▊Taipei Songshan Airport
Established on April 16, 1950, this airport was at first managed by Taipei Airport under the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). Taipei Songshan Airport was the first airport in Taiwan and remains a hub of Taiwan’s domestic air transportation. On January 1, 1965, its management authority was renamed Taipei International Airport, CAA, MOTC, now in charge of domestic and international aviation services. Thanks to a booming economy, international routes were launched, facilities were progressively expanded and improved, and international airlines continued to add to the operations. Due to the limited room for expansion available to Songshan Airport, the operation of international routes was transferred to Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport (now Taoyuan International Airport) on February 26, 1979. Songshan Airport has since become dedicated to the operation of domestic routes.
In 1987, the “freedom of the air” policy was established. Since then, new airlines have begun operating on domestic routes, public usage of air transportation has increased, and the air route network has come to cover the entire island of Taiwan as well as the offshore islands. By 1997, the number of passengers exceeded 15 million. However, high oil prices and the completion of the High-Speed Rail along Taiwan’s western corridor, as well as the completion of the road transportation system, have had considerable impacts on Songshan Airport’s operations other than its offshore island routes. After the government lifted restrictions on direct weekend cross-strait charter flights on July 4, 2008, and lifted restrictions on weekday flights on December 15 of the same year, the traffic volume at Songshan Airport has gradually climbed back. In addition, to establish a Northeast Asia Golden Flight Zone, the TSA (Taipei Songshan)-SHA (Shanghai) flight route was first launched on June 14, 2010, and the TSA-HND (Tokyo) route was launched on October 31 of the same year. This allowed Songshan Airport to return to the international air transportation market. On April 30, 2012, the TSA-GMP (Seoul) route was also launched. This progress has strengthened connections between Taipei and other major centers of business in Northeast Asia; it has also formed a daily living sphere, thereby promoting Taipei’s economic development.
Source: Taipei Songshan Airport
▊Rongxing Garden Park
Rongxing Garden Park is located in Zhongshan District, the center of Taipei City. It is surrounded by Longjiang Street on the east, Jianguo North Road on the west, Minquan East Road on the south, and Wuchang St. on the north. The park is rectangular in shape, and has a total area of 6.5 hectares. It was constructed by private constructors as a privately owned garden in 1968, then expropriated in August 1989 to serve as a public park.
The park has undergone 3 periods of refurbishment from 2001 to 2006. It features a bougainvillea flower gallery that serves as a site for wedding photos. The park also features: the Liugong Jun (Liugong Canal) natural wetland ecology pool; a water stage performance space; a shaded square on the southwest side used at dawn and dusk for dance and Taijiquan exercises; a sunny lawn in the northeast area; forest paths laid with Formosan Sweet Gum wood; recreational garden paths; lotus pond; wooden paths; a children’s recreation area; basketball courts; crushed brick running tracks; a stylish management service center; three comfortable public toilets; and a pavilion that accommodates many people and provides a ideal space for playing chess, chatting and other recreational activities. In line with growing ecological awareness, collaborative efforts of village chiefs, local residents, experts and scholars have created a firefly restoration project that has been implemented at the ecology pool. The Parks and Street Lights Office of Taipei City Government also continues to conduct ecological research and plan environmental improvements. At present, there is a stable population of fireflies, thus making the park one of the few places in Taipei City to see fireflies.
Source: Parks and Street Lights Office, Public Works Department, Taipei City Government
▊Liaoning Night Market
Thanks to the popular religious festivities of Fuju Temple in the past, which have attracted large crowds and thus many street vendors, the Liaoning St. area has gradually developed into a night market. Today, Liaoning Night Market is a small night market featuring chiefly food and drinks. Most of the vendors are time-honored brands with 30, 40 or more years of history, selling street food such as boiled squid, pan-fried seafood, goose meat, pork kidneys pan-fried with sesame oil, Danzai noodles, oyster pancakes, red heart tapioca balls, and mochi. The might market is not only a popular place for office workers to dine together, but also heaven for foodies and tourists!
Source: Travel Taipei
▊Taipei Arena
The Taipei Arena, formerly known as the Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium, is located at the intersection of Dunhua North Road and Nanjing East Road in the Songshan District. At the end of the year 2000, the Taipei City government decided to replace the ballpark with a 15,000-seat multipurpose stadium. Construction commenced on November 12, 2001, and was complete on July 27, 2005. The stadium, renamed “Taipei Arena,” officially opened on December 1, 2005.
The Taipei Arena is an important indoor facility within the city of Taipei City’s overall sports facility construction plan. The building is divided into a main hall and subsidiary arena. The main hall is a reinforced concrete building comprising 2 floors underground and 5 floors aboveground, with floor space of approximately 90,900 m2. The interior floor of the main hall is 76m long and 41.5m wide and about 60m × 29.5m when all retractable seats are fully extended. When needed, the center floor can be completely frozen and become a standard indoor arena for sports or other events held on ice. The arena can be used for a variety of purposes, depending on need. It is therefore able to host top of the line competitions held by the Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF), and is also in high demand by both domestic and international art groups who compete for venue rentals to organize shows.
Source: Taipei Arena
▊Xingtian Temple
Xingtian Temple, also known as En Chu Kong Temple, is dedicated to Guan Yu (162-219 CE), a famous warrior in Chinese history. For his trustworthiness and righteousness, he is honored as the Saint of War. For his financial ability, he is also worshiped as the patron god of businessmen.
Built in 1967, the current Xingtian Temple features a simple and solemn appearance. In the front hall, you can see many believers kneel and bow before the deities with strong piety. Walking through the courtyard to the main hall, you can see no offerings other than flowers and plain tea atop the offerings tables. As animal killing is forbidden at Xingtian Temple, sacrifices are therefore forbidden. Moreover, visitors are also discouraged from practicing religious rituals such as burning spirit money, repaying the gods with dramatic performances, or kow-towing to give thanks for their accomplishments. In addition, there is no offering box before the temple to ask for believers’ donations. This sets a pioneering example of thriftiness within the traditional religion sphere.
As it is generally believed that prayers at Xingtian Temple are very effective, many believers visit the temple to pray and consult oracles. The underground shopping mall near Xingtian Temple is therefore almost filled with fortune-telling stalls, a unique feature.
Source: MOTC Tourism Bureau