Paris has the Eiffel Tower, NY has the Empire State Building, London has Big Ben… and Taipei has Taipei 101.

This extraordinary building consists of 101 floors above the ground and 5 floors underground. At 508m, Taipei 101 held the title of the “World’s Tallest Building” for several years. It is now outranked by Burj Khalifa in Dubai.

There is a high-speed pressurized lift and it only takes 37 seconds to go from the 5th floor to the 89th floor.

Observation decks are on the 88th and 89th floors. As it was a beautiful sunny day we were even allowed to go to the 91st floor.

And here’s the view… It’s a place where earth and sky meet.

This is the tallest building I’ve been to. And it’s a great place to take photos… This lady was nicely posing for her friends. It’s a pity that  you cannot see her colorful hat!

There are several souvenir shops …

…and I was particularly impressed by the bottles of water in the shape of Taipei 101.

This is a wind damper that keeps the tower stable through earthquakes and typhoons. 

Apart from the observation deck, the world’s highest jewelry arts boutique is also located on the 88th floor . It’s called “Treasure Sky”. Lots of precious coral gemstone arts and jewelry are displayed and sold on this floor.

This globe is also made of gemstone. I wouldn’t mind having one… But just imagine the price!!!

Later on in the afternoon, we decided to climb the Elephant Mountain where you can get the best view of Taipei 101. The hikes takes a total of about 15 to 20 minutes to the top and there are a lot of stairs! But it’s definitely worth it!

And this is what Taipei 101 looks like at night…Simply majestic!

Published by natalyadrian

I am a writer, a teacher, a translator and a digital nomad. View all posts by natalyadrian