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We left Cingjing Farm and drove to Puli town for our lunch.
Hu Guoxiong's Retro Flavored Noodles (胡国雄古早面)
As recommended by our driver, we had our late lunch at this Hu Guoxiong's Retro Flavored Noodles (left photo below). This eatery has been around more than 80 years since the Japanese occupation, and currently managed by the third generations.
We ordered some braised eggs (冰Q蛋) at TWD 20 each (right photo below), a bowl of braised pork rice (滷肉饭) at TWD 30 and a fishball soup (丸子汤) at TWD 20 (bottom left photo). We were provided with some green bean soup complimentary from the eatery (bottom right photo). Perhaps we were too hungry due to the late timing, the food tasted great.
| ✍ Update: |
|---|
| Since 2015, Hu Guoxiong’s Retro Flavored Noodles has expanded and moved to a new location at No. 319, Renai Road, Puli Town, Nantou County. |
921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan (國立自然科學博物館九二一地震教育園區)
The 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan is a national museum located in No. 192, Xinsheng Road, Wufeng District of Taichung County.
It is dedicated to the 7.3 richter scale earthquake that struck the centre of Taiwan at 01:47 hours on Tuesday 21 September 1999. This earthquake released a demolition force of energy equivalent to 50 nuclear bombs dropped in Hiroshima, and created a 105-km long fault line on the island. After recovery from the earthquakes, the government decided to build a museum to preserve the rubble of Kuang-Fu Junior High School (光复国民中学) and provide the public living materials for earthquake education (left photo below). There are five main exhibition halls in this museum (right photo below), but due to our limited time, we only visited three exhibitions.
Chelungpu Fault Gallery (车笼埔断层保存馆)- This gallery holds many images of scenes involving the Chelungpu fault line of the earthquake, linking pictures of its current look with how it looked in the past (photos below).
At Kuang-Fu Junior High School, the ground ruptured from the dike along Kan Creek, through the athletic field, school building, and school gate, and along the road towards the north. The fault extends roughly 340-meters across the athletic field and campus (photos below).
- There is this earthquake simulator room is worth visiting. It was decorated as a living room where several violent vibrations for up to 40-seconds occurred to simulate the moment during the 921 Earthquake.
Damaged Classroom Display Area (毁损教室展示区)
- All classrooms were collapsed during the earthquake where the steel bars within the concrete are exposed (photos below). Now, the whole structure was fastened by steel frames in order to preserve the moment of the demolition, so it is safe for visitors to walk inside these buildings. On a side note, no students or school staff was hurt in these buildings during the 921 earthquake as it occurred at 01:47 hours which was past mid-night.
Dinner at Korean Restaurant
After checked-in to our Caesar Hotel, it was already 7 pm. Thus, decided to have our dinner near the hotel at one of the exits to the Taipei Main Train station. Chose this 'Hometown Korean Restaruant' (left photo below) and ordered a Korean Stone Pot Rice Bowl or 'Bibimbap' (right photo below). Could not recall the price paid but the food portion was satisfying.
Went back to hotel to rest after a fulfilling dinner.Day Six
Woke up early at 7.30 am for our trip to Pingxi and surrounding areas.
As breakfast was not part of the room package, I had some bread from a pastry shop at Taipei station underground mall (left photo below) and almond milk carton pack from another convenient store (right photo below) that were bought the day before after dinner. Total price for this simple breakfast was TWD 95.
Train ride to Pingxi branch Line
Before embarking the journey on Pingxi Line, we had to reach a town called Ruifang which is the starting / ending point of Pingxi Line. Walked to Taipei Main Train station from our hotel (left photo below) and bought our tickets to Ruifang station from the ticket counter (right photo below) at TWD 76.
Tze-Chiang (自強) Express train (left photo below) took only 35-mins to reach Ruifang station (right photo below).
Next, we purchased our one-day Pingxi Line train pass at TWD 52 (left photo below) at Ruifang railway station. This pass allowed us unlimited hop-on and hop-off at any station along the Pingxi Line. This is a better deal than purchasing a single one-way ticket which can cost between TWD 15 to TWD 30. The train on Pingxi Line was standard local cabin painted vividly on its exterior (right photo below).
