Beitou Culture Walk
Michella Jade Weng, Host:
If you're staying or living
in Taipei, Beitou's a
great little place for
a mini-vacation. It's
packed with culture, and
much of it is influenced
by the Japanese.
I'm
here on an empty stomach,
and thank goodness
Yang Yeh, our guide
today and expert on
Beitou history, is
bringing us to the
local market first.
Yang
Yeh, Beitou Expert:
This is the center
of local life, right
here. There are several
black tea shops in
Beitou, and this one
is the most famous.
Kind
of sweet. I guess
that's how people
here prefer it.
If
you like noodles,
how about "rougengmian,"
meatball noodle soup?
Or
perhaps "luroufan,"
minced, fatty pork
stewed in soy sauce
and sugar over a bed
of hot rice? This
place is also a local
favorite. Oh the tofu
here is pretty good
too.
Most people's impression
of Beitou is "Japanese
hot springs,"
and overlook the Taiwanese
and Chinese aspects
of the area. For example,
most have never paid
attention to this
Toaist temple built
in 1877.
Yang
Yeh, Beitou Expert:
When the temple needed
to be renovated, hotels
in the Beitou area
would donate money
and get their names
written on the tiles.
But all the hotels
names you see here
don't exist anymore.
Speaking
of hot spring hotels
that don't exist anymore,
a short taxi ride
away is one that was
converted into a museum.
Yang
Yeh, Beitou Expert:
This is Taiwan Folk
Arts Museum. It used
to be the most luxurious
hotel here.
Now
a museum, it's a nice
place to relax and
to get to know local
history.
On
the walk back to the
MRT station, there
are some interesting
detours along the
way. This is Puji
Temple, built by the
Japanese but in the
style of Tang dynasty
architecture, as you
can see from the curved
beams.
Close
to the station, you'll
find yourself back
in familiar territory
and where hot spring
culture in Taiwan
all started.
After
today's excursion,
I realized how Beitou's
much more than nice
Japanese baths. So
I suggest the next
time you're here,
try to search for
other cultural hints.
You might go home
with a different perspective.
