Spring Time in Taipei

(Article Text)
by Jon J. Tan

Spring time has got to be the best time to visit Taipei.. Apart from slight shower here and there, End of Feb allows one to catch some of the best hilights of Taiwan. Here's our five day itenary in 2005 Day 1 21st Feb Train Station, TiHua Street Grocery street to do shopping.. local snacks, medicine and Taipei City Lantern Festival... RenAi Road lights Day 2 22nd Feb XiMenteng Shopping clothes, shoes,.. Ancient DragonHill Temple, TamShui Fisherman's wharf for dinner Day 3 23rd Feb YangmingShan for Plum Blossom and Cherry Blosssom sightseeing, flower festival and leisurely walks.., and rush down to PingShi (SheFen) to catch the Sky Lantern festival.. great Lunar New Year end celebrations.. Stay the night at Chiu Fen, hill resort Day 4 24th Feb Sunrise at Chiu Fen. Train ride to Taroko National Park. Ching Sui Cliff... Marble Canyons including Nine Turn trail, Swallow's Grotto, and end with spending the night at KuanYuan. Day 5 25th Feb Early next morning watch the incredible sea of cloud along the way back to Taroko passing through Pilu.. Holy Wood stop, Baiyang waterfall, Lotus Cave, Eternal Spring Temple, WenShen hot spring, etc.. end up having dinner in Hualien and then train back to Taipei to catch plane back.. Whew... wish we could redo it all over... Photos by Jon J Tan & Choon Text by Jon J Tan

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Dear Jon,

Thank you for taking the time to reply my email. Dina Ho
— Dina, July 24, 2008

Hey Dina
I'm sorry but i am not actually from Taipei/Taiwan.. I am also a 'lost' tourist just like you are :-) I don't know about Dec but Spring (especially towards the end of the CHinese New Year 15 days) is certainly the best time to visit, in my opinion.. Taipei/taiwan would be more festive then, the weather's mild, flowers start to blossom... there's certainly a lot more to see and do during Feb, versus Dec.. I wouldn't worry about the cold weather though.. it's not like it snows in taiwan.. good luck with your trip planning..
— Jon J. Tan, July 23, 2008

Hi, Wow the photos such wonderful and the shot are perfect. Its really very nice. Well, I just came back from Taipei,TaiChung last Sunday. It was a short trip. We missed quite a lot of places bcause of the taifun rain. So we did nt managed to go to the Sunmoon lake. I am very much looking forward to go again with my daughter. Is December the best time to go (e.g round about 18-Dec to 26 Dec) ? I read some article says it is ok although it going to be very cold. Feb time would be a bit though because of schooling.

Hope you can post your comments. Thanks to you.

Regards, DHo
— Dina Ho, July 23, 2008

Karyee, the best time to go would be just at the end of Chinese New year (around end of Feb). If you read through this article you will notice that there are a lot of great activities happening around that timeframe, besides viewing ying hua.. hope you have a great time in taipei
— Jon J. Tan, May 8, 2008

Love your pink carpet! Am planning trip to Taiwan - spring time of course! Please if you may give me some guide where is the Blossom place and approximate best time to catch the "Yin Hua".
— karyee, May 7, 2008

ah...!! i didn't see this article. how could i missed it. i never thought taipei is that nice!!
— The Explorers, July 7, 2005

hmmm... "Vanity Shot" - my favorite desktop wallpaper! :o)
— Gwen, May 13, 2005

Oops, forgot to mention the best part - I LOVED your flower & blossoms shots the best.... some took my breath away & have gone into my screensaver folder.... ;o)
— Lorraine Brecht, March 14, 2005

Oh my...... Jon - you obviously chose the perfect time of year to visit Taipei - cherry blossom time, flowers blooming everywhere, lantern festival, CNY.... I had no idea there was so many thing to see & experience in Taipei.... alas, I have only been at the airport waaaaaaaa.... and you saw sooo much in just 5 days.. It was really nice to have your Mum along & so many nice photos of her for memories... :o) I liked the Flower Girl shot of her :o) Your captions were great & at times quite witty, ie the "Black Market" There were 3 shots that you nicely 'massaged' I think? maybe used an oil painting feature??? One was in Yangmingshan? another was Pink Carpet? I also liked the Spooky tree.... Daughter Carol, the message expert ;o) will be impressed ;o)
— Lorraine Brecht, March 13, 2005

thanks for dropping by and the comments The blossoms were awesome.. really worthwhile.. Chew: my mum was a reluctant model.. no choice.. KS: my image in article.. yeah break in tradition. PC: i like spooky tree too.. one look i knew i had to shoot it.. jin2: the blossoms were one of hte main attraction to visit taiwan in spring. Sumi: yes.. it was raining non stop and it was miserably cold... all worth it to view sakura and enjoy the chap goh meh celebrations..
— Jon J. Tan, March 8, 2005

I like your models :-) Thanks for sharing. Hey from your photos I suppose it rains a lot?
— Sumi, March 8, 2005

I love the pink blossom, very nice and great shot. Taiwan look intesting. Thanks for the sharing
— Jin2, March 6, 2005

i like the chiufen door... a lot of character....
— leng lui, March 5, 2005

Great photos and descriptions. Thank you so much! Sharon
— Sharon McAllister, March 5, 2005

Hey, I like Spooky Tree, Vanity Shot and Pink Carpet!
— Ooi Ping Chuin, March 4, 2005

Hey.....Awesome piece of work once again......Great to actually see you in some of the pictures......people can finally see the person behind all the talent......and it was wonderful to see your mum again......please give her my regards.....and Kate says "Hi".
— KaiShen, March 4, 2005

Again, nice collection of photos! your mum must be very happy also to have so many nice photos. :)
— Dawnblazer, March 4, 2005

Pink carpet is so lovely, and Vanity shot is super creative. Thank for sharing :)
— Jenny, March 4, 2005