North, South, Central
SA: Petition Program: National Taiwan University
Alex, one of the Semester Abroad Correspondents, shares his experience abroad during the Spring 2025 semester. Follow along with the group of correspondents on our blog and look out for their images on the @pennabroad Instagram feed.
A lot of Taiwan’s main cities are named after their location. For example, there’s Taipei (north), Tainan (south), and Taichung (central).
北 (North)
Taipei is not what I expected. On my first day in the city, I quickly realized there was way more to Taipei than I knew about. Strolling throughout the city (逛街, as it’s called), I saw this humongous white marble building in the distance. I was confused, to say the least. As I approached what seemed to be an amalgamation of Tiananmen Square, the Parthenon, and the Lincoln Memorial, I thought to myself, “Where am I?” Upon my ascent to the top, crowds gathered around a military procession at the bottom. Viewing the trees, the marble, and the crowds of tourists with their phones out, I got my first real view of the city.
南 (South)
Upon my arrival, I realized that Tainan has a distinctly different feeling. Walking around the streets tired and sweaty, I started to notice the roads. Unlike the cement streets you mostly walk along in Taipei, in Tainan it’s brick—and it’s not new brick; it’s old brick. Tainan’s old Dutch fort was really a showcase of this. This huge red brick building, along with seeing other white tourists walking around taking pictures, really took me back to Europe. But as I quickly left the tourist trap, I ran into streets filled with vendors selling all types of seafood. Seafood, of course, was a highlight for me in this port city. After my walk to the beach for the sunset, I wrapped up my time in Tainan with an oyster omelet, fish ball soup, and fish fritters. It was truly one of my best meals.
中 (Central)
Taichung, as its name suggests, is a gateway to central Taiwan. With my 7-Eleven breakfast in hand, I boarded a bus to Sun Moon Lake. Once again, due to my lack of research, I didn’t know what to expect. After riding through the narrow, mountainous road and successfully befriending a Taiwanese lady on the bus, we arrived. With my friend’s recommendations and a little help from Apple Maps (not Google), I made my trek. After a solid 15,000 steps, 40 flights of stairs, a sopping wet T-shirt, and about 10 bug bites later, I arrived at the best viewing point in Nantou
County. From this beautiful mustard-yellow pagoda, I saw the gorgeous mountainous landscapes of Taiwan.
To think that a Qing official once called this island worthless.
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