Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology (aka the 13th Site Museum of Archaeology) is a museum in Bali District of New Taipei featuring archaeological exhibits on Taiwan's history and prehistory, as well as international archaeological exhibitions. Here is one of the best places in Taiwan to see clearly what Taiwan was like in prehistoric times.

History:
The name Shihsanhang comes from 13 shops located near a now defunct harbor near the site during the late 1800s and early 1900s, which is also a nickname of the area. This name may also be borrowed from the thirteen factories in Canton at the time, or may have been borrowed from the pronunciation of the place from indigenous peoples living there. 
The Museum here came about starting in 1990 when the government planned to build a sewage treatment plant on the current site of the museum. However, as they excavated the ground, they discovered a prehistoric village called the Shihsanhang site. Scientists in the area called for the preservation of the site which garnered public support. Later the site was converted into a museum to display the artifacts that were discovered.
The museum was completed in 2003 after 5 years of construction and a total cost of NT 380 million. It was the first City-built archaeology museum in Taiwan. 
International exhibitions began at the museum in 2017. 

Hours:
9:30 AM - 5 PM daily, closed the first Monday of each month

Price:
80 NT per person

How long does it take to see everything?
About 2 Hours

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 15 to Bali, then take a right on Shihsanhang Road. 
By Bus: Take the Shuttle bus Red No. 13 from Bali Old Street or Guandu MRT station (about 20 minutes).
By Bicycle: Take the MRT to Tamsui, the take the ferry to Bali Old Street. From there you can rent a bicycle and ride 2KM over to the museum. 

Map:
Please see below:

​Here is a list of other Taiwan Blogs that we think are of note, as well as our list of blog lists (bloggoramma), and vlogs. We will keep this updated as best we can. If you feel that you should be on this list, please let us know.

Blogs:

Foreward: This blog has taken me countless hours over a few years to compile, so if you want to share the information or photos in this blog, please provide a link and proper citation back to this web page. 

The New Taiwan Dollar is the national currency of Taiwan (ROC), and it includes five main bills and five main coins that are currently in circulation. It is one of the sure signs that Taiwan is a free and independent nation.

Have you ever wondered what the meaning or significance of the designs on these bills? Well in this blog we will explore these in depth.

History:
Old Taiwan Dollar: Ever wonder what happened to the old Taiwan Dollar? It was the official currency of Taiwan after 1945, replacing the Japanese Yen that had previously been used at roughly the same price. It was discontinued in 1949 due to hyperinflation that hit China after WWII due to the Chinese Civil War, which also affected  Taiwan and the Taiwan Dollar. 
To help solve hyperinflation, the New Taiwan Dollar was created June 15, 1949 as the official currency of Taiwan, after the ROC lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to Taiwan. The currency was valued as 1 New Taiwan Dollar to 40,000 Taiwan Dollars.

New Taiwan Dollar Beginnings: The New Taiwan Dollar currency was adopted as the official currency of the Republic of China only in 1961. Before that, Kinmen and Matsu had their own special currency notes, which have been discontinued. 
In 2001, the New Taiwan Dollar currency stopped being printed at the Bank of Taiwan, and is now printed at Taiwan's Central Bank.
The New Taiwan Dollar bills and coins have gone through many changes over the years, but most of them have included either Chiang Kai-shek or Sun Yat-sen on the face of the notes. After 1976 until 2001, most notes were either 10 NT, 100 NT, 500 NT, and 1000 NT. From then until now, there have been five generations or series of notes and coins. This blog will focus on the current fifth series. For a full list of historical notes, click here. 

Previous Versions: Before the year 2000, prior generations of bank notes were easily copied, as they lacked special marking and printing techniques. Counterfeit bills were often used in night markets and vegetable markets because they would not be scrutinized for their authenticity. In addition, former bills were less durable and could be ruined even if just put through a washing machine cycle. 
Also the fourth generation of bills(which began circulation in 1982) did not include a 20 NT coin or a 200 or 2000 NT bill; and people normally only used 1 NT, 5 NT, 10 NT, 50 NT, 100 NT, 500 NT, and 1000 NT. Because this was not very long ago, part of the reason the 20 NT, 200 NT, and 2000 NT are not widely used is because people are still used to using only 10 NT, 100 NT, 500 NT and 1000 NT.

Current Version: Starting in the year 2000, the central bank began printing the modern fifth generation version of New Taiwan Dollar notes that we use today. The current 100 NT note was first printed in 2000, the 200 NT and 2000 NT notes were first printed in 2001, and the current 500 NT and 1000 NT notes were first printed in 2004.
In 2001, the 20 NT coin was introduced, but other coins remained the same. 
New Taiwan Dollars can be denoted as TWD, NTD or NT$.

