Any suggestions for someone who has never been to Hsinchu, Taiwan?

Question

I will be there for 4 days. I have one day that I will be able to travel to another city.

What to do? What to see? What to eat? Should I learn Taiwanese or Chinese?

Answer 1

Hi,

You can visit this site for info. I personally have been here but do not know it well. I generally eat the Local food around the Railway station. Very Nice. Hsinchu is famous for it's meat ball soup and its Rice Noodles.

http://en.hccg.gov.tw/

http://www.hsinchu.gov.tw/travele/

Answer 2

Hsinchu is very famous for its pork meatballs (貢丸, "gong wan") and rice noodles (炒米粉, "chao mi fen").

I'm not sure if you mean Hsinchu County (which is a more general area) or City (central). You can visit the well-known temple called "Cheng Huang Miao" (城隍廟). In front of the temple is a plaza, with lots of low-priced yet delicious traditional food, especially the famous rice noodles.

In the whole wide world, there are only three cold springs. Italy has one, and the other two are in Taiwan. The one in Hsinchu is in the mountains, called the Beipu Cold Spring (北埔冷泉). You can find out more here:

http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/lan/Cht/attract...

You should learn Mandarin (Chinese). Most people speak Mandarin because it is the official language in Taiwan and is spoken in schools just as schools in the U.S. teach in English.

Nightmarkets (夜市) are a big part of Taiwanese culture. It's not as hot and humid in the evenings, so you should enjoy the nightmarkets. There are games, lots of food, clothes/shoes stands, and something you won't be able to live without in Taiwan--mosquito repellent and minty ointment for your itchy mosquito bites.

Good luck and enjoy!