Fun things to do in Taipei Shih

Although a memorial hall built in the '80's for a dictator sounds totally unappealing, this along with the National Theater and National Concert Hall is actually one of the most impressive buildings in Taiwan, and indeed may be one of the most attractive in Asia. All three buildings are designed in a faux traditional Chinese style, and are some of the largest "traditional" Chinese buildings in the world.
The basement of the memorial has a display of the KMT's version of history, which will be interesting/ amusing to anyone with an interest in modern Chinese history. The memorial is surrounded by one of Taipei's nicer parks.

Bao'an Temple is hands-down Taipei's most beautiful temple, despite being much less visited than Longshan Temple. Its relative obscurity may be because locals are much less enthusiastic about Bao'an Temple resident god (the Baosheng Emperor, god of health and medicine) compared to that of Longshan Temple (the Buddhist Bodhisatva Guanyin) or Xingtian Temple (Guan Yu, of Romance of the Three Kingdoms fame). However, for those who are sightseeing rather than worshipping, Bao'an Temple has much more appeal, due to its excellent UNESCO-award-winning restoration, elegant design and beautiful details.
Every April Bao'an Temple hosts a festival dedicated to the Baosheng Emperor's birthday, the centerpiece of which is a long parade featuring martial arts, lion and dragon dancers, people dressed up in giant god costumes, fireworks and other performances. This is followed the next day by a firewalking ceremony. It is arguably the best temple festival in northern Taiwan and shouldn't be missed.

At 1,100 meters Mt. Cising is the highest mountain in Yangmingshan National Park, and can be climbed in half a day. It is only worth climbing when it's not veiled by clouds, which happens rarely. Even when it is a cloudless day in Taipei smog can ruin the views. But when it is actually clear the views are probably the best in the north, with all of Taipei visible, as well as the rest of the National Park, Keelung and the east coast, and most of Taoyuan. The views of Mt. Zhuzi are particularly impressive.
The easiest and most interesting way to climb the mountain is from Siaoyoukeng, easily reached by the park's shuttle bus. Under no circumstances should you climb from the park headquarters- this is a miserable, boring slog up over half a kilometer of stairs, with nothing of interest to interrupt the climb. Siaoyoukeng on the other hand is one of Taipei's greatest natural sights, a huge sulfur vent eating into the side of Mt. Cising. If you are not in a rush you can climb down the east side of the mountain, over the east peak to Menghuan Lake. The views along this route are also stupendous, weather permitting.

Connecting the Northeast Coast beach town of Fulong to the hamlet of Daxi, this trail is one of the best of Northern Taiwan's more accessible trails. The main feature is the beautiful coastal views near the Daxi end, though the trail also passes some minor historical sights.

Located near the MRT's Fuzhong Station, this is one of Taiwan's most impressive historical sights- a traditional Chinese mansion and garden like those found in Suzhou. Though it's not as beautiful as similar gardens across the strait it's still attractive in its own right, especially for those who haven't yet been to Suzhou.

Sanxia is a little annoying to get to, but it is one of the most worthwhile places to visit outside Taipei. It is most famous for its ornate Shizu Temple, a must-see for anyone at all interested in temples. The temple is not Taiwan's most elegant but its stone carvings are very beautiful. Sanxia's old street is also one of Taiwan's best and has some good food to sample, though some of the shop owners try to rip off tourists.

Pingxi Township has one of the widest varieties of sights of any area in North Taiwan, but is relatively untouristed (with the exception of Shifen Waterfall on weekends, and during Lantern Festival). It is also relatively easy to get around, since all the major villages are connected to the Pingxi Branch Line, which begins in Ruifang, itself a 40 minute train ride from Taipei. The main thing to do here is hike, and there are enough trails to keep you busy for days. The Sandiaoling Waterfall Trail is particularly pretty. The towns here mostly lack any historical structures, (except for Jingtong), but are very atmospheric and worth wandering around in. You can also explore the impressive Shifen Waterfall and abandoned coal mines.
Pingxi hosts large sky lantern releases on Lantern Festival; it's one of Taiwan's most impressive sights but you must be willing to brave huge crowds.

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It takes around an hr plus from Taipei to Jiu Fen by coach. Along the journey, I enjoyed the streets scenery and their crops and crops of plantations. Jiu Fen is situated uphill and hence the wind was cooling and scenery there is good.

The coach driver will announce Jiu Fen old town when reached and it's really touristy. It's one long, narrow stretch of lane with shops on both sides selling local products like sweets, pastries etc.

There are also many eateries. Jiu Fen is famous for the following kind of food: Fish balls, Taro balls (as desserts), some kind of "kuay" that I'm sorry, I do not know how to describe and was too full to try that time.

Jiu Fen old street can be really crowded during weekends, especially in the late afternoon because after that, many would go to the Keelung's Miaokou night market for dinner.

While enjoying the crowd, the taro balls which is really tasty and buying local pastries, you may also like to walk around and enjoy their old architecture, their stone paveway etc. Near the old street, further up the slope, there's a mountain nearby where I see people trekking up. Too challenging for me. :)

From Taipei to Jiu Fen old street: Take MRT to Zhong Xiao Fu Xin MRT station. At the bus stop in front of "Hi-Life" (if the shop has not moved :P), wait for the coach that says to "Jiu Fen, Jinguashi". I can't see any bus stop signboard on that at the busstop and so I waited like the rest of the people there. The coach has no bus no, just description "Jiu Fen, Jinguashi". Coach trip cost $90 TWD, cash only.