Author Shaowen-Chiu Photos Gao Zanxian
Known as an international city with friendly hospitality, kind residents, and rich culture, Taipei is also a blend of the traditional and modern, with diverse cuisines and snacks, convenient transportation, and information networks. No wonder it has been named one of the world's 10 great food spots, one of the world's 10 best budget travel destinations, and the 13th best travel destination in Asia. This year, the US online news media company BuzzFeed included Taipei in a list of 53 beautiful cities everyone should visit at least once.
A refers to the apps that make tourism more convenient and friendly.
B refers to the buses that make it possible to explore attractions across the city.
C refers to the culture, including tips from locals on hidden treasures and new ways of exploring the city.
Travelers from around the world find that Taipei is brimming with energy and unique features waiting to be discovered and then re-discovered at different times, under different moods and via different travel modes. To aid travelers in these discoveries, the commissioner of the Department of
Information and Tourism, Chien Yuyen (簡余晏), made the launch of Taipei Tourism ABC ( 台北觀光ABC) the primary objective of her first hundred days in office. "A" refers to the apps that make tourism more convenient and friendly. "B" refers to the buses that make it possible to explore attractions across the city. "C" refers to the culture, including tips from locals on hidden treasures and new ways of exploring the city.
Leisurely Travel With the Now@Taipei App
A fast, single window for information related to food, accommodation, transportation, cultural activities, and attractions benefits international travelers visiting Taipei for the first time, domestic tourists from outside the city, and even Taipei residents who want to check travel information. The Department of Information and Tourism had these various groups in mind when it launched the Now@Taipei app. Designed by the department's Multimedia Information Office, the app includes introductions to between 200 and 300 tourist attractions. All it takes is a smartphone to explore the dining, shopping, and accommodation options, as well as promotions, and cultural activities, that make Taipei such a great travel destination.
The Now@Taipei app integrates social network "check-in," digital greeting cards, and user sharing functions, as well as meteorological reports. Its "Nearby" function uses open data platforms and
location-based services to inform users of the distances to nearby MRT stations, visitor information centers, police stations, public toilets, and YouBike stations. Tourists no longer need to worry about becoming lost in a strange city or not knowing where to turn when unexpected problems arise.
The dice on the home travel recommendations page is a fun and clever feature. Press it and then shake your phone to find out the day's lucky attraction and cuisine. If you have an urge to explore but don't have a plan, or if you're having trouble figuring out where to start or what to eat, then why not give your phone a shake and roll the dice? This feature adds a dash of spontaneity to your trip.
The Now@Taipei app quickly gained in popularity following its launch in 2012. Besides consistently placing in the top five most downloaded apps offered by the Taipei City Government, it was the most popular Apple Store travel app, downloaded more than 139,000 times by the end of May this
year. It has become an indispensible tool for Taipei tourists.
When Chien made improving tourism apps a primary objective of her first hundred days in office, she envisioned technology promoting the beaut y of Taipei to domestic and international travelers. That beauty includes unique, hidden treasures recommended by knowledgeable staff from the city's 12 district offices. Examples are the Qing Dynasty Longanpo Huang Family Lianrang Estate (龍安坡黃宅濂讓居), which is tucked away on the Long Men Junior High School (龍門國中) campus (Daan District), the Jiang Weishui Memorial Park (蔣渭水紀念公園) (Datong District), which is a symbol of the Taiwan spirit, and the Shibafen ( 十八份) charcoal kiln (Beitou District), which allows people to revisit a traditional industry.
The new generation Now@Taipei app meets the accommodation needs of travelers by enabling searches of nearby licensed hotels. It greatly enhances mobile searches by integrating information related to tourist attractions, specialty cuisines, cultural activities, hotels, and tourist night markets. Due to the rising numbers of Korean tourists, a new Korean-language version of the app will be launched alongside the Chinese, English and Japanese versions. Implementation had already begun at the end of March.
