Beitou Travelers' Life Festival: Experts Lead the Way Back to the Bustling Hot Spring Town

Written/Compiled and Reported by Wu Junying and Li Xinyi

The charm of Beitou lies in its location amidst natural mountains and forests, rich in sulfur, which led to the development of a hot spring culture during the Japanese colonial period. This time, the Tourism Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, seeing the natural and cultural scenery of Beitou, has joined forces with South Village to launch the "Beitou Summer Travelers' Life Festival" under the "North District International Light Spots Project." In addition to hosting special exhibitions on Beitou Ceramics and Beitou Scenic Paintings at the Beitou Cultural and Historical Museum, the best part is that professional scholars from various fields—Liu Kexiang, Yang Ye, Sally Lee, and Han Lianglu—will lead everyone on outdoor walks around Beitou, personally retracing a piece of Beitou’s history.

After the first North District light spot, "Taipei Qingkanglong Block," was launched last year to great acclaim, this time the second North District international light spot, "Beitou Yangmingshan Hot Spring Humanities Light Spot," has been initiated. Han Lianglu stated that this "Beitou Summer Travelers' Life Festival" continues to use a diverse tourism approach, combining local urban culture to understand the local lifestyle from a humanistic and historical perspective. To this end, local experts have been invited to take everyone outdoors to explore Beitou’s century-old trails. Follow travel writer Liu Kexiang to walk along the Shibafen Guizhen Ancient Trail; or join local cultural historian Yang Ye to stroll through the old streets of Beitou and savor stories of the past. For those wanting to learn about the legendary elegance of Beitou’s hot springs or curious about Beitou’s pottery industry and Beitou Ceramics, geologist Li Sigen and Deputy Director Hong Kan of the Beitou Cultural and Historical Museum will share their insights, giving you a deeper understanding of what the older generations knew about Beitou.

This time, the “Porcelain Origins: Beitou Ceramics Special Exhibition” and the “Beitou Scenic Paintings 1930–1970 Special Exhibition” are hosted by the Beitou Cultural and Historical Museum, nestled along a mountain trail. Its former identity was the Kashan Hotel, which still retains the hotel’s original baths and tatami-floored halls. The museum showcases the tranquil and elegant Japanese-style ambiance of Beitou. During the Japanese colonial period, Beitou’s ceramic industry gained considerable fame for its advanced technology, diverse product range, and refined quality. The museum is displaying 20 pieces of ceramics marked with the characters “Beitou”—a rare sight indeed. Meanwhile, the Beitou Scenic Paintings special exhibition displays images of old Beitou and artifacts from old Beitou hotels from 1930 to 1970, a selection of nearly 100 exhibits that share the hot spring charm of old Beitou. The special exhibition runs from now until October 30.