Short trip to Taiwan in July

henning
May 05, 2010, 04:08 PM posted in General Discussion

I just learned that I will need to go to a conference in Taipei this July - how ironic after I decided that 2010 will be the first year since 2003 that I won't visit Beijing. I won't get around my dose of China after all.

Any tips on what I should watch out for? (I will only be there during the conference days + maybe 1 day, so no larger trips). Any meetups planed?

(:

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m8r7egy501
May 05, 2010, 05:03 PM

It' s not 台湾, it's

臺灣

instead! :-)

Don't expect to understand Chinese writings, everything is traditional! Taiwan is in fact the guardian of real Chinese culture.

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bababardwan
May 05, 2010, 10:21 PM

I think my number one recommendation would be the National Palace Museum:

http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/home.htm

Regardless of one's political viewpoint ,the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiang_Kai-shek_Memorial_Hall

Of course there is Taipei 101

The Grand Hotel is a nice place to stay and is the tallest classical Chinese building and has great views.It has an impressive history and I've seen it turn up in a film or two [can't remember which]:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Hotel_%28Taipei%29

..of course if you're going for a conference it is often most convenient to stay where the conference is being held though and that may have been part of the deal.

Night markets.

Calkins.

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henning
May 06, 2010, 04:47 AM

Thanks bababardwan!

Calkins - 好主意!

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kwoolf
May 06, 2010, 06:12 AM

Hey Henning,

Been living and working in Taiwan for six years. You'd be missing the best of Taipei if you didn't go to 士林夜市 Shilin Night Market and 故宮 National Palace Museum, as bababardwan suggested. If you're more of a party guy, there are plenty of clubs and sports bars easily accessible by public transportation. Let me know if you need a list.

Kevin

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henning
July 20, 2010, 02:20 PM

I don't know if this is politically correct, but I was surprised how close Taiwan seems to to the mainland - in almost every respect (including fashion, building style, behavioural patterns etc.).

Especially the language was very clear - yes, traditional characters, but it appeared to me that you pick them up rather easily if you have a simplified background. Actually, this (very) short trip gave me an unexpected boost of confidence and motivation - despite some limitations that are obviously still to be dealt with.

Those 4 days probably brought back more vocab than 4 days of uninterrupted podcast-listening would do (although you of course need the podcasts beforehand so there is something that can come back to you).

From this perspective, I envy all those living in China long term...