Xindian

Xindian (新店區), also known by its historical spelling Hsintien and alternative spelling Sindian, is a district in New Taipei where the apartment complexes of the Taipei metropolitan area meet the northern end of the Central Mountain Range.

Understand
New Taipei is generally less salubrious than the city proper, however the IT-industry center of Xindian is an exception. One of the county's newer municipalities, Xindian is a spacious suburb with good recreational facilities. In addition to the Bitan Lake, a widened part of the river and popular recreation spot, the city also boasts good hiking areas in the surrounding mountains.

The Hwa-yuan Xin-cheng (New Garden City) area was developed in the 1970s and 1980s with the aim of attracting artists and writers: the green hills, quiet environment and relatively inexpensive real estate still attracts the art crowd, and many Westerners have also settled there. New Garden City is about 20 minutes from downtown Xindian, off the road to Wulai.

By MRT
The MRT Xindian (Green) and Xiao Bitan (Light Green) lines serve the area.

By bus
Xindian Ke-yun buses criss-cross the city and connect it with Taipei and other cities in Taipei County.

From Taoyuan International Airport
From the Taoyuan International airport, take bus number 1968 (City air Bus) until its terminus at Xindian MRT Station. The bus from Xindian to Taoyuan runs every 20 minutes from 04:40 and 23:00. From Taoyuan to Xindian the bus start at 06:40 and runs till 00:40.

Get around

 * MRT stations in Xindian City on the Green and Light Green Lines (Xindian Line and Xiao Bitan Line): Xindian, Xindian City Hall, Qizhang, Dapingling, and Xiao Bitan.
 * Green 3 bus run by the Xindian Ke-yun bus company heads to Hua-yuan Xin-cheng (New Garden City) from Jung-shing Road and also near Xindian MRT station - one bus every 40 minutes.
 * Taipei Rapid Transport Coorporation.

Do

 * Hike up Wufeng Shan (Five Peak Mountain). This pleasant walk passes through forests, offers views over Xindian and Taipei, and along the way takes in a Tibetan style temple in the Nyingma Tradition (there are no resident monks, but at weekends there are occasional ritual ceremonies) and a Tibetan style stupa. Start from Wufeng Road, entered from Zhongxing Road, Sec. 1 (near the junction with Zhongzheng Road).
 * Lion's Head Mountain offers a short, but steep hike to its peak. At the top, hikers are rewarded with wonderful views over the northern end of the Central Mountain Range. There are two main paths leading from the base: from Zhongxing Road, Sec. 1, the path begins from next to the Old Postal Hall bus stop (across the road from property number 101), and from Wenzhong Road, Lane 64, the path begins from next to the rather attractive Zhulin Chan Sz (Bamboo Forest Chan Monastery).
 * The main Taiwan center of Penor Rinpoche, the head of the Nyingma school of Buddhism, is in Xindian. While rinpoche only visits occasionally, there are several resident monks and the center hosts a full schedule of activities. 3 Floor, 135 Minquan Road (nearest MRT station: Dapinglin). Tel:2218-2486~7
 * Watch the colorful Dragon Boat races at Bitan (see Taipei festivals for more information). The races are held on the 5th day of the 5th month according to the lunar calendar.

Buy
There are three large shopping complexes, and the bustling downtown.

Vegetarian
See Taipei 'Eat' section for information on the various kinds of vegetarian restaurants in Taiwan.

Connect
The area code for Xindian is the same as Taipei City: 02

Go next

 * Explore the southwestern part of New Taipei further by heading to Sanxia