Days in Taipei

November 19  Thursday                                      Cloudy

I might be the only one who hasn’t been to Taipei among the exchange students since we came to Taiwan. As a result of which, no one is going to travel together with me. I have to console myself that being a lonely backpacker is cool. It turns out that what I thought is right. Taipei city is a place where you’d better visit alone.

5 hours later, I finally arrived at the drizzly city. After checking in, I went to the Hsimenting which is said to be the most popular district among the young people. The whole city was covered by the haze, with the foggy and gray sky. However, the young people walking in the Hsimenting were wearing colorful clothes, making the city less dark.

It was interesting that the youngsters there mistook me as a tourist from Hong Kong. They were trying to selling some ornaments to me which were not valuable but with a high price. They also appeared in almost all the tourists attractions in Taipei. This was rarely seen in Beijing or Shanghai.

When the night falls, Hsimenting became more beautiful. I had been wondering why this place could be popular since 60 years ago. When I saw the movie street there and the ubiquitous big screen showing the newest movie trailers, I knew that it was the film that made the essence of the Hsimenting. There were numerous cinemas, with even more restaurants around. The movies stars and the singers see Hsimenting as the first place to hold a fan meeting. This makes Hsimenting a place full of fashion and the fashion clothes shops provide the latest dresses.

Another amazing place in Taipei was the 101 building. Hsimenting and 101 building reminded me strongly that I was in the biggest city in Taiwan. I had nothing to say but praise when I got on the 89^th floor by the elevator in less than 40 seconds. Even though the annoying drizzle had been raining, I was still very exciting when I looked down the Taipei city from above. I just wanted to jump down and felt the roaring wind.

I think every city should have a building like 101 building. When the citizens oversee their city, they must be very proud of being a member of the city and be more active to take responsibility as a citizen.

November 20  Friday                                       Drizzly

Different from Kaohsiung, Taipei is inseparable with history. You can easily sink into the past when you saw the cultural and historical relics.

The Palace Museum is the most historic place in Taipei and it is a must-see attraction for the tourists. I entered the museum at 9 o’clock in the morning and walked out at 3 o’clock in the afternoon just because I was both hungry and thirsty. Otherwise I would spend another 2 hour there.

The famous Jadeite Cabbage and the banded jasper resembling a slab of meat are the greatest treasure in Palace Museum. However what really touched me were those articles for daily use. People in the past did not know the technology as we do but they could still make such wonderful implements.

I liked a ring made of jade in the Neolithic Age. I was imagining that a man who loved his wife used a knife to carve the jade day after day. He didn’t have the necessary tools as we do and he just kept doing that by willpower. This was way too precious than the big diamond ring nowadays.

The exhibition about Emperor Yong Zheng in the museum changed my impression on the ancient emperors. I was surprised that the emperor could write such a good hand. From the files which the emperor instructed his ministers, I found that the emperor in the ancient times was actually very judicious. If he was born in the modern society, I am sure he could be a famous manager of a big company.

November 21 Saturday                                       Drizzly

Someone told me that if you went to Taipei you must go to Danshui to have a look. Danshui? The first impression appeared in my mind about Danshui is that it is the hometown of Jay Chou. So many popular songs that Jay Chou composed are in the background of Danshui. Only for this reason I would like to go there.

It turned out that Danshui was more than Jay Chou. I liked the old town as soon as I arrived there. The rain didn’t disappoint me but make the town more charming. I walked along the old street and held the umbrella. There was a moment that I feel that I walked into the past. This feeling is wonderful.

The Danshui town is called the Easten Venice for some reason. With the rain, the scenery along the Danshui river is very impressive. The estuary is not far away and the river is broad, which gives me the illusion that the water and the sky were of one hue.

Getting on the ship to Fisherman Pier, this feeling was much stronger. The boat got a bad shake due to the wind and the rain. It was just like that I was a seagull in the sky, lonely and helpless but the feeling was very exciting.

The Fisherman Pier in Danshui is said to be the first one in Taiwan. I didn’t think there was much difference between this one and the one in Kaohsiung. There were some coffee shops and a fish market. The coffee and cakes are general but the feeling was different when you sit there watching the wave flapping the window just in front of you.

The lonely trip to Taipei city is great. I hope I could be there once more.