Follow us on this colorful route through Taipei Shilin area's cultural scene – from the old to the new, from the "untouchables" to artworks you can take home.

The Taipei of Modern Arts

Seemingly built with giant white Lego pieces, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan's first modern art museum is nearing its 27th birthday this year.

The museum hosts intriguing modern art shows and collects representative works of Taiwanese arts, in addition to promoting art education, including nurturing artistic talents by giving them exhibition opportunities, and international exchanges. The museum always provides visitors with high standards of aesthetic experiences in a direct and powerful way.

The museum's collection includes more than 4,000 works covering the many aspects of modern art with art forms spanning from oil paintings to sculptures.

A system that has filed the artworks digitally represents a further step for Taipei into the world of contemporary arts, while the museum's free Internet access humanizes the place, creating a perfect gathering point for art lovers.

The museum's spacious design with high ceilings sets no limit to the displayed artworks. Numerous square walls of windows integrate the beauty inside and outside.

Built with a square opening smack in the middle, the museum features an outdoor coffee shop, adding a bonus relaxing element – a successful tactic that closes the gap between cultural arts and our daily lives – I think I've just found myself another amiable writing corner. There's a bookshop around the corner to the café, too.

Tickets to enter the museum are NT$30 for adults and NT$15 for students from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Special exhibitions are priced accordingly.

Priceless Imperial Treasures

The greatest Chinese cultural treasures are nestled in northern Taipei's Shilin area at the world-famous National Palace Museum. Originally founded in 1925 in Beijing's Forbidden City (hence the "palace" in its name), the museum was established in Taiwan in 1965 after about 600,000 treasured artworks were brought over to Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War between the Kuomintang (the Nationalist Party) and the Communist Party in 1949.

Arguably Taipei's most celebrated attraction, the history-full museum has evolved over the decades – with upgraded facilities and an expanded collection, now numbering more than 650,000 pieces; the museum houses the finest of Chinese art and culture in the world.

Since it's basically impossible to see everything there, where shall I start? With the superstar crowd pleaser of the museum: the Jadeite Cabbage.

The Jadeite Cabbage is a part of the collection of Dazzling Gems, Imperial holdings from the Qing Dynasty. The bok-choy cabbage, cleverly carved from a single piece of half-white, half-green jadeite, symbolizes the advanced techniques of Chinese art, even from that era. The famous Meat-shaped Stone (that amazingly, really does look like a piece of pork) is also displayed in the same room.

Another must-visit section of the National Palace Museum is the Classical Civilization quarter with precious four-century-old Hsia Dynasty artifacts. Near the entrance of this sectioned area sits the Mao-kung Ting that is dated 827 B.C.E, an impressive urn with ancient Chinese inscription that reveals King Hsuan's hopes for his kingdom – it reveals the sophistication of Chinese writing at the time.

Several atmospheric restaurants like Silks Palace Restaurant and Fuchunju Café offer visitors an excuse to linger at the museum and take in majestic views of the place. Sanxitang Teahouse, on the third floor, serves delicate Eastern-style snacks and an assortment of soothing teas.Shilin Official Residence

A serene stroll seems right about now, don't you think? A quick 10-minute bus ride from the National Palace Museum allows you to experience such a peaceful moment at the Shilin Mansion, former President Chiang Kai-shek's residence.

Chiang lived here with his wife, and also used this secluded, heavily guarded estate as a national headquarters, for 26 years – after the defeat of his Kuomintang party in the 1949 civil war, and the relocation of his government to Taiwan.

Several diplomatic events, including Taiwan-U.S. discussions of the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, also took place here. In 1953, then-U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon stayed on the second floor of the main residence.

Spindly palm trees greet visitors to the estate, lining the main path from Zhongshan North Road Sec. 6 – I felt like someone important just walking down that path.

Converted into a majestic public park in 1996 after being deserted for a while, the place also features fantastic European-style botanical gardens.

The residence stands as an important landmark in Taiwan and also serves as a symbolic reminder of the country's history and its unique relationship with mainland China.

Visitors can again find a café (café seems to be the trend eh?) built in an unflustered environment that gives strollers a chance to sit back and enjoy the surroundings for a longer time.

Open every day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (7 p.m. on weekends), the park is free to visit.

Shilin Night Market

Nearing the end of a day means one thing: night market time! Situated across Zhongshan North Road Sec. 6 from the Shilin Mansion is Taiwan's famous Shilin Night Market.

Crowded with hordes of people every evening, the location of the night market is recognizable even to first-timers.

It's best to visit on an empty stomach, as the place is full of stalls jostling for space and selling local delicacies. Delectable Taiwanese food includes Oyster Omelet – fried oysters, eggs, vegetable with potato starch in a pancake form – and Stinky Tofu – a type of fermented tofu that tastes surprisingly nice although it's got a slightly unpleasant odor.

This is also the best place to come for all sorts of wonders, from self-designed T-shirts to handmade massage tools to peculiar-looking accessories.

Sometimes lucky shoppers can discover on-sale name brands, too, so keep your eyes wide open! You never know what you might find.

In addition to the food and shopping, there is also a movie theater, video arcades, karaoke, and a bowling alley on the spot, providing people with more than enough entertainment options.

One night is never enough for the full Shilin Night Market experience. So plan to go, soak it in, and then figure out when you're going back!

How to get there:

By MRT – Take the Danshui line and get off at Yuanshan Station. The underground to the art museum is a 5-minute walk.

By Bus – 40, 42, 203, 208, 216, 218, 220, 224, 247, 260, 277, 279, 287, 308, 310, 612, and Red 2 gets visitors to the Yuanshan Stop, outside Taipei Fine Arts Museum.