Top 10 Fantastic Destinations for a Backpacking Trip in Taipei, Taiwan

Yonghe Doujiang is a chain of breakfast eateries serving traditional Taiwanese-style breakfast. It's one of the most renowned breakfast brands in Taiwan, with Yonghe Doujiang outlets scattered throughout the city.

Despite often being crowded with long queues, patrons are willing to wait due to the delicious food and flavors offered here. The quality of the food attracts tourists, who patiently line up for their turn.

When you visit this establishment, you'll have the opportunity to experience a quintessential Taipei breakfast, typically consisting of a cup of frothy soy milk paired with youtiao – a deep-fried breadstick originating from Spain. Additionally, if you're looking for a heartier breakfast, you can also order steamed pork buns.

Address Reference: Yong He Dou Jiang Restaurant – 73-1, Alley 30, Yongji Street, Taipei

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a must-visit destination for foreign tourists in Taiwan. Below the memorial hall, there are exhibitions and souvenir shops.

To commemorate the first President of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek, who passed away in 1975, the following year the government constructed the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. The main architect was Yang Cho-cheng, who also designed The Grand Hotel.

The original location of the memorial hall was the headquarters of the Army Command, the largest military compound in Taipei at the time. It prominently features the colors of the national flag, blue and white, and is adorned with 12 beams of light, facing west towards the Presidential Office Building and mainland China, each symbolizing significant meanings. With the advent of democratic ideals, the square in front of the memorial hall has become a gathering place for democratic movements.

This memorial complex, built from white marble, with its blue roof symbolizing freedom, stands at the end of a pedestrian promenade, welcoming gate. As you ascend, you'll traverse 89 steps leading to the museum, each step representing a year of Chiang Kai-shek's life.

Huashan 1914 Creative Park is adjacent to Xinguanghua Shopping Center. It was established in the 5th year of Japan's Taiji era (AD 1916). Formerly known as a winery in Taipei, it was initially a privately owned beer company.

With a floor area of 19,800 square meters in Taipei's Zhongzheng District, this is Taiwan's main creative arts center. You can spend a few hours here, especially if you enjoy the arts.

Huashan originated from an abandoned sake and ginseng factory called Taihoku Winery, built in 1914. It was discovered by young members of the Golden Bough Theatre in 1997. The group partially renovated it and staged plays at that unique and distinctive venue.

Huashan 1914 Creative Park is a recreational complex for young people, similar to Zone 9 in Hanoi, with many souvenir shops and adorable handmade items. Another attraction for tourists here is the beautiful photo spots and selfie corners, quiet benches for relaxation, and walls covered in vintage-looking foliage.

This Huashan 1914 area also hosts markets, exhibitions, has a cinema, and offers art classes. Additionally, outdoor music performances are often held here. You can have lunch at the cool cafes and eateries nearby.

When visiting Taiwan, besides exploring famous tourist spots, indulging in the relaxation of soaking in hot springs is something you shouldn't miss. Wulai Hot Springs – a must-visit relaxation spot when traveling to Taiwan.

You can take the MRT from Gongguan station to Xindian, then take bus 849 to Wulai. Volando Wulai Hotspring is one of the famous hot spring ecotourism areas near Taipei. Wulai is nestled in the suburban mountains of Taipei, next to a small river with azure waters that flow year-round. Because it's located in the mountains, this area is very peaceful, devoid of hustle and bustle, and less crowded with tourists, which locals appreciate.

Wulai is situated along the Nanshi River, ascending the mountain slope, so the air here is very fresh, perfect for escaping the city's noise during vacations. This hot spring was discovered about 300 years ago. When discovered, Wulai was simply a hot spring stream where people could immerse themselves whenever they felt tired, enjoying the hot mineral streams from the earth's depths.

Today, with the development of tourism and the increasing demand for relaxation from locals and international travelers, Wulai has been reconstructed to be more orderly, refined, and elegant, retaining its natural beauty and picturesque scenery.

During cherry blossom season, Wulai is also a popular spot for flower viewing. And if you're here for hot spring baths, Urai Volando Spring Spa & Resort is the most famous mineral spring spa because of its beauty, stunning views, professional service, and 'professional' prices.

If you are fascinated by the architectural beauty of temples, Taiwan is a must-visit destination as this island boasts numerous temples adorned with exquisite decorations in East Asia. One of the most famous temples in Taipei is Longshan Temple.

Situated in the historic district of Wanhua in Taipei, it is the oldest temple in Taiwan, visited by hundreds of religious followers and tourists daily. The temple was built in 1738 during the Qing Dynasty by the earliest immigrants from Fujian Province, China. They constructed the temple based on the original model from their hometown and gave it the same name.

