On the way to meet my friend in Songshan District (松山區) of Taipei, I stopped at The The Guanshan Riverside Park (觀山河濱公園) is a park along the Keelung River. The park has bridges, bike and walk pathes, activity areas, and sitting areas. Also, there are many different kinds of birds.
Danshui River Mangrove Forest (淡水紅樹林) is situated at Danshui riverside and is about 190 hectares. The Forest is the earlist area to be declared a mangrove conservation area in Taiwan. Also it is the largest mangrove coverage area in Taiwan. There is a total of 63 bird species recorded in the area such as Common Sandpiper, Common Kingfisher, Little Egret and Night Heron. Also, there are approximately 34 different crab species in seven families.
I read about Houtong - Cat Village (侯硐貓村) a few years ago. I had plan to go last year but I never had a chance. I finally got a chance to go with my high school classmate.
Houtong was once a rich small mining town, it was built during the Japanese rule of Taiwan. During its peak years, Houtong produced the largest coal output of a single area in Taiwan, around 220,000 tons of coal per year. At that time, there were about 900 households with a population of more than 6,000 people.
In the 1990s, the coal mining industry began to decline. The majority of the residents moved away due to lack of jobs and only few hundred residents remained.
Since 2008, a local cat lover organized volunteers to give abandoned cats a better life. They posted the cats' pictures online and they received many positive response from other cat lovers around the world. Houtong is a tourist destination now.
I did not plan any major event today, except meet my friends. I determined that I wanted go to Daan Forest Park (大安森林公園) before I meet my friends.
I took a bus and MRT to Daan Forest Park. Daan Forest Park is a major city park like New York City's Central Park and London's Hyde Park, acting as the "lungs of Taipei city" and as respite for residents from the bustle of life in Taipei.
The park is home to a wide variety of animals including birds, squirrels, several species of ducks, egrets, and turtles.
I met my friend at Din Tai Fung(鼎泰豐) at lunch time, There were many people were waiting in front of Din Tai Fung. Din Tai Fung is a restaurant specialising in xiaolongbao (小籠包).
Afternoon, I took my friend to Who's Cafe which was my junior high school classmate's store. It is a very nice place!
