The local specialties such as stone carvings, oil-paper umbrellas, corals and ceramics make shopping in Taiwan an out of the ordinary experience, where art and everyday objects meet. Clothing, fashion and beauty are also well represented.
Local Specialties
Stone Carvings in Hualian City 花莲石雕
Rich resources of many unique stones and precious jades make Hualian City the Hometown of Stones and create a unique landscape in the city.
Stones originate on the mountains, are carried away and shaped by the rivers, and accumulate on the river bed and the sea coast. After processing, the large stones can be used as building materials or furniture, smaller ones for example as ornaments.
Hualian Stone Art Shop 花莲石头艺术网
Besides stone carvings, the shop also sells other kinds of handcrafts, including jewelry and silver and gold items.
- Address: 77 Section 2, Zhongshan Road, Ji'an Town, Hualian County (花莲县吉安乡中山路二段77号)
- Tel: 093-7544 141
Hualian County Stone Sculptural Museum 花莲石雕博物馆
The museum has numerous stone sculptures.
- Ticket Fare: 10 yuan per person
- Address: 8 Wenfu Road, Hualian City (花莲市文复路8号)
- Tel: 03-8227 121
- Hours: 09:00–17:00 every day (except the Spring Festival Days, the Qingming Festival, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival)
Oil-Paper Umbrellas of Meinong Town 美浓油纸伞
The famous oil-paper umbrellas of Meinong Town are exquisite in craftsmanship. Although people don't use oil-paper umbrellas any more, many people buy and treasure them as works of art, as the Chinese paintings on them are very beautiful.
Guangrongxing Umbrella Factory on the bank of the Chong Cheng Lake is the most famous and one with the longest history of the many factories producing oil-paper umbrellas in Meinong Town.
When buying an oil-paper umbrella, it is important to check whether the mechanism is smooth.
Four Treasures of Penghu Island 澎湖四宝
Four treasures of Penghu Island are aragonite, coral, black coral and Male Cat Stone.
Aragonite is a kind of beautiful ore that can only be found on Penghu Island and Sicily in Italy; on Penghu Island it is particularly rich in texture. Visitors can buy aragonite products in Magong City (马公市).
Corals on Penghu Island are the pink variety. Visitors can buy earrings, necklaces, and decorations in the shape of a small coral tree in the markets.
The black coral is also called the sea tree and dark green coral. It exists in three colors: golden, black and amber. The black coral is capable of withstanding heat and always remains cool, and its color doesn’t fade easily, which makes it the best material for pipes.
Male Cat Stone is a kind of basalt stone, hard and filled with large cavities caused by erosion by seawater. It is found on the beaches of the outlying islands, such as Tongpan Island and Hujing Island. It is considered the best material for garden landscaping.
Ceramics in Yingge Town 莺歌陶瓷
Yingge Town, conveniently by the north-south railway in West Taiwan, can be the considered a synonym of the art of ceramics in Taiwan. There are around 800 ceramic factories and ceramic shops in the town.The Ceramics Old Street has more than 100 ceramic shops, and the street itself is like a live museum. Some ceramic shops have been passed on from generation to generation.
There are exquisite art centers and franchise houses as well as ceramist workshops selling dinnerware, each with their unique features and products.As well as more artistic items there are also all kinds of practical household utensils in both ancient and modern style, rich in color and size and reasonable in price, many of them made by local artists.
Many ceramic shops have launched a 'ceramic experience', which means that tourists can make their own ceramic products, including pottery molding and painting.
Clothing, Fashion and Beauty
Shenghengchang Duty-Free Shop 昇恒昌免税店
- Recommended products: Cosmetics, clothing, bags, perfume, and other luxury articles.
- Address: 72 Section 2, East Minquan Road, Taipei City (台北市民权东路三段72号)
- Tel: 00886-2502 8899-9
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Taiwan 新光三越
A department store selling clothing, fashion, and cosmetics, places for eating in and entertainment also available.
- Address: 11 Songshou Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City (台北市信义区松寿路11号)
Dayuan Department Store 大远百货
A department store offering all kinds of products: clothing by many famous brands, and fashion and beauty products. Near the department store are small shops selling snacks, perfect place to go to after shopping to enjoy the delicacies.
- Address: Dayuan Department Store, 323 Xida Road, Xinzhu City (新竹市西大路323号大远百货)
Cosmed Cosmetics Shops 康是美
A cosmetics and skin care products shop; facial masks are one of the most popular products.
- Address: Basement 1, Dayuan Department Store, 323 Xida Road, Xinzhu City (新竹市西大路323号大远百货B1)
Book Stores
Eslite Bookstore 诚品书店
Eslite Bookstore is very famous chain store in Taiwan; it has 53 bookstores, 2 children's bookstores, and 5 music bookstores. The branch in South Dunhua Road is open 24 hours (Address: Floor 2, 245 Section 2, South Dunhua Road, Taipei City; Tel: 02-2775 5977).
- Address: Tongyi International Mansion, 11 Songgao Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City ( 台北市信义区松高路11号统一国际大厦)
- Tel: 02-8789 3388
- Hours: 11:00–02:00
Page One Bookstore 叶一堂书店
This bookstore has many English books, and a nice setting for shopping.
- Address: Floor 4, Taipei 101 Building, Taipei (台北101大楼4楼)
- Tel: 02-7702 5838
- Hours: 10:00–22:00
