
Spent a week in Taipei for my cousin’s wedding. I always forget how great of a city Taipei is. The city strikes a balance between density, open space, public amenities, and livability. And food. Lots of food. Everywhere.

My grandma and my uncle live in the Shilin District of Taipei, the traditionally residential neighborhood north and over the river from Taipei city center. My mom grew up in this neighborhood, and a lot of the architecture popped up in the post-war era when the urban population swelled as the nationalists escaped communist China. Recently, Taipei has been going through a modern facelift with projects like Taipei 101. But you still find a lot of that post-war, concrete charm. Such as at the Shilin Elementary School.



A typical sidewalk in Taipei, with a shopping arcade, scooter parking, pedestrians, and bus stop all crammed together.

Zhongshan Creative Hub URS21, Zhongshan.

Ximen, Shopping District. The Shibuya of Taipei.


Sugar-Apple or Buddha Head Fruit.

Cicheng Temple, Shilin.

Flower girl.

In traditional Chinese banquets, the serving staff will begin serving the food with a usually big, elaborate, choreographed presentation. This one had a light show!

Grandma.

Grandmas.



Taipei Subway. Efficient, clean, and frequent.






Bus stop.

Trash night. Trash collection in Taipei is so interesting. The city implements a “Per Bag Trash Collection Fee”. All residents are required to purchase specially designated garbage bags, which are available at 24-hour convenience stores like 7-Eleven. This scheme encourages usage of recyclable packaging, as those do not need a special bag and are disposed free of charge. As a result Taipei’s waste volume is down 35.08%, and recycling has increased 2.6-fold from 1999. In addition, residents are required to throw their trash bags into the trash trucks themselves, which run 5 days a week in the evenings. Trash never sits out on the sidewalk by itself, attracting vermon or odors. Plus, it’s a great community activity.



The Taipei Biennial 2012 @ the The Paper Mill. The Taipei Fine Arts Museum reused an old, brick paper mill warehouse next to where my mom grew up as a second venue for their biennial. The neighborhood, which used to be low-income housing and commercial warehouses, is now dotted with new residential high-rises.



Ri Xing Typography Shop - house of the last complete set of traditional Chinese character molds for lead-type casting in the world.





Halloween Subway Ride

Zhongshan Meishu Park, Yongshan.




Grandmas on bikes.





Taipei Public Library Beitou Branch (2006) by Bio-Architecture Formosana. The library is notable as being constructed to be an eco-friendly green building



Beitou Hot Springs, New Beitou.


Treasure Hill Artist Village, Gonguan.






Jiantan Station, Shilin. Site of the future OMA designed Taipei Performing Arts Centre.