Photos by Tamaki Hashiramoto, (Bates College), Student Correspondent for CET Taiwan, Summer 2022
We watched a Taiwanese opera at the 台北表演術中心. The opera was performed in Taizhu, which is very different from Chinese. It had Chinese and English subtitles, but unfortunately, they were too small to read. The story was very new to me, and although I could not fully understand it, I was glad to have been exposed to Taiwanese culture.
The Taipei Performing Arts Center, where the opera was held, was close to the Shilin Night Market. It is said to be the largest night market in Taiwan, so we all went there on our way home. I had two night market classics: 卤肉饭 and 羊肉.
This is a photo I took at 迪化街. It was a fascinating mix of old and new, with many new stores in old buildings that have been renovated. Unfortunately, I went there a little late after class, so many stores were already closed. I plan to go back earlier in the day.
I went to 象山 with my housemate on a weekend evening. It was within walking distance from my house, so access was very convenient. I had heard from friends who had already been there that there were many stairs, but there were more than I had imagined. There were hardly any flat paths; it was literally always stairs. We went in the evening so we could see the sunset with a panoramic view of Taipei.
Random picture of a rainy day in Taipei. One of my favorite things about Taipei is this mix of old and new, not just the buildings but the people‘s life style.
This is my top recommendation at 临江夜市, a night market near my house. I eat there at least twice a week. The tofu dumplings are like pudding made of tofu, and you can add your own toppings. I recommend the purple and orange taro mochi texture ones in the picture.
Photo at 建国玉市. It was very large inside and took me a while to finish seeing everything. Prices are basically not written down, so you have to ask each time. The range of prices was so wide that sometimes I thought I had misheard the price.
Right next to the 建国玉市 is the 建国花市. Although there are only a limited number of plants that can be brought back to Japan, I had a great time just looking at plants that I had never seen before.
We went to 猴硐, known as Taiwan’s cat village. The train station was already full of cat motifs. We chose to visit in the evening, but it was still hot and there were many cats relaxing in the shade. It was such a therapeutic place surrounded by many cats and vast nature.
I experienced papermaking for the first time. Here I was able to learn about the history of paper and the traditional way of making it. The lectures were all in Chinese, but I was able to pick up and understand the words I had learned in class!