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Taiwan's third-largest city after Khaosiung and the capital of Taipei, Taichung has the usual industrial carbon-copy feel and look that other Taiwanese cities have; however, it also has an expanding art and culture side, a rising amount of tourists discovering the city, and increasing numbers of guesthouses and Taichung hostels opening lately.
Probably best seen over one or two days, the city that gave birth to Bubble Tea is also home to the National Museum of Natural Science as well as the largest art complex in Asia, the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. The central building and its surrounding grounds are filled with sculptures; the museum in recent years has expanded to incorporate the growing taste for contemporary art in Taiwan. Outside of the Museum of Fine Arts, you'll find a scattering of coffee shops, bookshops, and unique art sellers who trade from their front rooms and empty shop fronts -- it's quite the experience.
Besides the art, the shopping centre is somewhat slim but expands nightly with the usual Taiwanese night food markets and also locally are there are easily accessible sights such as a folklore museum; more exhibition halls; and more importantly, access to Taiwan's largest and most famous lake, Sun Moon Lake.
Taichung is easily accessible by regular (and cheap) buses that run from the capital and also a central rail network that skirts its way along the west side of the island.
Written by Travel Expert Taichung
ANGLOITALIAN