek's presidency and the history of Taiwan. It was cool to see some Philippine memorabilia such as the Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna, which was awarded to the former ROC president in 1956.

Grand Collar of the Order of Sikatuna in Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

The highlight for me was the Flowers of Freedom exhibit. When we arrived at a little past 11am, we saw a sign that said that Flowers of Freedom would open at 1pm. We spent a little under 2 hours going around to see other exhibits in the memorial hall before making our way back.

The Flowers of Freedom exhibit

We were the first in line to enter once it opened at 1pm. I didn't even know what it was but once there and I knew what it was, I'm very happy we stayed to see it. It was an exhibit that showcased Taiwan's long and arduous journey towards the freedom they have now. It was very sobering to read about the struggles of the Taiwanese against tyranny and authoritarianism. It was here that I learned Taiwan was under martial law for almost 40 years, from 1949 to 1987!

Letters written by White Terror victims to their families

There was a section at the entrance of Flowers for Freedom that showcased different battles against oppression all over the world and throughout history. It was wonderful to see a section on the 1986 People Power Revolution of the Philippines there! Naturally, I had to have my photo taken. I love the fact that I was wearing yellow, which was the symbolic color of this historic bloodless revolution.

People Power display at the Flowers of Freedom exhibit

According to the official website of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Flowers of Freedom is a permanent exhibit so we were really lucky to have arrived just as it opened. In fact, we were the first three Filipinos there. How do I know this? It's because at the exit of Flowers of Freedom, there was a small section on the wall where visitors can indicate which country they are from using stickers. My family placed the first three stickers under the Philippines. We also picked blue, red, and yellow stickers since these are colors of Philippine flag.

We were the first Filipino visitors at the exhibit

We also went up to see the large bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek. There's a grand view of Liberty Square from here.

Chiang Kai-shek bronze statue

We visited the Anne Cho Landscape Blue-and-White Porcelain Joint exhibition of Teacher and Students. The porcelain pieces on display were absolutely magnificent and the fact that there was a lot of beautiful art on the walls made this exhibit even more exquisite.

Anne Cho Landscape Blue-and-White Porcelain Joint exhibition of Teacher and Students

As I had recently acquiring art, I found myself drawn to a couple of paintings that I saw, but I didn't know if they were on sale - I think they might have been? - and I thought it might not be all that easy to bring a painting back home to Manila so I decided to just look at and enjoy all the art while I was there.

Porcelain pieces and paintings

We barely had any sleep since our flight was at 340am and we arrived at 6am so by mid-afternoon, we were already very tired and we decided to head back to the hotel and call it a day. Since we hadn't other parts of Chiang Kai -shek Memorial Hall yet, we went back there the next day. My mom bought a decorative stamp at the gallery store then we all took a stroll along a pathway amidst the garden. We then made our way to Liberty Square, which is named for its historical significance in Taiwan's transition to democracy in the 1990s.

Liberty square

It is flanked on either side by the National Theater and the Concert Hall. You can take guided tours at both of these impressive buildings.

National Concert Hall

There is a beautiful garden next to the National Theater with lots of birds. In the middle of the garden is a pond filled with koi.

Garden and pond outside Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

There were also a couple of vending machines near the garden. I spotted a really cute Peanuts-themed drink and decided to buy it. After all, 2025 is the 75th anniversary of Peanuts, which was created by Charles Schulz and made its comic strip debut on October 2, 1950.

Peanuts-themed drink from an animation-themed vending machine

And finally, we got to see the Changing of the Guard at 1pm (although it is performed every hour on the hour from 9am to 5pm at the side of Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall that faces Liberty Square.

Changing of the Guard

There really is so much to see and do here and even if we had already spent several hours here, there really was still so much more to see. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that entrance to this incredible attraction is free. If I ever get to revisit Taiwan, I would definitely love to see Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall again.

Next: Jiufen, Shifen, and Yehliu Geopark

[Taiwan] Taipei

Most of our time in Taiwan was spent in its capital, Taipei. Here, we got to see and visit a lot of other wonderful sights. One of them is the National Palace Museum.

