Start your trip with a walk！New Taipei City launches 18 walking routes with locals as guides

Reported by You T-Ru / Taipei




▲ New Taipei City releases a travel book featuring 18 walking routes. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

Travel guides from the 1970s mainly focused on well-known gardens, historical sites, and natural landscapes at home and abroad. By the 1980s, new attractions emerged, with gardens, amusement parks, and newly discovered majestic and rugged spots becoming mainstream. After the 1990s, snacks, old streets, and resorts rose in prominence, becoming key highlights in guidebooks. In the new millennium, food, homestays, rail travel, and trendy restaurants became the new craze. So, what kind of travel era are we in now? Small sights and details are gradually shifting the scene—small markets, little stories, and mini trips. The book Turn Around, Explore Little Trips in New Taipei—Start with a Walk adds the human element, where locals are the best guides. This book presents a new concept in travel, where small and light trips will spark a fresh trend.


▲ The book incorporates the human element—“people” are the best guides. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

Turn Around, Explore Little Trips in New Taipei—Start with a Walk was created through over seven months of on-site interviews and photography, capturing the charming cultural vibes of every alley and corner in New Taipei City. Whether you’re exploring nostalgia along the railways, navigating the city via metro, or experiencing the grandeur and tranquility of coastal and mountainous areas along winding roads, this book re-examines the warmth of its people, urban delights, and natural beauty through three slow-paced modes of travel.

Chen Kuo-Chun, Director of the Tourism Bureau, said that in this city full of historical traces, from day to night, from land to sea, every corner, town, and old street holds touching stories and memorable moments. A resident’s smile, the journey of opening a shop filled with dreams and hard work—all of these are captured in this travelogue. This book aims to offer visitors to New Taipei City more refined, spontaneous, in-depth, and moving travel memories.


▲ The book also features travel stories about New Taipei City shared by several celebrities. (Photo / Provided by New Taipei City Government)

To complement the launch of the book, five recommended routes are featured to connect readers with the protagonists in the book. Simply join the New Taipei Travellers fan page, choose your favorite route, and take part in the lucky draw game. You might have the chance to visit New Taipei City this winter, experience the surprises hidden in its alleys, feel the warm hospitality of the locals, and enjoy a guided tour by a local expert. The lucky draw registration is open from 5:00 PM on November 21 to 5:00 PM on November 22. New Taipei Travellers will announce the winners on the New Taipei tourism website after registration closes. The tours will take place from November 26 to November 30, with each of the 10 winning groups allowed to bring one friend. Each participant will receive a copy of the travel book.

The new book Turn Around, Explore Little Trips in New Taipei—Start with a Walk also includes travel stories from Wu Nianzhen, Liu Kexiang, and Show Lo, offering deeper insights into the warmth of the people and the beauty of the scenery through their perspectives. Both the Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese editions of the book have been completed. The Simplified Chinese version was released on November 13 and introduced at tourism promotion events in Shanghai, Suzhou, and Nanjing, receiving high praise. The Traditional Chinese edition is now available at major bookstores such as Eslite, Kingstone, and Books.com.tw. The English and Japanese editions are expected to be released in December.