BEYOND THE BAO

One for the to-do list is the National Palace Museum ( npm.gov.tw/en), which has one of the largest collections of ancient Chinese art and artefacts in the world. Allow a couple of hours, but even then you won’t scratch the surface.

For a more hands-on historical experience (and a sit down), visit the Wisteria Tea House, established in the 1920s. Choose from the traditional tatami mat rooms (where you sit on the floor) or more contemporary café seating. The tea menu is extensive and staff are helpful. Read up on the tea ceremony etiquette and use a traditional Taiwanese gong fu style tea set with yixing teapot and fragrance cups (they allow you to properly take in the subtle fragrances of the different teas and infusions).

If you are single, you may wish to visit the Xia-hai City God Temple ( tpecitygod.org) in Taiwan’s oldest district on Dihua Street. The main attraction is the blessing from the Old Man Under The Moon or Love God, Yue Lao, who is said to help find you your soulmate. Take part in the prayer, which involves an introduction to the temple deities, the burning of incense and rattling off your extensive wish-list of potential partner character traits. Six thousand couples are said to have been brought together – many would say it’s $50 TWD (£1.20) well spent!

Once you have turned your luck around, it’s worth a stroll down Dihua Street itself – it’s filled with traditional herb shops and the area is swamped with visitors at Chinese New Year.

A contrast to the bustle of this part of the old town is a walk through the Minsheng community in Songshan District. This is an area abuzz with independent boutiques, florists (check out Green Days By Fujin Tree – facebook.com/

greendaysbyfujintree) ) a and coffee shops, and the streets are lined with low-rise apartment blocks framed by trees. Fujin Tree 353 ( facebook.

com/fujintree355) by Simple Kaffa has excellent coffee and modern art with pavement seats.