Location is everything – or could be! Taipei is a high-rise city and getting higher, and with it, more expensive. Rows of old 5-storey buildings – shops below, apartments above – are gradually being cleared and replaced with gleaming new office or apartment buildings, many with over 20 storeys. The modern definition of a skyscraper is now usually a building over 40 storeys, but Taiwan doesn’t have many compared to other cities in Asia ~ mainly because of the high risk of earthquakes. But there are still lots and lots of very tall buildings, and with new earthquake engineering methods, so taller ones are going up all the time. My family is interested in seeing photos of my new area of Taipei City – so let me share them with you too…

We’d better start with Taiwan’s tallest building, Taipei 101 with its – yes, you’ve guessed it – 101 floors, designed like a bamboo, and with a massive golden ball near the top that helps to absorb the vibration in the event of a typhoon or earthquake. These photos of Taipei 101 are taken from the Four Four South Village, originally a military dependents’ village, now a historical landmark and cultural area…

And the photos below are taken from the shopping area on the other side of Taipei 101 – it’s fun to go at night for the lights…

Taipei 101 is about 30 minutes walk or 3 stops on the MRT from my new base at St. John’s Cathedral, Taipei. The cathedral – which must have been one of the grander buildings in the area when it was built in 1956 – is gradually getting dwarfed by taller and taller buildings going up all around it. So much so that it is hard to locate – these 2 photos below were taken this very morning – the cathedral is hidden on the left of that glass-fronted building behind all the motorbikes!

Spot it here across the road and snuggled in between buildings…

The big tall building on the left in this photo behind the cathedral is the National Science and Technology Council….

While outside and directly opposite the cathedral on Fuxing South Road is a new 23-storey high-rise building going up – replacing a row of 5-storey buildings – drilling has been going on all day long for the last few weeks. These photos show the progress in the last 2 months. Once finished, it seems likely it will block the morning sun from the cathedral – with its shadow of the cross on the roof…

Current status of the new building is this, with the red crane in place ~ behind them all is Taipei 101, out of sight but definitely there….

Right behind that new building going up is the National Taipei University of Education campus. The photo below is nearly the same view at ground level, but turning left just outside the cathedral, towards the Fuxing South Road junction with Heping East Road, where the Brown Line MRT turns the corner up above…

The nearest MRT Station is called ‘Technology Building’ and due to its height above ground, the line gives good views – this is looking north…

Behind the cathedral is a street lined with places to eat, and full of students at lunch times and evenings…

At the end of one of those streets is the local Da’an Matsu Temple, tucked away in among the buildings… when they have a parade of the deities, it’s quite something, the noise of the firecrackers and the smell of the incense means events in the cathedral have to pause while they go by….

And meanwhile, around the local area, these are photos of early morning traffic starting up…

St. John’s Cathedral is located in the Da’an District of Taipei City, and 10 minutes walk away is the Da’an Forest Park, built on land previously used for military dependents’ villages. There’s a lake with hundreds of egrets and herons nesting on an island, another lake with red bicycles that power the water fountains and a permanently based flower-painted bus that serves as a blood donation centre, and lots of bamboo and flowers. In the early morning it is full of older people doing exercise, while in the evenings and weekends, it’s full of families, young people and visitors.

Across from the park is the Holy Family RC Church ~ these photos were taken at Chinese New Year (hence the Christmas tree still up)…

And the Taipei Grand Mosque…

St. John’s Cathedral is also only a few minutes walk from Taiwan’s top university, National Taiwan University (NTU) with its Royal Palm Boulevard, bicycles galore (no motorbikes allowed on campus), and lots of students and visitors. It’s a beautiful campus, and so quiet in the early mornings…

Taipei City is built in the Taipei Basin, surrounded by mountains, and it was only when the railways were built under the Japanese Colonial government at the beginning of the last century that the city started to develop – before then the land was mostly agricultural, and transport was mostly by boat along the river from Tamsui. Some of the houses from that time still remain and are now preserved. This one is part of the campus of the local junior high school, and was built by the Huang family…

This one was built by the Chen family and is on the edge of the developed area, in Fanglan, near the NTU campus…

Other important historical areas are some of the old military dependents’ villages that have been preserved – the most famous of which is Treasure Hill, located by the river on the other side of the NTU campus. It’s a great place to cycle from here. In more recent years it has become an ‘artist village’, and at weekends is always full of young people…

For some views of the Taipei Basin, the surrounding mountains are the place to go, and most are easily accessible from the city. This is the view from Elephant Mountain, Xiangshan…

Another one is Guanyinshan with all its steep ups and downs – inactive volcanoes – with ropes in big supply, great views and tea at the top with some of the locals….

And back down in Taipei City, one of the best places for breakfast is this one selling the more traditional breakfast foods – these photos were taken at Chinese New Year, but I was also there this morning, and it is just as popular as ever….

And so back to St. John’s Cathedral – and if you’re ever in the area, do come and visit, there’s always lots going on: Sunday services in English at 9:00 am, in Chinese at 10:30am, combined English and Chinese service on the last Sunday of each month at 10:30am, a student English Bible Study plus lots of other Bible Studies, cell groups, youth activities etc, there’s also the cathedral kindergarten for children ages 2-6, and a community centre offering classes in all sorts of things from Taiko Drumming to String Orchestra to Fitness. There’s something for everyone!

St. John’s Cathedral website is here, services are live-streamed, and if you’d like to check out this video, it’s us doing a Happy Birthday St. John’s Cathedral celebration on March 16!

Welcome to join us anytime!

The above photo of the cathedral was taken on February 22, 2020, the day of Bishop Chang’s consecration. Since then all the palm trees on the left have gone, one was blown down in a typhoon – fortunately it fell towards the cathedral and caused no damage – had it gone the other way, it might have hit someone – and the rest were deemed too dangerous. If I get a sunny day, I’ll take a photo to show you but it’s now quite bare in comparison! Palm trees or not, we’ll be celebrating Palm Sunday with palm branches, palm crosses and a Palm Sunday procession this coming Sunday ~ so welcome to come along and join us!

Updated April 4, 2023: And this was Palm Sunday 2023!