Main Gate of the National Palace Museum

The National Palace Museum has a massive collection of artifacts and treasures on display. Two of the most popular ones are the Jadeite Cabbage and the Meat-shaped Stone. The Jadeite Cabbage is a piece of jade that was carved to look like cabbage with a locust and a katydid but it was on loan to the Czech National Museum when we were there so we didn't get to see it.

Information about the Jadeite Cabbage at the National Palace Museum

We were, however, able to see the Meat-shaped Stone. This piece of jasper was carved to resemble Dongpo pork or Chinese-style pork belly.

Meat-shaped stone

There were also a few interactive displays, including virtual archery which my nephew and I tried.

Virtual archery at the National Palace Museum

There really is so much to see here at the National Palace Museum. While we spent a few hours here, you could easily spend a day or more just looking through the many different galleries and appreciating the displays more thoroughly.

One of the many treasures on display at the National Palace Museum

Another popular sight we got to see was the Longshan Temple. (Other online resources spell it as Lungshan Temple so I'm not particularly sure which one is correct or whether both are correct.)

Longshan Temple

The Bopiliao Historic Block is just right next to Longshan temple. This place is known for its red brick buildings and its architecture that dates back to the Qing Dynasty.

Bopiliao Historic Block

We also visited the Red House in Ximending. Similar to the Bopiliao Historical Block, the Red House is also made with red brick. It was built in 1908 during the Japanese colonial period 

Red House in Ximending

I ended up buying a souvenir here. I also took had my photo at the Seiko clock outside the Red House.

Seiko clock near Red House in Ximending

My family and I also went to Taipei 101, the tallest building in all of Taiwan (and as of this writing, the 11th tallest building in the world). We went to the observatory on the 89th floor. We went there right in the late afternoon so that we could get to see views during the day and at also night.

View of the city at night from the Taipei 101 observatory

This also allowed us to see the sunset!

Sunset as seen from Taipei 101

There are a lot of really great photo opportunities on the observatory floor. If you're not fond of taking photos of yourself, this place is probably not for you. But my family and I ended up taking so many pictures of ourselves here haha.

One of the many cool photo spots at the Taipei 101 observatory

Right next to the ticket counter of the Taipei 101 observatory is Ambi Space One. I noticed it when we arrived and saw a big sign that said Free Admission. When we left the observatory, I told my family that we should check this place out and I'm glad we did. It featured a special immersive journey and visual exhibit of Chiayi, a city in southwestern Taiwan.

Free exhibit at Ambi Space One in Taipei 101

We also visited Raohe Night Market. I read online that compared to the other highly popular night market Taiwan, Shilin, Raohe is a maybe slightly more recommended for its authentic food that is a bit cheaper and for having a layout that is easier to navigate. (Shilin is also larger and supposedly better for shopping and for games.)

Raohe Night Market

I realized that maybe my mom and I might not be the right people for these night markets as they are very crowded with very little places to sit. We did find one shop that had a few small tables so we enjoyed some xiao long bao and beef noodles there.

Xiao long bao at the Raohe Night Market

My mom felt the crowd was a bit much so while my nephew and I continued to eat, she decided to wait for us at the beautiful Songshan Ciyou Temple right at the entrance of Raohe Night Market...

Songshan Ciyou Temple

...as we tried a few more food stalls. A lot of them had really long queues so you know the food there was going to be great. But we didn't really want to fall in line so we ended up getting food from stalls with shorter lines. That said, everything we ate, including this cumin chicken, was pretty good.

Cumin chicken at the Raohe Night Market

Finally, we also got to see and pass through the Taipei Main Station quite a lot since our hotel was located just right across the street from it.

Taipei Main Station

If you've been to Taipei, you might be thinking I missed out on writing about arguably the best place to visit in this vibrant and beautiful city: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The reason for this is that there are so many things to write about that I will decided to dedicate a full post to this amazing landmark.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

Next post: Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall