Green volcanic ridges of Yangmingshan wrap around the basin, and Taipei 101 rises from the middle like a giant stalk of bamboo. Then the view shrinks to a soup dumpling pinched into 18 folds, and to sacks of tea and dried herbs in the old shops of Dihua Street.
Away from the big sights, sulfur steam drifts over the hot springs of Beitou, and a gondola climbs south to the teahouses of Maokong. Summers are long, hot and humid with the odd typhoon, while short winters stay mild, damp and often gray. A Local Friend shares the corner they love most, maybe a teahouse table or a noodle counter, and the story of why it matters to them.
