Mini Cultural Trips in Taipei

In the bustling Shilin Night Market lies a hidden gem: A secret entrance to the Yuanshan Water Shrine trail is right here, tucked away in the car park of the Yangming Branch of the Taipei Water Department. Just five-minutes’ walk down this path leads you to the old water facilities built during the Japanese colonial period that once helped supply water to the greater Taipei area. Most of the structures have since rusted away, and on the building next to the equipment, you’ll find the three characters 活水頭 (“active water source”), marking the location of the former Yuanshan Reservoir.

As the path continues, it leads to the Yuanshan Water Shrine, where you’ll immediately notice familiar elements of Japanese shrine culture: guardian lions, a purification basin, and stone lanterns. The colonial settlers who originally built the shrine have long since departed and the shrine is now abandoned, but it still possesses an air and scenery that cannot be experienced elsewhere, even in Japan itself. Without crowds of worshippers and tolling bells, there is a certain tranquility, even a hint of desolation, reminiscent of when Chinese literati witnessed the ancient battlefield of Chibi, evoking sentiments such as, “Where is that once mighty figure now?” and “The departed are gone, never to return.” Unlike Taipei’s most familiar historical sites, spaces like this evoke a deeper contemplation about time and history.

Moving on and up towards Jiantan Mountain, you reach the Breeze Platform and the Northern Eye Platform, which offer panoramic in all directions.

Taipei Performing Arts Center, Shilin Night Market, Shilin Official Residence, Ching-kuo Chi Hai Cultural Park (Zhongshan District), National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine (Zhongshan District), Shilin Market