surname Zhang eats at Huzhang Zhang’s for half price! Top 10 surnames, 10 top New Taipei hotspots — free admission

▲ The New Taipei City Civil Affairs Bureau promotes free attraction visits based on surname homophones. (Photo provided by New Taipei City Government)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

Do you know which surname is most common among New Taipei residents? From July 10 to 23, the New Taipei City Civil Affairs Bureau is holding a two-week “Generations’ Memory Household Registration Exhibition” in the city hall lobby. In addition to showcasing historical household registration artifacts from various offices and a special exhibition on Japanese-born Taiwanese,it is also collaborating with clan associations for the first time to organize themed days for the top 10 surnames: “Chen, Lin, Li, Huang, Zhang, Wang, Wu, Liu, Cai, and Yang.” These include special offers and free entry to 10 popular attractions and local delicacies, giving the public a chance to explore the charm of civil registration while enjoying all that New Taipei has to offer.

▲ Those with the surname Zhang can enjoy free entry to the Yingge Ceramics Museum and half-price pork rice at Huzhang Zhang. (Photo provided by New Taipei City Government)

The top 10 surnames in New Taipei City are, in order, Chen, Lin, Li, Huang, Zhang, Wang, Wu, Liu, Cai, and Yang. They account for 17.07% of the national population of the top 10 surnames and as much as 53.32% of New Taipei City’s population. Among them, the most common surname, Chen, has 454,157 people, making up 11.43% of the city’s population, while the 10th most common, Yang, has 100,063 people, accounting for 2.52%. Additionally, in 22 out of New Taipei’s 29 districts, Chen is the most common surname, followed by Lin as the second most common, while Li is the third most common surname in the city and the second most common in Luzhou District.

▲ Details of the 10 surname-themed activities.

This year’s surname-themed days combine surname homophones with New Taipei’s distinctive attractions and local cuisine. On the first day, Chen surname holders can present their ID to visit Fort San Domingo in Tamsui for free. For the Lin surname theme day, Lin Benyuan Garden Mansion and Pinglin Tea Museum are open to Lin surname holders for free. The Zhang surname theme day even offers a 50% discount on pork rice at Huzhang Zhang. Non-top-10-surname members of the general public can also enjoy these perks by taking photos and checking in at the exhibition area.