Trip To Taiwan 台湾: New Taipei 新台北 - Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf 淡水渔人码头
By Elin Chow - Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Photo By: Elin Chow
Address: No. 135, Guanhai Rd, Tamsui District, New Taipei City, 251, Taiwan 新北市淡水区观海路135号
After a filling lunch, we left Jinshan Old Street / Jinbaoli Old Street 金山老街 / 金包里老街 and headed to the next stop of our day - Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf 淡水渔人码头
Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf 淡水渔人码头
Tamsui (or Danshui) Fisherman's Wharf is located at the western tip of Tamsui district 淡水区, New Taipei City 新北市. It is named after Tamsui River, which means "fresh water".
Tamsui was the largest and one of the most important fishing port in Taiwan during the 19th century. However, due to accumulation of sediments in the river and increasing convenience of land transportation, the port fell into disuse. By the 20th century, most of the port operations in Tamsui had moved to Keelung and the local economy had switched primarily to agriculture.
Once a small fishing town, Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf is now a famous tourist attraction due to the completion of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui Line in 1997. Surrounded by river and mountains, Tamsui is well-known for its beautiful sunset and fantastic seafood. Besides sightseeing, the wharf still holds its functionality as a harbor for small fishing boats.
Due to its proximity to Taipei City, Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf is a favorite place of city dwellers to escape the hustle and bustle of the city life. We arrived at a spacious parking lot with plenty of parking spaces for vehicles of any size.
Located next to the parking lot, you will find the Tamsui Fish Market 淡水鱼市. The first floor of the market is a fish products section selling a variety of dried seafood such as dried fish, fish fiber and Tamsui fish chips and many other local specialities. On the second floor, there is a seafood restaurant where you can enjoy a seafood feast.
Despite being one of the major attraction in Taipei, the area is surprisingly not as crowded as we have expected.
Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf is known to be a popular filming location for Taiwanese drama series. If you are a big fan of Taiwanese drama series, you may be able to recognize some of the locations around the wharf!
Just behind the love sculpture, you will find the iconic Lover Bridge of Tamsui 淡水情人桥. Lover Bridge of Tamsui is a beautiful white, cable-stayed bridge modeled after a ship's mast and rigging. Completed on February 14, 2003 Valentine's Day, the bridge is a well-known landmark in Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf.
At night, the bridge illuminates in a wide variety of colors, which created a romantic atmosphere for any romance. Couples and photographers would flock here every night just to enjoy and capture the beauty of the bridge. Unfortunately, we could not stay late enough to see the bridge light up in colors.
Walking further in, we proceeded to climb up a few flight of stairs to the top of the bridge. The climb is impossible for people in wheelchairs or with significant mobility problems.
The total length of the bridge is approximately 196 meters. It takes about 3 minutes for one to walk across the bridge at a comfortable pace.
There was nothing much to do here except to walk around, enjoy the riverside view and take some keepsake photos. This is also a great place to relax and take a romantic walk with your significant half. You might want to visit one of the cafes located along the river and enjoy a cup of coffee. Sitting in a cafe and drinking a cup of coffee with the one you love makes every single day like Valentine's Day!
From the top of the bridge, we get to enjoy a magnificent panoramic view of the harbor and surrounding mountains. It was picturesque, tranquil and calming.
Hundreds of fishing boats lined the dock in the harbor, which is said to have the ability to accommodate up to 150 fishing boats. Occasionally, you will see fishing boats coming in with fresh catches of the day and fishermen unloading them at the docks.
Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf is also known to be a fantastic spot for watching sunset. Every evening, hundreds of visitors, both locals and tourists flock and gather at the wharf to watch the sun disappear below the horizon.
It was relaxing to lean over the fence, enjoying the warm breeze and the beautiful view of the harbor.
Overall, it was a great and beautiful experience. I would recommend anyone to visit Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf if you have spare time in Taipei.
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