Discover the amazing Songshan District in 4 steps

This district is well known as a major financial and cultural center of Taipei. You can find numerous headquarters from relevant banks and airlines. Plus, there are a lot of museums and Songshan is the uprising district, meaning it’s gaining more and more popularity.

In this article I”ll work through some of the best places of this amazing district to give you an idea what to expect if you’re planning to move or travel here!

The topics we will be going over:

• How to get around
• Historical Sights and Tourism
• Where to eat
• Nightlife

How to get around

There are two MRT Lines going through Songshan District, namely the Brown and the Green Line. However, you can find various other transportation facilities, including the second airport of Taipei, Songshan Airport or Songshan Train Station. Plus, like in the other districts, you can also make use of the public bus system or if needed taxi’s, of course depending on your needs.

Historical Sights and Tourism

Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

Formally a Japanese built tobacco factory, it has since been converted into a cultural hub packed with galleries, exhibitions, design spaces and shops. It doesn’t matter if you’re interested in culture or not, you’ll find something you like. Within the park are situated a large pond area, a baroque garden and the Eslite Spectrum Mall. Plus, on weekends there are various markets selling gifts and occasionally events are being held there.

Puppetry Art Center of Taipei

The Puppetry Art Center of Taipei was born from a passion with puppetry. “For the love of creativity, for the love of puppetry” is the Center’s core ideal. Inside you’ll find everything, from western to eastern puppets, from the normal exhibition over puppetry classes to actual puppet shows.

Taipei Arena

This multi-purpose stadium was originally built for mainly sports events. However, due to its multi-purpose construction, culture could make use of it too, meaning nowadays there are more cultural activities than sports events inside. These have included Disney on Ice and Cirque du Soleil, Cats the Musical, numerous concerts and many many more.

Ciyou Temple

The Ciyou Temple is one of Taipei’s most important Mazu Temples. The temple is primarily dedicated to the (dark faced) goddess Mazu, also known as the “Heavenly Mother” and covers an area of over 600 square meters. It has six floors of shrines with over a hundred different Taoist and Buddhist deities and also features a well-stocked library of Taoist, Buddhist and Chinese literature. The temple is well known in Taiwan for the intricate design and attention to detail that went into its construction.

The Metropolitan Hall

The former social education hall is now being used as a multi-function space for musical, drama and dance. The outdoor staircase is now covered with greenery, and there is a new transparent elevator, giving a Louvre-type feel. Also, there are a Coffee House and art exhibitions inside, giving you a reason to check Taipei’s vibrant art scene out without having to go to a show.

Museums

There are also some museums situated in Songshan, including the Land Reform Museum, which is dedicated to commemorate the land reform in Taiwan in the 1950s. Furthermore there is the Aurora Art Museum, an Art Museum exhibiting jade objects, bronze wares and Buddhism-related artifacts. And last but not least, the Taiwan Stock museum, which displays the evolution of shares, the impact of stock trading on the society, etc.

Parks

Not only the airport and the culture and creative park have green areas, if you look for natural beauties in this district, you will find it. There are the Yingfeng Riverside Park, the Guanshan Riverside Park, the Sanmin Park and the Xinzhong Park.

Where to eat

As one of the cultural, financial and artistic centers of Taipei, you’ll find food stores and restaurants around every corner. Traditional and international kitchens are wide spread around the whole districts in all kind of price ranges.

Raohe Night Market

As being one of the oldest night markets in Taipei, this Night Market is a must visit in Songshan. The epitome of a traditional Taiwanese night market, this 600 meter path along Raohe Street is packed with fun and interesting night foods and snacks, quaint shops and stalls, and carnival games with prizes. Specialties are oyster vermicelli, spare ribs stewed in herbal soup, pepper meat buns, duck meat, stinky tofu. Also, don’t miss to check out the popular Rainbow Bridge nearby, which is lighted in beautiful colors at night.

Breeze Center

The Breeze Center was Taipei’s first ‘American-style’ shopping center, and today it features stores, entertainment options, and restaurants. The food court is a great place to eat affordably but still get classic food to browse. You’ll find a lot of international kitchens as well as regional favorites on the go.  

Nightlife

Nightlife doesn’t really exist in Songshan. Good, you can go to the night market, visit a concert or another cultural event in the former mentioned venues, but except for that, there is only one bar recommendable to check out. If you really wanna drink or party, go to the neighboring district Zhongshan, Da’an or others; you’ll find great places there.

922 Nueveinti 2

It’s a well hidden bar up a flight of stairs, above a bike shop. Located a 10 minutes walk away from Songshan Station it’s the only bar of the whole district. It’s an amazing little bar serving delicious cocktails and cheap beers and it’s also possible to play darts.

Who is going to like living in Songshan

Songshan District for living is most suitable for people loving culture and arts or working in financials. It’s also practical for people studying National Open University or people flying frequently from Songshan airport. The area has good access to public transport and has living facilities in the average price range. It also hosts lots of events during the year, though the night life doesn’t really exist here.

If you’re looking for a room, we also offer rooms for rent all around Taipei. Maybe we have a room free in Songshan district in case you’re interested in moving to this district!

Sources

• Picture 1: https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/552/18418822519_aae8948295_b.jpg
• Picture 2: https://guidetotaipei.com/sites/default/files/styles/hotlink-ok/public/images/destination/461/Songshan-station-3.jpg?itok=Nsk0YjJ6
• Picture 3: https://www.tkhunt.com/sites/default/files/styles/l/public/venue/image/20150123/141027-73e145ca6840195c6d599a65826f83e5acc1a912-23/songshan-cultural-and-creative-park-2.jpg?itok=OQWrwhJf
• Picture 4: https://www.hindustantimes.com/rf/image_size_960x540/HT/p2/2018/11/16/Pictures/taiwan-arts-puppet_b9456a3c-e968-11e8-9800-40e053fa8e14.jpg
• Picture 5: https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/11/58/86/6a/p-20170624-190624-vhdr.jpg
• Picture 6: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5438e2c6e4b0b18459a8ca06/1450453248741-1RC1Q274R4B6BFQWQ64F/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kGP2kDL8laIfNDTHnzBPhyB7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fDoOvxcdMmMKkDsyUqMSsMWxHk725yiiHCCLfrh8O1z4YTzHvnKhyp6Da-NYroOW3ZGjoBKy3azqku80C789l0oGwQPSn8VqSSM4mc7rOnog_kMeh2Z3cO4QouP5z7x2-_sMrpUSLM7UVwWjxIUxHdw/image-asset.jpeg?format=1500w
• Picture 7: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/59/Taipei_City_Arts_Promotion_Office_20161031.jpg/300px-Taipei_City_Arts_Promotion_Office_20161031.jpg
• Picture 8: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/94/Ton_Hwa_Building_20151031_2.jpg/1200px-Ton_Hwa_Building_20151031_2.jpg
• Picture 9: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Guanshan_Riverside_Park_in_Evening_20141014a.jpg/1200px-Guanshan_Riverside_Park_in_Evening_20141014a.jpg
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