New Taipei City Travel

Time experience cultural aesthetics to the fullest! The “Daliao Historical Tea House” is imbued with Japanese ambiance and features exhibits about its owner Taiwan Tea Corporation. Drinking tea in the rustic building offers a very restorative experience. “Baiji Xingxiu Temple” is located half-way up Baiji Mountain and is the Sanxia branch of Xingtian Temple. It is dedicated to Martial Emperor Guan Di, and the serene surroundings puts worshippers at ease. No visit to Sanxia could possibly be completed without walking along “Sanxia Old Street,” the longest old street in northern Taipei. The merchant or family names inscribed over the doorways hark back to the old days. Local food such as the Golden Croissant (金牛角), Hand-made Tofu Pudding (手工豆花), and Banyan Tree Noodles (榕樹下古早麵) are what the local people grew up eating! “Sanxia Blue Dye Park” is dedicated to the promotion of indigo dyeing culture and you can try this traditional craft for yourself here. As the blue color gradually appears on the cloth it takes on captivating patterns that make handicrafts all the more fun. A renovated old house is the home of CAN Culture, Art & Nature. Inside are the works of many artists that show off the beauty of Sanxia. The last stop of the day is “New Taipei City Hakka Museum” with its distinctive Hakka round house. The exhibitions on Hakka culture provide a fitting finale to a day filled with art and culture.

As global carbon reduction gains momentum, the tourism industry works to lower emissions across all tour elements. From choosing meeting points and transportation methods, to incorporating environmental education and selecting eco-friendly restaurants, professional institutions now calculate carbon footprints using international standards. Unavoidable emissions are offset through purchasing Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) certified carbon credits, achieving genuine low-carbon tourism.Pinglin, renowned for producing Paochung tea, pioneered Taiwan's low-carbon tourism movement. Starting from Pinglin Suspension Bridge, the route follows Beishi River to the Taipei Water Management Branch Environmental Education Center to discover wastewater purification processes. At midday, visitors enjoy creative cuisine featuring local tea at Just Pinglin eco-restaurant on Pinglin Old Street. The afternoon continues at Xinfeng Tea plantation in Pinglin's hills, where young farmers share their lives devoted to tea.The journey begins at Pinglin Suspension Bridge. Spanning approximately 60 meters across Beishi River, this bridge connects fish-watching trails on both riverbanks. Led by a guide, visitors observe Taiwan shovel-jaw carp (a.k.a. "underwater fireflies"), and the river's rich aquatic ecosystem. The Beishi River watershed falls within the Taipei Water Conservatiopn Area. Policies such as river closure for fish protection and sediment barrier installations are implemented to safeguard water resources for the Taipei-New Taipei metropolitan area and extend Feitsui Reservoir's lifespan.At the fish-watching trail's end, behind flood walls stands Pinglin Wastewater Treatment Plant—one of two major treatment plants under the Taipei Water Management Branch and an environmental education venue. Designated in 1984, the Taipei Water Conservation Area spans five districts: Wulai, Shuangxi, Pinglin, Xindian, and Shiding. It’s Taiwan's only protected zone established in accordance with the Urban Planning Act, with merely 1% being low-density residential areas.Inside the Environmental Education Learning Center, visitors gain insight into Taiwan's water resource management and observe the treatment plant's three-stage process—physical, biological, and chemical purification that ensures discharge quality. Visitors collect water samples themselves, comparing influent and effluent quality for an intuitive understanding of purification's importance.At noon, visit Just Pinglin eco-restaurant at the entrance to Pinglin Old Street. Inside this stone-slab heritage building, savor dishes crafted with local tea—black tea braised pork rice, salmon ochazuke, and various tea snacks. A young man from Beigang and a young lady from Guanziling chose to settle in Pinglin, New Taipei, conveying the town's atmosphere and energy to travelers through cuisine, fine tea, curated items, and exhibitions.After enjoying refined tea cuisine, explore Pinglin Old Street with a guide. Stretching approximately 200 meters, the old street features teapot installation art and uniform green signage. Paper shops, tofu stalls, grocery stores, and tea merchants line the way. Street vendors use Pinglin's famous Paochung tea to create innovative treats—tea cakes, tea steamed buns, tea nougat, and camellia oil thin noodles."UChung," established by local young tea farmers, offers a modern compound tea space on the old street, selling tea snacks, tea gift items, and tea celebration wine developed exclusively by Pinglin tea farmers. This bright space hosts tea ceremony experiences from time to time, promoting tea culture in ways that resonate with younger generations. At a corner of the old street, Pinglin Tea Cultural Museum, operated by the Pinglin Farmers' Association, visitors will learn about tea and camellia oil culture while exploring Pinglin's tea history and other industrial features. Stone heritage buildings constructed with herringbone and T-shaped patterns offer another visual highlight along the street.Afternoon brings a journey to Pinglin's hills. Near Xiangong Temple, famous for sunrises and seas of clouds, sixth-generation young tea farmer Zhan Chengde of Xinfeng Tea guides visitors through verdant tea plantations to pick one bud with two leaves, then hand-craft and taste their own tea.Xinfeng Tea is known for its "friend tea," aimed to convey warmth and authenticity. After picking tea leaves, participants personally stir-fry and knead them under the farmer's guidance to create their own green tea! Through the journey from a plantation to a cup, savor Pinglin tea town's distinctive flavor.The "Water Source Tea Fragrance・Pinglin Low-Carbon Journey" meets the Ministry of Environment's "Green Tourism" standards and appears on the "Green Lifestyle" information platform. Carbon footprint calculations show this tour produces 11.5 kg CO2e per person, reducing emissions by 5.6 kilograms compared to typical self-driving tourism.