Back to Taipei

I’m originally from Taichung, the city in the central Taiwan. But this city has been a “cultural desert” for me and I’ve seldom enjoyed it. So I was super excited when getting the opportunity going to Taipei for work and studies at my 22.

I was very shy and timid when I just got to Taipei. I was like a country girl and people in Taipei seemed so aggressive but at the same time full of attractiveness. Luckily I got one good friend who is from the South and as curious about Taipei as I was. Therefore we explored the city together and had a lot of fun. I stayed in Taipei for 6 years and gradually became a “Taipei-centered” snob and always complained about other cities.

As the capital of Taiwan, Taipei gathers the most exciting things- political, economical, cultural, and of course consumerist- of Taiwan. The population is approximately 3 million and the weather is awful with too much humidity in both summer and winter. This city has been like a lot of big cities in the world, which means it often votes the politician against the will of other regions of the country (the bourgeoisie traitors!). Taipei has been the domain of KMT (the Nationalist Party), in spite of the fact that Taiwanese localism is currently prominent across the island.

Now I’m back to the city from Canada, and certainly not a “Taipei-centered” snob anymore. I’m looking at the city with different feelings; for example, why are there so many scooters on the road and make the environment noisy and polluted? Or, oh shop attendants are much more polite here! I’m like a tourist and found that the city has changed a lot, and am like going back to my 22 and start another exploration.

The Taipei Metro

Liberty Square

Formerly and better known as The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.
The name change was one of the results of democratization in Taiwan. Chiang Kai-Shek was the dictator of Taiwan from 1950 to the 1970's.