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Culture, cuisine, beauty and shopping, Taiwan has it all, writes
Tanushree Podder LIKE most travellers to Taiwan, I was looking forward to shopping, sampling the delectable food of the region and catching a bit of art and culture but I landed up doing much more. Landing at the Taoyuan International Airport on a cold, damp morning, I looked expectantly out of the bus carrying me to the capital of Taiwan, Taipei. The cold did little to dampen my enthusiasm as I looked at the morning rush of office goers.
Dumping my bags at the hotel, I set out to explore the city, enveloped in Christmas cheer. It was also the time of International Flora Expo, which Taiwan was hosting. Banners announcing the event beamed at me from everywhere and I found myself queuing up with thousands of excited Taiwanese to check out the great event. Among the exhibits, the 1,500 species of plants from the island’s various climate zones flourished in a temperature-controlled hall. The Flora Expo turned out to be an amazing experience. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Park situated in the heart of the city was the next stop. The entire complex is an eye-catching mass of architectural delight; a blend of pagodas and palaces with landscaped and manicured gardens. The complex houses the memorial as well as National Concert Hall and the National Theatre. The three colours — blue, white, and red were worked beautifully to represent the Taiwanese flag. The white building is topped with blue tiles and the flowers around it are red. It is said that the roof was created in an octagonal shape since the Chinese believe that number eight brings good fortune. The brochure had some amazing facts – for instance, the two staircases had 89 steps each, which was the age of Chiang Kai-Shek at the time of his death. At the landing above the staircase sits a big bronze statue of the man himself, impressive and majestic in the traditional attire. Exhibited inside the impressive memorial are mementos, medals and pictures of Chian Kai Shek and important events. I emerged from the hall to find a large, excited crowds clapping ecstatically as they watched the hourly changing of the guard ceremony.
Strolling through the mammoth collection, I came across the porcelain of a woman playing polo on horseback and several priceless pieces of craftsmanship in bronze and exquisite collection of Ming vases. It was then time to check out the second tallest building in the world. The Taipei 101, with its 101 floors above ground and five floors underground is Taiwan’s pride. The tallest tower in the world, till Burj Khalifa took over the title, the Taipei 101 is shaped like bamboo and boasts of one of the fastest elevators in the world. On the 89th and 91st floor are two observation decks from where one can catch a breathtaking view of the world down below. For shopping, it was time to visit the famous night market at Shilin. The night market was overflowing with shoppers, as I, too, joined the crowds. From shoes to bags to artefacts and clothes, and all priced at unbelievable levels, it had everything to please any shopaholic. As I lumbered back to my hotel, loaded with my bags, I knew why the Portuguese sailors had named Taiwan Ilha Formosa –- Beautiful Island. Culture, cuisine, beauty, shopping, Taiwan has it all.
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It
was time to visit the famous National Palace Museum that ranks amongst
the best in the world. It houses a vast collection of priceless pieces
of exquisite bronzes, pottery, jade and coral artefacts, porcelains,
paintings, lacquer and enamel ware, Chinese calligraphy, apart from a
humungous number of books and documents, collected painstakingly by
various Chinese Emperors through ages. Among the collection is the
legendary jade cabbage from the Qing Dynasty, which was
discovered in the palace of a concubine. Carved from a single piece of
jade, it is cleverly crafted, one part appears as off white and the
other emerald green, representing the inside and outside of the
cabbage. Said to signify fertility, it was a gift from the emperor to
the concubine.