Explore a lesser-known hidden gem in Tamsui on a light trip around New Taipei: the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre

Text by Irene Hsu Photos by Zhang Yilin
 
No matter where you’re from, there’s often a common phenomenon: the closer a place is to you, the less likely you are to visit it. No matter how famous or historic a spot may be, it rarely piques the interest of locals. Just like me, a native of Taipei—I’m probably more familiar with the streets of Yilan, often escape to the blue skies and white clouds of Hualien for a break, or challenge my taste buds in the alleys of Tainan when I’m craving something delicious. But I’ve visited Taipei’s famous attractions, such as Tamsui, very, very rarely. This makes me feel a bit guilty every time I mention Tamsui as one of Taipei’s must-see spots. That’s why this two-day light trip to Tamsui gave me a great opportunity to genuinely introduce the area—or rather, to share many different sides of Tamsui that you might not know.

Water naturally brings to mind travel—Fisherman’s Wharf, Lover’s Bridge, Fort San Domingo, Tamsui Old Street, Bali, seafood, and ah-gei. All of these are iconic, but starting this year, there’s a new landmark: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. So we took a trip to Tamsui, and besides discovering the internationally renowned Cloud Gate’s new base in Tamsui, we also found an interesting place: Chocolate World Dream Park.

Located right next to Fisherman’s Wharf, Chocolate World Dream Park sounds like an extremely dreamy, girly place—and we thought so too at first. But within just ten minutes of entering, we completely let go of that notion because this is absolutely a “chocolate museum” suitable for everyone. As soon as you step into Chocolate World Dream Park, you’ll be greeted by an incredibly rich aroma of chocolate. It won’t take long to realize that the scent comes from a 1:1 scale “chocolate car” made entirely of real chocolate. Just as we were immersed in the luscious chocolate smell, our guide was even more eager than we were to share more stories about chocolate.

The first floor of Chocolate World Dream Park is divided into five zones: the Maya Market, Fantasy Forest, Future World, Champs-Élysées, and the Land of Love. It introduces the history of chocolate, chocolate artworks, chocolate fashion, and all kinds of things made from chocolate. The part that captivated us the most was the introduction to chocolate in the Maya Market, which covered its origins, development, and evolution. We learned that the earliest form of chocolate was actually spicy, and that in the past, chocolate was so precious it could even be used as currency. With it, you could buy food, drinks, clothes—and even slaves. Another highlight was the “Chocolate Fortune Telling”! Dried cocoa pods contain a single cocoa bean with different fortune messages written on them. Don’t forget to get your chocolate fortune here. One could easily spend an afternoon here, which is the perfect time to then go watch the sunset in Tamsui. You won’t miss out on any of the beautiful sights worth visiting again and again—and you might even discover even more...