Pingxi Line (平溪線)
The Pingxi Line is a 12.9-km long single-track railway branch line of the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA). There are nine train stops and each station has its unique attractions. The train runs about once an hour on the Pingxi Line and detailed train schedule can be found at each station.
| Ruifang Old Street. It is a connecting station between Taipei with Jiufen or Pingxi Line. | ||
| Cat Village, Cat Bridge and Coal Mine Ecological Park. | ||
| Sandiaoling Waterfall Trail to see Hegu Waterfall, Motian Waterfall, and Pipadon Waterfall. | ||
| Pot Holes. | ||
| Shifen Old Street, Shifen Waterfall, Jingan Suspension Bridge and release sky lanterns. | ||
| Wanggu Waterfall. | ||
| Lingjiao Waterfall and Tsai Residence Red House. | ||
| Pingxi Old Street, Pingxi Crags Hike and release sky lanterns. | ||
| Jingtong Old Street and Mining Industry Museum. | ||
Jingtong (菁桐) station
Jingtong station is the last stop on the Pingxi Line, and it is a small town lost in time with just a handful of shops and restaurants catering to the handful of tourists that make it far south on the line.
Jingtong Old Street
- It is a pleasant walking around the 200-meters long old street and may make visitor feel being transported back in time 50 years ago (photos below).
The wooden Jingtong station was built by the Japanese in the 1930s (left photo below). Opposite the station is the old coal washing plant that perched above the tracks (right photo below).
- Decided to have lunch at this "Pork Roll of the Yang's" (楊家雞捲) (left photo below) located at No. 127, Jintong Street, Jingtong Lane of Pingxi District. It is a popular eatery where often was crowded during lunch time (right photo below).
Ordered a chicken roll at TWD 50 to share (left photo below), and I got myself a bowl of meat soup noodles at TWD 45 (right photo below). They both had the taste of home-made food.
Interestingly, the slogan outside the eatery stated: "Chicken rolls without chicken, Meat soup without gravy" (雞捲沒雞肉，肉羹沒有ㄍㄥ). In fact, the chicken rolls are without any additives, and instead of fish paste, local black pork and taro are used, which makes it crispier. The clear meat soup does not have any gravy, and instead it has a refreshing flavor with the sweetness from big bones and radish.
Jingtong Mining Industry Museum (菁桐礦業生活館)
- It is a two-storey museum (left photo below) where its ground floor dedicated to the landscape of Pingxi Township and the development of coal mining industries in the area. Its upper floor displays artifacts related to coal mining activities (right photo below) and local culture.
Pingxi is a popular station along the Pingxi Line for strolling the old street and releasing sky lanterns. The place really comes alive during the annual Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival. However for the rest of the year, more people are launching sky lanterns in Shifen instead.
Releasing Sky Lanterns (天燈)
- We chose Pingxi to release our sky lanterns as it was less crowded and the shops in Pingxi were friendlier (photos below).
Most lanterns are red, but people seeking luck in other aspects selected other colors to add to their lanterns. Following is a guide on the colors and their associated symbolic aspects:
| Color | Symbolizes | Descriptions |
|---|---|---|
| Good Health, Peaceful, Stay well, Live Longer, Safe driving, No worries. | ||
| Rich, Money Coming, Wealthy, earn lots of money, Prosperous, Win lottery. | ||
| Salary rise, to be Promoted, lasting Prosperity, Good Business. | ||
| Study well, Pass Tests, Smarter, Succeed in Exams, Good Luck. | ||
| Bright Future, Good Luck, Successful, Stay Younger & Beautiful. | ||
| Love Forever, Have a good marriage, Have a new born baby soon. | ||
| Dreams come true, everything is going smoothly, illness & villains away. | ||
| Meet your Mr. / Mrs. Right, Good Relationship, Lots of unexpected helps. | ||
| Happiness and Joy around, All is well, Be happy Everyday, Doing Well. |
During my visit, the cost between a single-color and multi-colors was TWD 50 more. For me, I just paid TWD 150 for a single-colored Red.
Once color(s) of the lantern is selected, the lantern shop will provide brushes and black ink for customer to decorate the paper lantern. The price also includes the help from the shop to light up the lantern (left photo below), take photos using customer's personal phone / camera and ensure the safe release of the lantern along the train track (right photo below).
| 🌳 Environmental Note: |
|---|
| Contradiction to the fun and entertaining experience, releasing sky lanterns have environmental impact as they all return to earth as litter. Marketed as "biodegradable" or "earth-friendly" are untrue as these sky lanterns are made with treated paper, wires and/or bamboo ring. They can travel for miles and always land as dangerous litter. Sky lanterns have even caused huge structure fires and wildfires. So let's all be aware; either avoid totally or at least not more than once, on the release of these sky lanterns. |
Shifen (十分) station
Shifen is one of the most popular places to visit on the Pingxi Line as it is famous for releasing sky lanterns and its nearby Shifen Waterfall. The name 'Shifen', literally means 'ten portions', comes from the ten families who helped to build up the Pingxi district.
