Taipei 101

Any visitor to the capital of Taiwan, Taipei, will definitely notice the tallest grand tower of Taipei 101 (台北101). It is a welcome icon placed in every form from tourism brochures to websites and can be noticed nearly from every corner of the city.


Taipei's skyline - the Taipei 101 tower clearly stand out


Taipei 101 skyscraper - modern skyscraper between old & new Taipei city

The tower may seem far & small from far, but if compared to its many other buildings or at the Taipei's skyline, it actually stands out - very much out in fact.

And if one goes closer to the tower, then the Taipei 101 building comes in full grandeur.





The closer one gets, the more grand it seems - that was how I felt. Rather excited to see the world's tallest building right here in Taipei!

Obviously, like the many other tourists to Taiwan, I had to go see this skyscraper of Taipei, and currently the tallest building in the world!

Taipei 101 Mall
Though the Taipei 101 has offices (and yes, you can get a business address here), but as a tourist, I was more interested in the Taipei 101 shopping centre.

Entering the mall, I could feel it to be a very high class mall - there are big labels & brands. Not much to my type, but it was nice to see this modern mall.


There are 6 levels of shopping, each level offering different type of shops

A Garden In The Mall
The mall was ok for me, nothing that fantastic, as it felt just like the many other modern malls with big brands (this is just my opinion).

But, what I like most is the 4th level where there is a man-made kind of garden/ canopy and around it is build a few cafes. This was quite unique.


The high ceilings & spacious area makes a good place to relax


The cafes just like the many cafes in Taipei are unique and have their own distinct 'character'

The surprise of the shopping centre is that it only opens at 11am - I thought that was a lil late - but apparently is quite normal for shopping malls to open at that time.

Beyond Shopping At Taipei 101
Apart from shopping, there is also the Taipei 101 Observatory, where one can see the whole view of Taipei city. This is located at the 89th floor.


The Observatory area - to purchase tickets

However, I did not go up the ride. That was because the night before, we were treated to a meal at the Chinese restaurant located at the 85th level.


The beautiful Taipei 101 Chinese Restaurant

The Chinese restaurant had beautiful interior and we could get a good view of Taipei city.

However, the food was just ok I felt - seriously, and I'm not being fussy - well not for the price at least :) But our friend mentioned that the Western restaurant which was next door, and also at the 85th level was good.

By the way, the tower could be lit up at night & is quite a different view actually.





And apparently, during the festive periods, there are fireworks coming from the tower.


Winning photographs of the Taipei 101 fireworks display

Overall, I felt that there could be something more to the Taipei 101 - it somehow lacked a kind of 'punch' to be as grand & majestic like the other tall skyscrapers of the world.

*Taipei 101 is now the tallest finished tower, overtaking the KL Petronas Twin Towers. However, the Burj Dubai is already the tallest already, despite not being completed yet (source).

But, in any case, I'm glad & in a way proud to be able to visit this icon of Taipei & Taiwan. For I guess otherwise, the trip to Taiwan wouldn't be complete! :)

*Talking to some Taiwanese friends, they mentioned that some do not like the architecture of the building which looks like a sword being pierced downwards. If not mistaken, the Taipei 101 building is supposedly to represent bamboos. What do you think?

Coming up next: More things on grand buildings in Taipei.