Make the most of the Mid-Autumn holiday – Taipei recommends 14 great moon-viewing spots

▲Taipei City Government’s Department of Urban Development recommends 14 moon-viewing spots, with four located along Xiangshan Trail. (Photo / Intern Reporter Huang Wanting)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The four-day Mid-Autumn holiday is just around the corner. The Taipei City Government's Department of Urban Development has recommended 14 scenic spots for moon viewing: four on Xiangshan Trail, five on Xiangshan Trail (another section), three in Yuanshan Scenic Area, and three in Zhinan Scenic Area. Not only can you enjoy the full moon with your family during the holiday, but you can also take in views of Taipei 101 and the city nightscapes.

Huang Liyuan, head of the Department of Urban Development, pointed out that if citizens wish to chat and admire the moon with their families on Mid-Autumn night, the department recommends 14 excellent spots. Aside from gazing at the bright moon above, visitors can also enjoy distant views of Taipei 101 and the city lights. These 14 spots include four on Xiangshan Trail in Xinyi District: the Camera Platform, Printing Platform, Chaoran Pavilion, and the shelter on Shiliu Trail; five on Hushan Trail in Xinyi District: the Hushan Peak Platform, the 120 Highland Shelter, the concrete shelter above Fuxing Garden, the Fuxing Garden Platform, and the Jifu Temple Plaza; three in Yuanshan Scenic Area in Zhongshan District: the Viewing Platform, the plaza in front of the Qilin Hall at the Grand Hotel Taipei, and the Old Place Viewing Deck; as well as two in Zhinan Scenic Area: the Green Light Platform and Lover’s Sacred Land, which are also ideal for moon gazing.

Huang Liyuan noted that the outskirts of Taipei offer naturally blessed leisure trails and family-friendly moon-viewing spots. Characteristic trail attractions include the Zhuhu Lake loop trail, which is suitable for all ages to enjoy the distant mountains and fields close to nature, as well as two parent-child trails at Shuichailiao. As for forest-shaded hiking trails, the top choices are the Xiangshan Hiking Trail in Xinyi District, the Cuishan Trail and Bixi Trail in Shilin District. For water-friendly trails, the convenient and gently sloped Guandu Hiking Trail and Bihu Trail are highly recommended.

As for the 11 Autumn Trails, they include the Naval Rock Trail in Beitou District, the Tianmu Water Pipe Road in Shilin District, the Ji tan Mountain Main Route in Zhongshan District, the Hushan 120 Highland in Xinyi District, the Xiangshan Beixing Baogong Trail, the Xiangshan Yongchun Gang Park, and the Camphor Tree Trail in Wenshan District. During seasonal transitions, these trails offer beautiful autumn mountain scenery.