Beitou Park & Spring

 Beitou was famous for its hot springs in Taipei, attracting numerous tourists every year. It has hillside and hot spring scenery.

The first time I visited there was a rainy day and it was Monday, unfortunately, the museums were not open on that day, so I visited the library near the subway station. There was a nice collection of books about local history， ancient philosophy, and other entertainment books. I also walked up to the hills and smelled the flowers. Because of the rain, there were not so many people on the street， the garden looked greenery and the spring water waved across the rocks and flowed over promptly.

This week, I visited Beitou again on a beautiful sunshine day. I visited the Beitou Museum near the library. It demonstrates the history of the local area of Beitou Stones, craft items, as well as other antique treasures. There was a hot spring bath pool with instructions on how the spring water could fix certain illnesses. Looking through the window, it was a beautiful garden with cherry blossoms and all sorts of plants.

Then, I headed to the hill again, visiting the thermo valley. The hot spring lake steamed up and looked like the clouds dancing around. I wish I could taste the local spring water, but there was no such vending machine or service.

I kept heading up to the hill to get to the Beitou Antique Museum. It was much further than what I thought about. I passed through a couple of big hotels located in the middle of the hill. I visited the garden attached to the Spring Hotel. It has a mid-sized hot spring tub inside. The landscape design was elegant with cute sculptures and blooming plants.

I continue to move up. It took me another ten minutes to reach the museum. The surrounding environment was very quiet and charming, like an Eastern-style garden. But there was only an antique toy exhibition on that day. There were very few people. One family came here to make a reservation for a meal. That made me feel a bit confused, is it a museum, a restaurant, or a hotel? So I didn’t visit inside but stood on the hillside to appreciate the natural scenery.

I took the other route going downwards, passing through some residential buildings, and heading back to the street. The hotels and restaurants were spread across the streets. Most people came here to enjoy the hot spring treatments, local food, and natural freshness. New Beitou, old Beitou, we can always learn its cultural quintessential and let hot springs nourish our spirit.

Posted in: Global Trips