For a 300-year-old city, Taipei is having a very late coming-of-age party. But then again, this unhurried but vibrant capital has taken a while to become comfortable in its own skin. With Chinese, Japanese and Western influences in its food, culture, folk arts and architecture, Taipei has finally decided that it's a mix, and all the better for it.

As with the multifarious street food, the traveller is advised to go for the xiao chi (little snacks) in everything. Day trips are particularly delicious, and a quick MRT ride takes you to tea fields, hot springs, river parks, and colonial towns backed by a mountainous national park. Within Taipei don't miss the Minnan-style temples beautified with unique decorative arts, the heritage lanes turned gourmet cafe and boutique centres, the buzzing neon neighbourhoods or the nightlife scene, growing in reputation yearly.

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TAIPEI AFTER DARK

Whether you're looking for a thumping night club, a relaxing beer in an expat bar or a night of singing your heart out at karaoke, Taipei's nightlife delivers big time. Check out our favourite Taipei bars and clubs for an after-dark excursion in Taiwan's capital.

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Tour description provided by Viator

Explore the Northeast Coast of Taipei and stroll through the Chiufen Village also known as Jiufen on this four-hour tour from Taipei. Drive to the east coast of Taipei to visit the Northeast Coast National Scenic Area, a popular swimming spot for the locals. Offering fascinating rock formations, lighthouses, fishing villages, pastoral farmlands and temples.

You'll be picked up from your Taipei city hotel at 1:00pm, drive along the northeast coast of Taiwan to the National Scenic Area, popular location with the locals. The northeast coast scenic area is noted for its numerous capes and bays backed by green mountains. Visit Pitou Cape, tall abrasion caves and platforms and other eroded landforms which can be clearly seen on the cape's hanging cliff.

The tour continues to Nanya, a coastline filled with amazing rock formations, a sea-eroded coral shore. The patterned stone is unique in Taiwan and formed through the weathering of the sandstone that lines the shore. The oxidation of iron ore within the stone gives it a beautiful striped pattern.

Travel to the quaint little village of Chiufen Village (Jiufen), once the gold mining center of Taiwan. The gold is gone, but Chiufen (Jiufen) built of closely-packed houses clinging to steep mountainsides, continue to offer enchanting scenery, unique teahouses and fascinating glimpses into the lifestyles of the past.

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