Outside, the entrance gate consists of three doors with curved roofs welcoming you. Next, you will step into a spacious courtyard with a waterfall and a miniature mountain, where you can take a rest and admire the passing crowd before entering the brightly colored precincts. Right from the main entrance, you can hear the resounding prayers, melodious chants, and rhythmic sounds of prostration.

If you happen to travel to Taiwan during the Lantern Festival, you will see hundreds of golden lanterns adorning the exterior of the temple, while the courtyard is also filled with lantern strings of various sizes. This ancient temple is an excellent example of traditional Chinese architecture in Taipei. Longshan Temple is the only temple with bronze columns as well as red and gold colors prominently used in its design and decoration. Stepping into the temple's main hall, you will encounter exquisite stone carvings and the roof adorned with dragon and phoenix motifs. This is the result of continuous restoration efforts following damages from wars, storms, and earthquakes over its nearly 300 years of existence.

After visiting the old town of Jiufen, you can return to the bus stop and take bus 1062 back to Riufang to catch a train to Houtong. The bus stop is right at Riufang train station. The waiting area for the train is very convenient as it provides USB charging ports for passengers.

The train ride takes a while until you arrive at Houtong station, and as soon as you step out, you'll be greeted by adorable cats everywhere. Cats can be found everywhere here, on staircases, at the train station, and souvenir shops overflowing with cat-themed products like keychains, postcards, or a bakery with cakes shaped like cute cats.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is that cats even appear in the public restroom! Besides the cats, this lovely village emerging from the entrance of Houtong station is like a peaceful natural painting, dominated by the green of leaves, adorned by a meandering stream, and vintage-style bridges that photography enthusiasts, or even selfie lovers, cannot miss!

If you're traveling to Taiwan, you can still unwind in a tranquil place – that's Jiufen Old Street in Taipei. This former bustling mining town has now turned serene and peaceful, allowing you to relax after a hectic trip.

Jiufen is a famous old street in Taipei. Shiqu Road (also known as Jiufen Old Street) is the most iconic attraction, with its narrow lanes filled with restaurants, tea houses, and souvenir shops selling all kinds of Taiwanese products – unique items you won't find anywhere else. Jiufen is renowned across the island for its street food, such as glutinous rice cakes, Taro glutinous rice cakes, Hongzao meatballs (Oxo Cubes), hot and cold Taro balls. The streets are packed with delectable snacks that everyone loves.

The most important thoroughfare is Shuqi Road – a long, narrow street usually bustling with activity. The architecture of Shuqi is reminiscent of old Japan, sometimes giving the place a more ancient Kyoto vibe, and it's stunningly beautiful. Most shops close early, typically by 9 p.m.

Aside from the main streets, there are many small alleys, narrow lanes winding around, and occasionally even under buildings.

Ximending, also known as the West Gate, is a bustling night shopping district in Taipei. The shopping area is quite spacious, intersecting like a chessboard, with some familiar budget-friendly stores such as H&M, Uniqlo, and plenty of fashion, cosmetics, and Taiwanese specialties for tourists to buy as gifts.

When it comes to variety and price, Taiwan is unmatched in the region. You won't get lost in this shopping district because they design each street with different colored columns like red, yellow, jade green... the columns are also numbered sequentially for easy navigation. Overall, if you're in Taipei, it's worth spending an evening here.

In Ximending, most of the shops sell branded clothing, so the cost is quite high. If you want to shop at a lower cost, you can visit the Fuhe Bridge Flea Market area, also known as the vintage market, where you can find all sorts of items for sale.

Shifen Old Street is the largest and most bustling ancient street along the Pingxi railway line. Shifen Old Streets is a small town in the outskirts of Taipei, Taiwan (China) - famous for a railway line passing through. It is about 32 km from Taipei city. Shifen was once the setting for the movie 'Our Times,' reminiscent of the moments when Hsu Tai-yu and Lin Ching-hsia released sky lanterns together.

The Shifen Railway system was largely built by the Japanese in the past to serve coal transportation. Now, this place has become a famous tourist destination with the image you often see on postcards, newspapers, known as the Pingxi railway line.

The Shifen area was predominantly inhabited by the Japanese, so many tourists here are Japanese, and don't be surprised if the vendors speak both Chinese and Japanese fluently.

Sky lanterns - guided by locals, tourists begin to release them into the darkening sky, with each lantern carrying the wishes of the one who releases it. And each color of the lantern symbolizes a different meaning.

For example, solid colors like red represent joy and happiness, orange represents wealth and prosperity, priced at 150NT for one release... multicolored lanterns (4 colors) are priced at 200NT, symbolizing health, hope, career, and prosperity...

When it comes to sky lantern festivals, it would be incomplete to overlook the Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival - the largest, most vibrant, and eagerly anticipated festival in Taiwan. This is the only festival among all the traditional festivals in Taipei that has been preserved almost intact to this day and continues to grow.