In the planning for our free and easy days in Taipei a few weeks ago, I was looking for fillers to populate the dead spots in the itinerary. We didn’t think the Chiang Kai-Shek or Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Halls would interest the kids too much, and temples were also out. Besides the Maokong Gondola, our other major highlight for Day 10 was Taipei 101 in the evening. So, I looked on Google Maps for child-friendly places that would be in the general direction of where we were heading, and found an interesting place: the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. The park sits on a site that was used by wine-makers for years. That is, until the turn of the century after cultural and artist groups advocated for their own space to demonstrate their arts when the site was re-purposed to what it is today. To be sure, we didn’t know quite what to expect in this place, aside from that there were performances on the weekend. So, we kept our expectations low.
We were however really surprised by what we saw. There is an indescribable energy from the many shops, exhibition areas, little museums and exhibitions and what looked like mostly persons in their mid-20s running it. The place was crowded yes on a Sunday afternoon, but it was mostly of young people and young families. We didn’t see a single busload of noisy tourists. Of particular note in the area is a Wooderful Land, a small indoor play area that’s inside a miniatures museum and shop. There are no iPads or electronic gizmos in Wooderful Land. Just jam-packed with traditional, wooden block board and puzzle games. Even the old rubber band games are found here!
Admission charges wise, Wooderful Land charges NTD100/SGD4.45 per child, and each accompanying adult another NTD100 (you can pay as a single adult and take turns), and play times are by fixed session timing of around 100 minutes I think. That’s a lot of play time for just NTD100/SGD4.45, and the kids didn’t want to leave too when our time was almost up.
But what left me with the deepest impression, and now that I’m writing this towards the end of this trip, hasn’t been Taipei 101, Taroko Gorge, Cingjing Farm, or Taichung etc. It’s been the street performances I saw in Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Many talented and passionate street artistes who clearly love their craft were performing to the crowds’ delight, and each artiste at the end of the performances we saw also related their personal stories of how much their artistry means to them. Their testimonies were touching. And I was really heartened to also see the very generous donations from the crowds after each show to help each performer keep going.
In short, our kids loved the creative play areas and would have stayed for even longer. And as for me, the two performances I saw will leave a permanent imprint in my collective memory.
Pictures!
Our last stop for Day 10: up Taipei 101!
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