Common symbols on the New Taiwan Dollar:

• The Plum Blossom (梅花): This is the national flower of the ROC. You will see this symbol printed throughout many NT notes and coins. This flower represents resilience, because the plum blossom blooms in snow. This is a fitting analogy for the Republic of China that is struggling against all odds to remain a sovereign nation despite its neighbor bully communist China. Plum trees are also known for their longevity. The three buds of the flower represent the three principles of the people by Sun Yat-sen (三民主義). The five pedals represent the five branches of government, the five ethics of Confucianism, and five races under one union.
• The 'three friends of winter' (嵗寒三友): These are the plum tree (梅), pine tree (松), and bamboo (竹). These three plants thrive in the winter time, making them symbols of resilience and longevity in Chinese culture.  They represent the ROC overcoming in an adverse geopolitical situation. 
• The Lotus Flower (蓮花): The lotus flower has been an important symbol in Chinese culture for thousands of years. It represents purity and virtue as well as long life and prosperity. The lotus is also a symbol of the Buddha in Chinese Buddhism. 
• Sun Yat-sen: Who was Sun Yat-sen?
  He was a Chinese doctor and politician, who founded the Republic of China (ROC), which was the first formal government formed after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. The ROC is a democratic government based on Sun's political philosophy of the three principles of the people: nationalism, democracy, and the people's livelihood. He also formed the Kuomintang (KMT) party. He served as president of the ROC for a short time and led the KMT, but died in 1925 before China was unified under his predecessor Chiang Kai-shek, and well before the ROC retreated to Taiwan. He is revered on both sides of the Taiwan straight as the a founding father of the PRC and ROC. ​
• Chiang Kai-shek: Who was Chiang Kai Shek?
  Chiang Kai-shek was a military leader and leader of the ROC. He led the nationalist army on the Northern Expedition that defeated Chinese warlords and unified China in 1928. In the process, he tried to destroy the Communist Party, which escaped and received help from Russia to defeat the ROC in the Chinese Civil War. After WWII, the tentative truce between communists and the ROC broke down and the communist forces launched an effective guerrilla warfare attack on KMT forces, gaining wide support from local people and driving out the KMT; many in KMT army were corrupt and could not keep a coherent fighting force. In 1949, KMT forces retreated to Taiwan, where they set up their government and instituted martial law. Under Chiang's Rule as dictator for life in the ROC during this time, the KMT committed crimes, killings, and unfairly imprisonment against the Taiwanese people and intellectual elites, known as the White Terror. Personal freedoms in Taiwan were limited and those that were suspected of being communists were imprisoned. Chiang sought to retake the mainland but never accomplished this goal, dying in 1975.
  He left a polarized image, with many in Taiwan revering him as a great leader, and others detesting him for killings and oppression during the White Terror. 

Current coins and bills in circulation (fifth series of the new Taiwan Dollar):

Bali Old Street (aka Bali Ferry Dock Old Street 八里渡輪頭老街) is a shopping area near Bali Wharf, connecting with Tamui Old Street via ferry and bicycle route. It is one of the oldest ports in Taiwan, with a long history of businesses and great seafood nearby.

Background:
Bali district has been inhabited for at least 5,000 years; first by a large group of Taiwan aborigines and then later by Chinese settlers. 
Bali's port opened to international trade along with Tamsui after the second opium war in 1860, but it was used less often because Bali suffered from strong northwestern winds, and Tamsui had a deeper harbor. 
Recently, Bali has become a major tourist destination in New Taipei, known for its laid back atmosphere and attractions such as the Tamsui River bike-way, Bali Old Street and ferry, and the Shihsanhang Archaeology Museum. 

Hours:
Roughly 9 AM to 10 PM, each store has different hours. 

Price:
Free (35 NT ferry ride from Tamsui)

How to get there:
By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 15 north to Bali, the old street is right next to the ferry dock. There is some paid parking near the old street, and free scooter parking. 
By Ferry: You can take the ferry from Tamsui Old Street (35 NT, 7-10 minutes). The last ferry leaves at about 8 PM.

Map:
Please see below:

Nangang District is not only a major transportation and technology center in Taipei, also looks great at night. Because I am lucky to call Nangang home, here are some photos I have taken of how the place lights up at night. This is more of an art display than a blog. 

Where is Nangang? See the map below:

For you expats or foreigners who have never left Taipei, Miaoli is a large rural county in central Taiwan. For years I myself never visited, because I didn't know what was there and had no reason to go. It turns out there are quite a few attractions here in this secret paradise.

Below I will list out some of the best places in Miaoli that I have visited. I will be sure to update this blog as I visit more places later. 

How to get around in Miaoli?
As always, we recommend renting a scooter as the best way to see Taiwan. However, you can also a great deal of Miaoli by taking the train, inter city bus, or local bus. Getting around in a car is also a convenient option as there is plenty of parking pretty much everywhere in this less crowded county. 

You can see a map of all the places that we will visit in this blog below:

As one of the most secret and unknown tourist attractions in Taipei City, Nangang Tea Mountain is a large mountain area that offers pleasant hikes, great views, historical buildings, no crowds, and most of all tea. It is one of only two mountain tea growing areas in Taipei City, the other being Maokong. Hopefully this blog will help you understand how much natural beauty and intact history this is in Nangang District. 

Background:
Nangang 南港means “South Port” in Chinese. This south port once rested on the southern banks of the Keelung River near what is now the Neihu MRT depot in Nangang District, Taipei. There was a "North Port" on the Keelung river in what is now Xizhi. Nangang was once part of Neihu District before it split in the ROC era. In the earliest times, Nangang was known as an industry hub for coal, brick making, and tea farming. In order to ship goods from Neihu to Nangang rail station, at least two suspension bridges were made across the Keelung River.

Hours:
Trails: 24/7
Tea Processing Demonstration Center: Tuesday-Sunday 9 AM to 5 PM

Price:
Free

How to get there:
By car/scooter: From Nangang Road at Nangang Exhibition Center MRT station, turn south toward the mountains and keep going straight on Acadamia Sinica Road until it turns into Jiuzhuang Street. Keep going all the way up the mountain and you have reached the tea district. 
By bus: Take the Southeast Little 5 bus from Nangang Exhibition Center MRT station. It takes about half an hour to get to the Tea Processing Center from there. 

Map:
Please see below: