My hometown is Taichung City, which is the third biggest city in Taiwan with over 2.6 million population (please imagine half of population in Finland all live in a area as small as 2,214.8968 km2 ! ). However, many people means many entertainments. I have hosted several foreign friends in my hometown and I realized that what they enjoyed the most was not always from what travel guides recommended.
There are my favorite places in my hometown:
- Yi-zhong Street: it must be surprising for foreigners to understand how this street prospers- due to the afterschool education industry! We Taiwanese believe what you learn from high school is not enough to compete with another students so that private class after school becomes more and more popular. Since thousands of students come to the class right after school, they got to eat. Step by step, more and more shops for food, clothes, hairstyle and so on come to play along with these young people. It is an ideal place to observe our youth culture with some snacks in hand.
- Feng-jia Night Market: it is one of the biggest night markets in Taiwan with more than 1,000 vendors/shops. The night market is near Feng-jia University, so there are a lot of “older (compared to the previous one)” students wandering around in the night market (If you feel like, you can also visit our university campus). If you want to experience the crowdedness; If you want to buy something, drink something and eat something, Feng-jia Night Market is your best choice. Unlike in Finland, it opens almost 24 hours (it depends on vendors/shops).
- The Third Market: unlike most western big cities, most Taiwanese tend to shop in traditional markets for fresh vegetables and meat. From morning to noon, you can see how lively our traditional markets are. You can even have your local breakfast here. If you have no clue what to eat, then follow the crowd! That is the tip to find what is the most popular among the local. As the picture shows, during Chinese New Year, there are vendors selling decoration and calligraphy.
- Holiday KTV: it opens 24/7 and comes with all-you-can-eat buffet. Unlike in Finland, Taiwanese ,in general, dare not to sing in public ( I cannot picture myself singing in public and torturing people’s ears and appetite… ). Lots of people hang out there in their private rooms. It is a good way to know our pop music better and also bond with people.
- Eslite Parklane: it is a sort of department store but Eslite Bookstore is the spotlight. There are plenty shops and restaurants. If you feel like having some air-conditioning indoor, and please visit the place. You can observe how Taiwanese read and what kind of books interest us. The reason I like this place so much is because they create such a comfortable place for people to read, shop and eat. The vertical garden on the wall is a huge hit.
- The good way to know the local better and save your budget for the trip, I would recommend a website- couchsurfing (http://www.couchsurfing.org/). You can stay in their places for free and make friends with them. Also, it is a great way to experience Taiwanese's hospitality!
Comments
Hsuan-chu (Chloe) Lee , very good and informative writing. I really learn a lot about Taiwan through your blog postings. Would it be possible to share some information about the Taiwanese Technology industry. How about computer and electronics manufacturing, HTC and Foxconn?
I learn from Wikipedia:
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd. (trading as Foxconn) is a Taiwanese multinational electronics manufacturing company headquartered in Tucheng, New Taipei, Taiwan. It is the world's largest maker of electronic components[3][4] and the largest exporter in Greater China.[5][6]
Foxconn is primarily an original design manufacturer and its clients include major American, European and Japanese electronics and information technology companies. Notable products which the company manufactures include the iPad,[7] iPhone,[8] Kindle, PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360.
Foxconn has been involved in several controversies, mostly relating to how it manages employees in China, where it is the largest private-sector employer.[9] In 2012, the Fair Labor Association was hired by Apple to audit working conditions at Foxconn.[10]