Shifen Waterfall (十分大瀑布)
- Directions to Shifen waterfall is straight forward. From Shifen station, cross over to the small area between two train tracks and start walking along the old street (left photo below). It takes about 20-mins walk and there are sufficient signs along the route. The entrance to the fall area is located at the end of the path (right photo below).
During our visit, we paid TWD 100 at the entrance (photo below).
After entering the park, there will be another 15-mins walk, where visitors will need to cross over two bridges and some stair-climbing before reaching the actual waterfall. Along the path, the waterfall can be viewed from several angels (photos below).
As it was raining during that day, Shifen Waterfall was gushing gallons per second of water. The spray from the waterfall was too much at the viewing deck which made us dart away after clicking our cameras (photo below).
The park is open from 0900 hours till 1700 hours (Oct to May period) or 1800 hours (Jun to Sep).
| ✍ Update: |
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| In 2014, New Taipei City's Tourism and Travel Department acquired the land around the waterfall to create municipal park and made the admission to the park free. |
People Watching
- Even if don't intend to release sky lantern at Shifen, it is fun to watch others doing it. It was a sight to witness everyone congregated besides the railway line to write their wishes (left photo below) and then release them along the track (right photo below). It was even a bizarre moment to see everyone scuttling for safety when the train runs close with horns honking while passing through the crowded lantern shops.
It was a rainy day to visit and we decided to head back to Taipei at about 5 pm. Boarded our train from Shifen (left photo below) and alighted at Ruifang. Bought our local train back to Taipei at Ruifang station which cost only TWD 49 (right photo below) but on a much longer duration compared to Tze-Chiang Express train.
Dinner at Taipei City Mall
It was already 7.30 pm when we reached Taipei Train Station. Decided to have our late dinner, and we found this Hei Mien Tsai (黑面蔡) stall at the Taipei City Mall (left photo below). Ordered a five-spiced beef noodles (五香牛肉煮王子麵) at TWD 139 (right photo below). Taste was acceptable except felt it was slightly pricey for a bowl of "instant noodles".
Went back to hotel straight after dinner to dry ourselves up as our shoes were wet due to the rain.Day Seven
Woke up early in the morning for simple breakfast at about 8.30 am. Had some bread bought at TWD 62 (left photo below) and a green milk tea bought at TWD 25 (right photo below). Similar to the previous day, they were bought right after dinner at Taipei City Mall. Main purpose for the day was to visit the Taipei Palace Museum.
National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院)
The National Palace Museum, or Taipei Palace Museum to differentiate from Beijing Palace Museum, has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, where many were moved from Beijing Palace Museum as well as five other institutions in mainland China during the Republic of China (ROC) retreat. This museum shares its roots with the Beijing Palace Museum whose extensive collection of artworks and artifacts were built upon the imperial collections during Ming and Qing dynasties.
Construction of the museum was completed in August 1965 and since then expanded several times in 1967, 1969 and 1985. Built in the architectural style of a chinese palace, the museum has four storeys ornamented with corbels and colorful green tiled-roofs with yellow ridges (photos below).
Directions to the Museum- Direction to the museum is rather easy; alight at Shilin (士林) metro station and take right turn where there is a bus stop (left photo below) after walking about 5-mins from station exit. There are several buses to the Palace Museum as it clearly posted at the bus stop. Standard bus fare is TWD 10 where passengers have to tap the card upon boarding and tap again before alighting. Once alighted, visitors will have to walk several flight of stairs before reaching the main entrance of the museum (right photo below).
Permanent Exhibitions
- The museum has accumulated nearly 700,000 art pieces of significant historical or artistic values. With a collection of this size, only 1% of the collection is exhibited at any given time and the rest of them stored in temperature and humidity controlled vaults.
Among the ceramics, one of the most popular is the 'Pillow in the shape of a recumbent child with white glaze' (白瓷嬰兒枕) from Ding Ware (定窑) of Northern Song Dynasty (left photo below). Another popular and extremely rare ceramic is the 'Narcissus basin with light bluish-green glaze' (青瓷无纹水仙盆) from Ru Ware (汝窑) of Song Dynasty (right photo below). Among the fewer than 80 surviving Ru Ware, the museum has the collection of 21 of them, therefore making it to be the world's largest collection.
