Danshui
A suburb to the north of Taipei, Danshui is immensely popular with daytripping Taipeiers, primarily for its riverside promenade lined with snack stands and trinket stalls. For tourists, however, the main draw is a number of historic buildings to the north of the busy commercial streets. The most important of these Fort San Domingo, which was the center of first Spanish, then Dutch power in northern Taiwan in the mid 17th century. The late 19th century Huwei Fort, a Qing dynasty customs office and a handful of buildings associated with the 19th century missionary George MacKay round out Danshui's historic attractions.Despite their number and importance, these sights are somewhat bare and only really of interest to history buffs. That said visiting them makes for a pleasant stroll, as the area is green and quiet and offers good views of the Danshui River. Fort San Domingo in particular is...
