Culture and city life go hand in hand in Taipei – it has both the world’s second-tallest building with Taipei 101 and the world’s largest collection of Chinese art at the National Palace Museum. This means there are plenty of historic and unique venues across town for business events.
 
Heritage sites
Huashan1914 Creative Park is a former winery that was built in 1914 and produced sake, ginseng wine and taibai liquor made from cassava. The park has ten venues for hire, including an exhibition hall that can fit 800 to 1,000 people, a performance hall that can accommodate for up to 350 people, and a courtyard area for 3,000 guests. The park will soon open several red brick buildings that can be used as event spaces. Later this year, construction will begin on a 10-storey building that will include conference rooms for hire.  The park has several restaurants and shops on-site that sell trendy lifestyle products, along with an interactive exhibition next to the National Palace Museum, perfect for delegates to browse in-between meetings and unwind.
 
Built in 1908, The Red House was the first public market in Taiwan and became a cinema in 1963. An octagonal, red-brick structure, the main building includes a cavernous theatre that can seat 300 people and a teashop that holds 50 people. Adjacent to the structure is the Cruciform Building that is full of boutique shops, with a workshop area on the top floor that can hold 30 people. The North Square outdoor area can hold an impressive 2,000 people and is regularly used for concerts. The Red House is located in Taipei’s popular shopping district of Ximendeng, where there is plenty of buzz to complement any outdoor event.
 
Food experience
The Wistaria Tea House opened in 1981 but the structure dates back to the 1950s and was deemed a Taipei City historical site by 1997. It serves extensive varieties of Chinese oolong and pu erh tea, which can be paired with traditional snacks such as almond cookies or delicately flavoured lunch and dinner sets. The back of the teahouse is more than 100 years old and features traditional Japanese architecture and décor such as tatami flooring and sliding doors. There are private dining rooms in the area and also an upstairs room that can fit 30 people.
 
Elsewhere, the main hall looks out onto the garden and can fit up to 30 people, while the biggest room can seat 40 people. There is an art gallery for hire, with exhibitions that change regularly. In addition, the Wistaria Tea House can arrange for tea ceremony demonstrations, tea talks and private performances of traditional Chinese music for an event. For smaller groups, the venue can organise trips to a plantation, where delegates can gather and roast tea leaves.
 
Connie Chang from Golden Foundation Tours likes how the historic venue has many rooms, so guests can experience all aspects of Taiwanese tea culture in one event. “Wistaria Tea House is an ideal place for groups, as you can use the various rooms for them to experience the tea ceremony, Chinese calligraphy, a traditional Taiwanese puppet show and more. Guests can be led to each room to watch the shows. “The staff are proactive in helping guests who are not familiar with the proper way to drink Chinese tea and many of them speak English.”
 
Nestled in a mountain on the outskirts of the city, Shi-Yang Culture Restaurant is worth the long drive. The first building has the characteristic aesthetics of Japanese architecture and is made up of private dinner rooms that look out to the mountains and a scenic garden. Guests sit on tatami mats and are served quality Chinese tea, while sampling a tasting menu that combines elements from both Taiwanese and Japanese cuisine, with exquisite presentation. The second building has bigger rooms – the one of the ground floor can accommodate 50 people, while 80 can fit comfortably in the second floor.
 
Large halls
Eslite is the largest bookstore chain in Taiwan and also sells chic lifestyle products, with a branch on Dunhua South Road that is open 24 hours. Its flagship store in the financial and shopping district of Xinyi has a 480 sqm pillarless performance hall for hire that can fit 800 people and includes a reception area. The Dunhua branch has a 180 sqm “Art Space” room that can hold 150 people, as well as an audiovisual room that can fit 115 people.
 
The Expo Dome, built in preparation for the Taipei International Floral Exposition, covers 6,030 sqm and can accommodate 2,000 people. The architecture features large windows in interesting, floral-like shapes that are scattered throughout the entire building to let in plenty of sunlight, and the flexible space is ideal for all types of events from exhibitions and meetings to fashion shows.
 
Helpful resources
Meet Taiwan
Contact Tess Yang, PR manager
Tel +886 2 2514 2532
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