A “feminine” side of the city emerges through the Art Museum and the architecture along the green parkway, while a more “masculine edge” can be found in the science museum and rainforest greenhouse.
Before we depart on our entertaining and educational route, lets fill our bellies up with noodle soup found only in Taichung City.
Slurp Down Taichung's Local Delicacy
A seemingly ordinary bowl of noodle soup is in fact a local treasure. The texture and taste of Taichung's famous Da mien geng just can't be imitated.
Known as Da mien geng – literally thick noodle stew – the draw of the noodles lie in well-cooked, but never over-cooked strands. Because of the noodles' unusual thickness, cooking Da mien geng right – average cooking time is 40 to 50 minutes – takes years to master.
Just the right amount of deep-fried pork fat, spring onions and leeks sprinkled on top adds extra flavor to the thick noodles. I like a bit of heat, so I topped the dish with hot dried radish cubes to complete my Da mien geng experience.
A delightful little place called Yingcai Road Thick Noodle Soup has been serving Da mien geng (NT$25) for half a century. With the second generation currently managing the restaurant, said owner Chen Ming-xien, the taste has stayed authentic.
Now that the tummy is full, it's time to get the brain working.
National Museum of Natural Science
The National Museum of Natural Science that is divided into four big sections – the Space Theater and Science Center, the Life Science Hall, the Chinese Science Hall, and the Global Environmental Hall – was the first of three science museums in Taiwan, attracting 3 million visitors a year.
As the only system of its type in Taiwan, the Space Theater features a planetarium, measuring 23 meters in diameter and tilting at a 30-degree angle, offering viewers an out-of-this-world experience.
The Science Center, to the theaters' left, contains areas for exploration that covers astronomy and weather, and the so-called “Fantastic World of Matter” – based on chemistry and physics.
The intriguing “Exploration!” area focuses on human perceptions of visual, audio and color, including sensory illusions, order and chaos, and modern physics.
The Distorted Room, for example, allows visitors to walk into a full-size room with non-parallel, receding walls and disproportionate windows that create the illusion of a drastic height difference as people walk from one corner to another.
Stargazers will find a lot to love on the third floor, showcasing general space and earth science. Visitors can interact with a solar system model while basic concepts and theories are being explained.
The “Fantastic World of Matter” is a perfect place for kids as it really is so fantastic. This area revolutionarily transforms challenging concepts in books into great fun and comprehensive knowledge, like showing how bubbles are formed instead of explaining it in words.
Opposite the center is the Life Science Hall – a home to interesting creatures, and my favorite spot! Models such as gigantic insects during prehistoric times, polar bears, and apes were built for this hall.
Although the stuffed apes are eye-popping, the spotlight shines on the Dinosaur Gallery, because nearly 50 intricate models, replicas of dinosaur bones, and some real fossils, are displayed here.
The most extraordinary of all is the 4-meter tall and 7-meter long Tyrannosaurus rex model, which, like a miniature “Jurassic Park”, suddenly comes alive! Indeed, the made-in-Japan animated replica has often surprised visitors, including myself, with its moving arms, eyes, tail, and even sound, designed to be scientifically accurate.
In the “Human Body” section, human beings' stories are told in four chapters – “birth, aging, sickness and death.” Visitors are presented with a 2,000-year-old mummy of an Egyptian man in his early 20s in the last chapter of death, which questions the mystery of afterlife.
The Chinese Science Hall is special because it's rare to find museums recording the history of Chinese Science or displaying items from local aboriginal tribes.
An eye-catching artifact is the water-powered sphere and globe clock of the Northern Sung Dynasty that occupies the center of the hall's first and second floor. Every level of the towered-clock houses mini-wooden royal guards that rotate in a full 360 degrees – each of them measures a certain second, minute or hour of the day.
The Global Environmental Hall features exhibitions of earth science and geology. A mini zoo is in this hall as well.
The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, admission is NT$150 for adults, NT$120 for students and free for children.
Note: An additional fee is required for the theaters. The Space theater: NT$100 for adults and NT$70 for students. The 3-D theater: NT$70 for adults and NT$50.
Now hop across Xitun Road Sec. 1 to a local rainforest.
It's Not Easy Being Green
It's hard to resist the call of the wild when you arrive in the Botanical Garden of the National Museum of Natural Science, where city dwellers can get up close and personal with Taiwan's native plants.
The 4.96-hectare garden, which opened in 1999, is a much-needed green space in the city center currently housing a diverse collection of rainforest trees and plants from all over the world and about 2,000 live species.
The main focus in the garden is perhaps the most prominent, distinctive landmark – the Tropical Rainforest Greenhouse. Only by entering the giant glass greenhouse will visitors realize how astonishing the place is.
The spider-shaped glass greenhouse is about 31 meters tall and 56 meters across. With the outer frame constructed of high precision steel and glass, it contains 300 species of rain forest plants, including coffee and cocoa trees, to simulate the complex rainforest environment. It even rains in there, too!
Visitors can walk along paths bordered by tropical plants and tall trees, and enjoy the view of a natural-looking manmade waterfall. The path then leads visitors to an air-conditioned basement, where a 14-foot long aquarium features fish and other aquatic creatures from the Amazon River.
A series of smaller aquariums housing tetra fish and piranhas are their neighbors, creating a fascinating atmosphere to charm young and old.
Note: The greenhouse is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is NT$20.
Source from Chinese Post
