In celebration of the opening of the MRT Xinyi Line, Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism is offering free guided tours of Xinyi District (信義) on weekends until Dec. 29.
The line, which opened on Nov. 23, runs past major city attractions in the district including Taipei 101, Songshan Cultural and Creative Park and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Department Commissioner Sun Ting-lung (孫廷龍) said the department is offering free tours starting this weekend to introduce the district to local and foreign visitors.
The department has set up a visitor information center at Exit 5 of the line’s Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station.
Weekend tours will take place between 10am and 2pm, with each outing lasting about 90 minutes.
The free tours are available in Chinese and English and introduce the district’s architectural specialties, public art and design works. People can try out the YouBike public bicycle rental program, and tour the veterans’ villages and handcraft fairs around the area, Sun said.
Each session is limited to 30 participants, who will receive a gift at the end of the tour, he added.
People interested in taking the tour can call the 1999 Citizen Hotline, ext. 3378, or the MRT Taipei 101/World Trade Center Station Visitor Information Center on 02-2758-6593.
The line, which has seven stations — Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dongmen, Daan Park, Daan Station, Xinyi Anhe, Taipei 101-World Trade Center and Elephant Mountain — integrates with the Tamsui Line and allows passengers to travel directly between Beitou and Elephant Mountain stations in about 35 minutes. Passengers who use an EasyCard can get free rides until Dec. 23.
According to Ling Chi-yao (凌啟堯), director of Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s public relations division, ridership on the line was about 180,000 yesterday.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS