Chongde Street Cycle Route: Beast Mountains Loop (崇德街)
I live in the Tonghua Street area of Taipei. It's busy and noisy, and some days I get the urge to get out as quickly as possible. Fortunately there is a road nearby that does this. The city very rapidly transforms into a serene village and the road becomes a winding lane through a vast cemetery. You can then either head down into the Taipei Zoo area and follow the river back, or take the much nicer route through the valley behind the Four Beast Mountains, and go back along the Keelung River.
Looking back towards Taipei on a wet day.
I drew this route as a map back in 2014, but I didn't scan it, and it was framed and exhibited until this year. I'll let the drawing cover the details of the route and the sights here. Please feel free to download and use it (non-commercially). I've put a high enough quality file here: http://imgur.com/rqfEfjF
The route is usually very quiet with few cars and scooters, especially in the cemetery. I guess this is a combination of ghost fear, and the road not really leading anywhere important. I've seen a couple of other cyclists along here and the road behind the Beast Mountains forms part of a wider Taipei loop. I mapped that on the Hidden Taiwan Map too.
Some small valley farms
Nice stretch of road.
A couple of notes since the map was made. At one bend there are always birds sitting on a wire above the cemetery. A friend of mine found exhumed skeletons on top of some graves here. According to his wife's student this is part of a little practiced ghost month ritual. The ancestors are given the chance to feel the sun and fresh air on their bones once a year. Near to the Nangang Train Station is the Nangang Bottle Cap Factory. This was built in the 1940's. It was used partly as an events venue, and was a good place to view graffiti. The city recently tried to demolish it but got halfway before it was stopped. However it is now mostly destroyed with some parts preserved. I still cycle around up here almost weekly! The adventures that make up these entries are often posted as Instagram stories at tomrookart first. So give that a follow too if you like as it can sometimes be a year or more before stuff turns up here! I keep this project free of intrusive ads but it does take up a fair bit of time. If you would like to support it please either buy some of my work here (use code hiddentaiwan for a discount). Or book through this link at My Taiwan Tour, who cover a huge range of places and experiences in Taiwan.