Away from the hustle and bustle of Taipei City is Maokong, formerly Taipei’s largest tea growing area. Today, Maokong’s tea culture and lush scenery draws thousands of visitors every year, many of whom step onto the iconic Maokong Gondola for an idyllic ride into the Wenshan District’s mountains.
To start your journey into Maokong, visitors should arrive at Taipei Zoo Station, the last stop on the Wenhu Brown line of Taipei’s MRT system. A short walk from the station is the Maokong Gondola station. After coming up a few flights of stairs, visitors will have the option of taking a normal gondola cabin or a crystal cabin, which has a see-through glass bottom. Regardless of which type of gondola you choose, views of the mountains and Taipei City are breathtaking and awe-inspiring. Be sure to watch out for the tropical birds and wildlife that populate the greenery beneath you.
The Maokong Gondola has four stops, with the first two leading directly to the Taipei Zoo. The third station, Zhinan Temple Station, is home to a number of beautiful temples perched on lush Monkey Mountain (猴山). Inside the temples, visitors can pray to certain deities or simply admire the traditional architecture. Zhinan Temple is polytheistic and holds multiple shrines for multiple deities, a few of which do not originate from the same religion. Its main Taoist deity is Lu Dongbin, one of the eight immortals. The area is also scattered with small trails and beautiful lookout points, as well as pagodas, gardens, caves, plazas, and even a few restaurants.
Hitch a gondola ride to the last station, Maokong Station, to get a taste of Maokong’s famous teas. The area is scattered with small tea houses, many of which offer traditional tea-pouring ceremonies and snacks. Tea-pouring ceremonies can take anywhere from an hour to all day, and after the first couple of pours, your server may allow you to perform the ceremony yourself. Maokong is especially known for their Tieguanyin (鐵觀音) and Baozhong (包種茶) teas, which are notable for their subtle floral flavor and light color, respectively. Other popular teas offered include High Mountain, Jinxuan (金萱), and Oriental Beauty (東方美人茶); all of these being a type of Oolong tea. In terms of snacks, visitors can usually find both Western and Taiwanese style snacks - from parfaits to dried guava to chocolate cakes to steamed buns, there is a wealth of food to be had in Maokong.
Maokong’s scenery, temples, and teas make it one of the most iconic things-to-do in the Taipei area. For a comprehensive look at Taiwanese tea culture, look no further than Maokong.