The 'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains' (富春山居圖) by Huang Gongwang (黄公望) of Yuan Dynasty is one of the masterpieces of Chinese paintings (left photo below). Among the masterpiece of Chinese calligraphy is the 'Timely Clearing After Snowfall' (快雪時晴帖) by Wang Xizhi (王羲之) from Jin Dynasty (right photo below).
- During my visit, I was lucky to visit the special exhibition: "All Complete Qianlong: a Special Exhibition on the Aesthetic Tastes of the Qing Emperor Gaozong" (十全乾隆: 清高宗的藝術品味特展) on a limited period from 08 Oct 2013 till 07 Jan 2014 (photos below).
The exhibition was divided into three sections comprising "Taste and Cultivation" (品味養成), "Connoisseurship and Production" (鑑藏製作), and "Life and Art" (生活藝術). To provide a comprehensive view on Emperor Qianlong's aesthetic tastes, the National Palace Museum borrowed 45 of Emperor Qianglong's artifact collection from the Beijing Palace Museum.
These small portraits of Yuan Guang (圆光小像) are on the front page of Emperor Qianlong's "The First Collection of Imperial Poems"《御制诗初集》, "The Second Collection"《二集》and "The Third Collection"《三集》. According to the final compilation of these three volumes, they were completed in the 14th to 36th years of Qianlong's reign (1749 to 1771), and the representative ages are most likely to be the emperor's thirty-nine to sixty-one years old. They were the emperor's most energetic and accomplished years during his reign. At this stage of life, by drawing the portrait of the emperor, it can not only shape the personal image, but also implicitly establish the emperor's style or brand (left photos). |
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- Tickets can be bought at the building ground floor where there are several counters (left photo below). Got my regular ticket at TWD 160 (right photo below). Opening hours of the museum is from 0900 hours to 1700 hours, except on Mondays.
Late Lunch at MAJI Square
Decided to have my late lunch at MAJI square as it was just 2 metro stations away from Shilin station to Yuanshan (圓山) station. The restaurant is located inside the MAJI Food and Deli which also included a supermarket (left photo below). There were many choices of cooked food to select from the counter (right photo below).
Selected some braised beef brisket, tofu with gravy and stir-fried tomato eggs with rice at TWD 100 (left photo below). The seaweed soup was complementary together with the meal. View from the restaurant was good as I could people watch while having my meal (right photo below), although there were not many passers-by due to the rain. The meal was delicious and worth the price.
Probably to satisfy my food craving, I went across the Market Square (left photo below) to the '黑妈妈臭豆腐' stall to get some deep-fried stinky tofu at TWD 50 (right photo below). Taste was better for the deep-fried compared the previous one I had with minced meat version.
Eslite BookstoreWent to Eslite Bookstore (誠品) located at Xinyi District to browse its latest books. After which walked around Xinyi District for window shopping.
| ✍ Update: |
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| Unable to renew its lease, Eslite Bookstore at Xinyi district is closed permanently on 24 Dec 2023. However Eslite's Songyan outlet will continue to stay open 24-hour. |
Went back to hotel to pack my luggage for the afternoon flight the next day.
Day Eight
Had my bread bought at TWD 56 as breakfast (left photo below) in the morning at about 7.45 am.
After checked-out from the hotel, we then proceeded to Taipei West Bus Station Terminal A. Bought our tickets from Kuo-Kuang Bus Counter at TWD 125 per person (right photo below). We finally reached the airport without any traffic delays.
Lunch at Taoyuan AirportSubsequent gotten our flight tickets, we proceeded for custom clearance and security checks. After which we had almost 1.5 hours to spend inside the Taoyuan airport. Decided to have lunch at Hómee Kitchen (好饗廚房) located at Terminal One (left photo below). Ordered a beef brisket set meal at TWD 210 and a cup of soybean milk at TWD 50 (right photo below). Taste was good but rather pricey as it is inside an airport.
Cathay Pacific Airways (國泰航空)The flight CX 511 took off on time at 1305 hours to Hong Kong. As it was Cathay Pacific, a good selection of Cantonese variety shows was available which I enjoyed them (left photo below). Flight meal of fried rice was served during this short 2-hours journey (right photo below).
Flight CX 511 disappointedly arrived late in Hong Kong and landed at another terminal. We had to literally run towards the boarding gate for CX 711. Luckily, we made it on time to get onto the plane. Flight CX 711 departed on time at 1600 hours to Singapore. Light snack of peanuts and juice were served after take-off (left photo below). Flight meal of fried fillet rice was then served during this 4-hour flight (right photo below).
We landed on Singapore at about 8 pm. With this, it ended my 8-days trip to Taiwan.