Sunday, November 30, 2014

Taipei, Taiwan: Along the Pingxi Line - 7 Reasons to Visit Houtong

7 reasons why Houtong is worth visiting and re-visiting

Lest you start thinking that Houtong has nothing to offer except adorable, sleeping cats, here's a list of what you can expect from this cat-town, a train ride away from Taipei, Taiwan.

1) Cutesy cat motifs around town
The last time I visited, there were guidelines written along the bridge, the English was funny because it was translated literally from the Chinese. It was amusing reading about"hug the nature", "dance tango with the cats" and "emotionally noises", but you'd somehow get the point.

The bridge has been rebuilt or renovated. The guidelines are gone. Here's what you can expect from the get-go after you alight from the train:

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Here's the avant grade bridge

Houtong Taiwan

2) Awake cats
Most cats were sound asleep in the late morning, but then, the early cats got the worms.

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

3) Dogs
Although it's famous for the cats, Houtong does have some dogs, though they're really rare.

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

4) Tourists, local and foreign alike

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Cat. Unfazed by all the attention.

5) Small town charms

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

6) A cat-themed shop

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

Houtong Taiwan

7) The scenery
Given that it's former mining town. Isn't it amazing how the cats here brought life back to this sleepy town?

Houtong Taiwan

And to top it off, reason 8 is the sleeping cats of Houtong in my previous post! Do you have a favourite Houtong cat? I do!

More pictures are available on my Flickr (simply click any photo).

Related Posts:
Taiwan Day 2 - Pingxi Line Daytrip:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Featured

My Japan Itinerary (December 2012 and June 2016)

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...