What to do and see in Nangang, Taipei: The Best Things to do

Conventional museums tend to emphasize the individual intrinsic value of the displayed items, separate from their historical or archaeological context. This museum, however, recognizes the fact that each artifact exhibited has its historical background, and has its own unique archaeological status. The museum, therefore, tries to guide the visitor further into the world that the object once inhabited, and enable the onlooker to understand properly the object's comprehensive cultural background. The guiding principle of the museum of the IHP is the scientific spirit of "New Academic Research", which has served as the foundation of Academia Sinica since its inception. The first floor focuses on archaeology, and includes artifacts from ancient Chinese civilization, extending from the Neolithic Lungshan culture through the Shang period, the Western Chou, and into the Eastern Chou period. The second floor concentrates on historical records, and is divided into six types: wooden slips from the Han dynasty, rare books, the archives of the Grand Secretariat, ethnic groups from the southwest China, stele ink rubbings and historical documents from Taiwan, as well as a display area reserved for special exhibitions. Notes and explanations are provided by experts of every field in Academia Sinica. The exhibition starts in the main hall on the second floor, and all display areas can be reached from this hall. Each area on the second floor is preceded by an introductory note on how the artifacts were found as well as their academic significance. The transparent glass floor on the second level and the path from the second floor down to the first floor are designed to generate an atmosphere of walking underground into an archaeological site. The corridors on the first floor exhibition area link the display areas from different periods. Previous spatial constraints imposed by numerous supporting pillars of the building were resolved using an ingenious design to portray visually the division of the historical past into different periods. The most outstanding feature of this area -- apart from the photographs of the tombs and archaeological excavations presented on the wall -- is that all of the artifacts excavated from any one tomb are all displayed.

Shanshuilu Eco Park was restored from Nangang’s Shanzhuku Sanitary Landfill Site, which was unveiled on October 27, 2013. Covering an area of 21 hectares, the Park is Nangang District’s biggest tree-covered area, offering an ideal recreational place for citizens and instilling a breath of new life into Nangang.Shanzhuku Sanitary Landfill Site earned its name because of its location at Shanzhuku Valley, the border between the south east corner of Nangang District, and New Taipei City’s Shenkeng District. It is Taipei City’s second standard sanitary landfill, covering an area of about 65 hectares. The landfill ground has an area of 30 hectares, and a capacity of about 6.17 million m3. 21 hectares of the landfill ground has already been filled and covered, and then converted into green space by means of vegetation restoration. It now has a totally different landscape from the former landfill, resembling the ambience described in the poem, “Fishermen”, written by Liu Zong-Yuan, a poet from Tang dynasty; the Park was hence named, “Shanshuilu Eco Park”.Various facilities in the Park were built with facilities you see now standing at the park, which were surprisingly abandoned at one time. There are also interactive and fun environmental education commentary facilities. In addition, on Saturdays and Sundays from 10 am to 4 pm, there are free children’ games (stilt walking, hoop rolling, top spinning) and free bicycle rental for visitors. The vast garden is also an ideal place for kite flying. During daytime, you can overlook downtown Nangang and Neihu’s mountainous region from the observation deck, while at night you can enjoy the night view of vehicles on Highways No.3 and No.5. The Park is an ideal recreational place for the entire family to get close to nature and experience ecological fun.

Gengliao Historic Trail is one of the five historic trails that links Nangang to Shengkeng and Shiding. It is well-preserved and still in use. This trail is not only a shortcut to Shanzhuku and Tukuqiu, but it also leads to some ancient relics. Today, the trail is paved with granite, and despite its renovation, it still has a touch of archaic ambiance. Starting point of Gengliao Historic TrailThe ancient “Pan’s Family House” is the only house in Nangang that still possesses bullet holes from war, and is still inhabited. Eight generations of the Pan family have lived here, meaning that the house is at least 160 years old, as old as the trail!On the way to Laoliao Historic Trail, the Shihui Mine Tunnel is a remnant of our forefathers’ exploration. The remnant of Wei Jingshi Residence recalls the origin of the once prosperous tea industry here, despite the current sadness reflected by its remaining walls. Other places such as Tujiao House, Zheng’s family graveyard and the mere 30cm tall Land Deity Temple are all evidence of the ancient history of this trail. Rediscovering the Home of TeaThe history of tea development can be traced back two hundred years. During the rule of Emperor Qianlong, this place was an important production center of camphor and tea. Wang Shuijing and Wei Jingshi researched and developed the Wenshan-style Paochong tea and Nangang-style Paochong tea, respectively. Together, they ushered in the golden era of Nangang tea, and its fame spread far and wide. Laoliao Historic Trail was a tea road that tea merchants and villagers took 110 years ago.The name “Laoliao” was derived later based on the homonymy of the sounds. Gengliao Historic Rail, on the other hand, was used by night watchers (gengfu) in the Qing Dynasty on patrol, and during the Japanese occupation era, the trail served as a transport channel for tea between Shengkeng and Nangang.