Sunday morning was a special day with a great treat. We took the red line all the way north to its end at Danshui Station. Danshui is a smaller city north of Taipei located near the outlet of the Danshui River into the Taiwan Strait. Originally home to Formosan indigenous peoples, Danshui was settled by the Spanish in 1629 and then the Dutch in 1641. By the 19th century, it
was the largest port in Taiwan and the center of shipping and commerce in northern Taiwan. By the 20th century,
accumulation of silt in the river forced most port operations to move
further north to Keelung. The downtown area had a European air to it.
The city is a popular weekend retreat for visitors from Taipei. A long boardwalk hosts arcades, food vendors and souvenir shops. Children walk around with plastic guns that blow bubbles all around them. There is the sound of carnival music and plenty of games with prizes for those lucky enough to shoot a balloon, throw a ring on a bottle, etc. The smells of fried foods is everywhere and people are walking around with different foods on a stick and tall ice cream cones.
It rained while we were there but that did not deter the people from visiting the local vendors and restaurants. Just grab an umbrella and enjoy the music, food, and general ambience of the area. We read that it was a popular location for viewing the
sunset, but can not tell you first hand about that because of the rain. We did manage to find a relaxing restaurant called the Waterfront where we sat under the canopy of a huge tree with a portable fan at our disposal and enjoyed a wondrous feast.
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| Kebobs of beef, chicken bananas, veggies and shrimp |
Ferries crossing the river to the town of Bali and the Fisherman's Wharf
depart from the Tamsui Ferry Pier. Sightseeing boats traversing Taiwan's northeast coast
and the Tamsui (Danshui) River depart from the Fisherman's Wharf. We took the ferry across to Fisherman's Wharf but it looks like they are remodeling the area. Local shops were closed. We did have a nice view of Lover's Bridge, a popular sight for young and old. It takes about 5 minutes or so to walk across the bridge and rumor has it that it brings good luck to the lovers that cross it.
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| Mermaid Fountain at Hotel |
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| Lover's Bridge |
Just off the wharf, the Fullon Hotel Danshui stands out like a majestic welcome mat to tourists. A little pricey, but we did walk through the lobby, enjoying the band performing for the guests, and taking advantage of the concierge to hail us a taxi for our return trip to the metro and home.
Sunday morning was a special day with a great treat. We took the red line all the way north to its end at Danshui Station. Danshui is a smaller city north of Taipei located near the outlet of the Danshui River into the Taiwan Strait. Originally home to Formosan indigenous peoples, Danshui was settled by the Spanish in 1629 and then the Dutch in 1641. By the 19th century, it
was the largest port in Taiwan and the center of shipping and commerce in northern Taiwan. By the 20th century,
accumulation of silt in the river forced most port operations to move
further north to Keelung. The downtown area had a European air to it.
The city is a popular weekend retreat for visitors from Taipei. A long boardwalk hosts arcades, food vendors and souvenir shops. Children walk around with plastic guns that blow bubbles all around them. There is the sound of carnival music and plenty of games with prizes for those lucky enough to shoot a balloon, throw a ring on a bottle, etc. The smells of fried foods is everywhere and people are walking around with different foods on a stick and tall ice cream cones. 
It rained while we were there but that did not deter the people from visiting the local vendors and restaurants. Just grab an umbrella and enjoy the music, food, and general ambience of the area. We read that it was a popular location for viewing the
sunset, but can not tell you first hand about that because of the rain. We did manage to find a relaxing restaurant called the Waterfront where we sat under the canopy of a huge tree with a portable fan at our disposal and enjoyed a wondrous feast.
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