4ever Discovering
A Trip Up the Most Famous Landmark in Taiwan: Taipei 101
Taipei 101 a.k.a. The CN Tower of Taiwan
You probably recognize this building from most of our pictures; it is the one always standing in the background. With a landmark so tall, it is hard to miss anywhere you go in Taipei. Emily and I have been looking at Taipei 101 for over seven months now, so we decided to take a trip up to the top and see what our new city really looks like.
Since Day 1, Emily and I kept saying how we needed to visit Taipei 101 and see what all the fuss was about. It is, by far, the largest building in Taiwan, and actually the 8th tallest in the world. It stands at 509m, and was once the tallest building in the world. It wasn’t until the Burj Khalifa was built in 2010 until it was demoted. Being such an iconic part of Taiwan, Emily and I decided it was best to visit the building when we had company. We figured this was probably one of the top things to do in Taipei, so why not just wait until other people wanted to see it as well. When Sarah and Rachel came to visit in February, we jumped on the opportunity to show our friends around and see a bird’s eye view of the city.
If you’ve read my previous post about the ‘Chill-out’ Walking Tour, you already know that Taipei 101 is intended to resemble a stalk of bamboo. Many people in Asia grow bamboo in their gardens to symbolize good luck and fortune. Bamboo is also an icon of learning and growth. With all of these elements together, Taipei 101 was designed to please its audience. Many people in Taiwan are firm believers in luck; what better way to always have luck on your side than to stare at the tallest piece of bamboo in the world? It seems appropriate to me. Another fun fact about the design is how there are 8 segments of 8 floors visible from the outside. The number 8 in Chinese history can be associated with prosperity and good fortune. I’m telling you, they thought of everything when this place was designed!
Something you may not know about Taipei 101 is its unique design to withstand any earthquake or typhoon. Because Taiwan is located between the Philippine Sea and the Eurasian Plate, they experience earthquakes very frequently. When Taipei 101 was under construction, the engineers made sure to consider this and designed a damper to help withstand strong winds and earthquake tremors. This mass damper is a 660 tonne steel pendulum that sways to offset any movement caused by the wind. It is what reassures everyone this building will never fall and we can walk safely around it. (Although, we were also told the Titanic would never sink, and look what happened there...just saying). The most movement the damper has ever swayed was in August 2005. When Typhoon Soudelor hit Taiwan, the damper swayed 39 inches with the winds. I am just trying to imagine what that would have looked like from the outside of Taipei 101. I doubt you would be able to see the building sway 39 inches; however, I wouldn’t want to see how much it would have moved if they never had the damper in the first place. Pretty scary stuff.
Now that you’ve had your little history lesson on Taipei 101 (built in 2004), it’s time to hear all about our trip to the top. I always love seeing a city from a bird’s eye view. That’s when you really get to see how big the city is, and try to find where you live in comparison (I couldn’t find our apartment). Being the tourists we are, we paid the money to get to the top and joined the other foreigners. One of the coolest parts about the trip to the observation deck was riding the elevator. This used to be the fastest elevator in the world until the Shanghai Tower was built. It travels 84 floors in 39 seconds. The elevator itself resembles outer space; when you look up, you can see a starry night with the milky way. We were moving so fast in the elevator, my ears actually popped. Before we knew it, we were at the observation deck, greeted with coupons for cheap mango beer. What a sale. Of course I had to try it. It was Taiwan beer with a scoop of mango ice cream in it, sort of like an alcoholic root beer float. It was worth a try, especially to say I’ve drank a beer at the top of Taipei 101. Again, I’m all about those bucket list-worthy things I can say I’ve done.
Once we made it to the top, you are able to walk around inside and learn more about Taipei 101. They have a lot of tidbits of information about the construction and interesting facts of the building. Of course, there were windows all around the top, so you could always see the view of the city from different angles. We climbed 5 extra flights of stairs to make it to the tallest observation deck. This is where you can go outside and enjoy the very windy view of Taipei. Unfortunately for us, half of the deck was closed due to strong winds. We were limited to one side only, but still had an incredible view. Like any other observation deck would have, there were bars surrounding the area for safety precautions. It didn’t make the pictures look the greatest, but you are still able to see the background.
Our trip up to the top of Taipei 101 was definitely worthwhile. It is something we knew we had to do eventually, and I’m glad we waited to see it with some great company. It’s hard to plan a trip here because the weather can be so unpredictable. You don’t want it to be too windy (or half of the observation deck might be closed), and you also don’t want it to be too foggy (which it is 90% of the time). It definitely would have been best if we came on a sunny day; however, time is not always on our side. Either way, it is still an incredible view. It was surreal to think that is where Emily and I have been living for the past 7 months. Looking out from the top, you can see such a big city, surrounded by infinite mountains. We really lucked out here!