Tour Buses Offer New Urban Experiences
Travelers to Western countries may have experienced local sightseeing buses. The most famous of these, the red double-decker open-top buses that ply the streets of London, not only acquaint visitors with the landscape, but also serve as a symbol of the city. Such buses offer guided commentary that provides an overall picture of a place, and they typically travel in a loop, with passengers free to board and alight at will to explore landmarks in depth. Soon, they will be available in Taipei.
Responsibility for planning the sightseeing bus routes belongs to the head of the Tourism
Industry Division, Zhang Kunhai （張坤海）, who says that plans are underway for a route that encompasses must-see destinations for travelers on their first visit to Taipei: Taipei 101, National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, eslite Xinyi Store (信義誠品), Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, Ximending (西門町), Dihua Street (迪化街), Jiancheng Circle (建成圓環), Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市), Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei Confucius Temple, Dalongdong Baoan Temple (大龍峒保安宮), Martyrs' Shrine (忠烈祠), Shilin Night Market, Shilin Official Residence, and National Palace Museum. The route will pass through the bustling eastern commercial district and areas of western Taipei popular among the youth. It will head north to traditional, old sections of the city, and stop at temples and museums rich in history and culture. In one journey it will be possible to catch a glimpse of some of the many faces of Taipei.
According to Zhang , while Taipei's extensive network of MRT stations and buses makes it easy for independent travelers to plan an itinerary, tour buses are a simpler, more convenient option for first-time visitors who do not want to spend time learning the city's transportation system. By boarding a tour bus, they can stop at Taipei's famed tourist attractions without worrying about transfers.
Initial plans are for a single route with 30-minute headway between buses. Passengers will be able to spend at least 20 minutes at each attraction or stay longer and simply board the next bus. The route will pass by MRT hubs, such as Ximen, Taipei Main, Zhongshan, Yuanshan and Jiantan stations, so that passengers can transfer to the MRT to reach other locations on singleday journeys around the city.
Soliciting Culture-Inspired Travel Tips
After upgrading tourism information services and providing new transportation tools, the third part of the Department of Information and Tourism's hundred-day plan was to inspire joint exploration of the city by residents and tourists. At the end of February, a create-your-own itinerary plan was launched to solicit ideas from six leading figures in diverse fields. Travel blogger Ken Worker (工頭堅) crafted a romantic journey around Taipei. Tree expert Chen Jianyi (陳健一) led a tour of old trees that offered insight into the urban ecology. The founder and editor in chief of C'est Si Bon, Huang Weirong (黃威
融), demonstrated how to experience the Bohemian lifestyle for a day, while food and travel writer Danny Wen (溫士凱) showed how the energy of Taipei can be explored using the taste buds.
Famed cellist Chang Chenchieh (張正傑) composed a musical journey. It began at the crack of dawn at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, inspired by the "Morning Mood" movement from Edvard Grieg's Peer Gynt Suite. It closed with a dip in the hot springs of Yangmingshan ( 陽明山) to the sound of Felix Mendelssohn's nocturnal classic A Midsummer Night's Dream. Nature writer Avian Liu ( 劉克襄) recommended a singleday journey along Zhongshan North Road. that offers the chance to explore a diversity of shops and boutiques specializing in creative and cultural products. The head of the City Tourism Division, Wang Shijia (王施佳), mentions the value of approaching the city's romantic, culinary, musical, and cultural offerings, as well as its urban and natural environments. These elements were touched on in another event, dubbed "search for the Taipei travel master," which solicited fun single-day itinerary submissions that were then put to a public poll. The activity sparked new, creative ideas of how to explore the city.
Chang points out that besides the five traditionally recognized senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch, the most important tool for learning about and appreciating Taipei is your heart. In this day and age, anyone who is willing to work hard can contribute to the collective memory of the city. To build a friendly, hospitable Taipei suited to tourism, we must continue unearthing new cultural capacity. We should make it easy for tourists to use Taipei's travel apps and ride its buses. As people truly experience local culture, the hundred-day plan will reveal a Taipei that is different and new. The Department of Information and Tourism's convenient, friendly tourism app allows tourists to quickly grasp information related to food, hotels, transportation, cultural activities, and attractions. With the Now@Taipei app having been downloaded more than 139,000 times, it has already served as an excellent travel companion for many.
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