National Taiwan University campus tour: palms, a bell and a lake

National Taiwan University, known locally as Taida, is the easiest of Asia's big universities to visit. Its main campus is flat, open and green, a metro station sits at its corner, and the sights line up along a single avenue of palm trees. An hour is enough for the highlights, though the lake, the farm and the student neighbourhood outside the gate can easily fill a half day. This guide follows the natural route through the campus and adds the practical details.

From imperial university to Taida

The university was founded in 1928, during the period of Japanese rule, as Taihoku Imperial University; Taihoku is the Japanese reading of Taipei. In 1945 it was reorganised and took its present name. The oldest buildings and the basic plan of the campus date from those first decades, which is why the core still has a unity that later universities often lack.

The main gate and Fu Garden

The main gate, at the corner of Roosevelt Road and Xinsheng South Road, is modest: a low gatehouse of rough stone and brick from the early 1930s, now a protected historic structure. It is the classic photo spot for new students and graduates.

Just inside, beside the gate, is Fu Garden, a small, shaded botanical garden. At its centre a memorial in the form of a classical temple holds the remains of Fu Ssu-nien, the historian who was president of the university at the end of the 1940s and who is remembered for defending its independence.

Royal Palm Boulevard

From the gate, Royal Palm Boulevard runs dead straight to the east, with rows of tall royal palms on each side and azalea bushes beneath them. In March the azaleas flower and the university holds its Azalea Festival, when departments and student clubs set out their stalls for prospective students. If you can choose your date, that is the one to pick.

Along the boulevard stand the original buildings of the 1920s and 1930s: two and three storeys high, faced in brown brick and tile, with rows of round arches and deep porches. The College of Liberal Arts and the administration building are the best examples. The former main library, with its tall arched windows, is now the Gallery of NTU History, a small museum of the university's past that is usually open to visitors.

The Fu Bell

In front of the administration building hangs the Fu Bell, the university's emblem. It rings twenty-one times to mark each class period. The number comes from a remark of President Fu's: a day has only twenty-one hours, because the remaining three are for reflection. Students quote it at each other, with varying degrees of irony, during exam season.

The main library and the lawn

The boulevard ends at the main library, a large building of the 1990s designed to echo the arches and brickwork of the older campus. The lawn in front of it is the campus's living room, used for picnics, club practice and events. The library's reading rooms are for members of the university, though visitor access to some areas may be possible; ask at the entrance.

Drunken Moon Lake and the farm

North of the boulevard, past the sports fields, Drunken Moon Lake is a tree-ringed pond with a small pavilion on an island. It is the most peaceful corner of the campus and a favourite for a walk between classes.

In the opposite direction, along the pedestrian lane called Zhoushan Road, the university keeps an experimental farm with rice paddies and vegetable plots in the middle of the city. Its shop, selling the farm's own milk and ice cream, is a campus institution.

Student life

Bicycles are everywhere: the campus is too big to cross on foot between classes, and rows of parked bikes are part of the scenery. Many students live in university dormitories on or beside the campus. Clubs are a serious business, from mountaineering to debating, and the student activity centres are busy late into the evening.

Most teaching is in Mandarin. The university offers a growing number of courses in English, some degree programmes taught in English, mainly at graduate level, and well-established Chinese-language programmes for international students.

Outside the gate, Gongguan is a classic student neighbourhood: bookshops, cafés, live-music venues and a compact night market known for its snack stalls. The riverside cycle paths are a few minutes away.

Visiting

The grounds are open, and you can walk the route described here without any arrangement. The university's visitor centre has offered guided tours for groups by reservation, and the admissions and international offices publish information for prospective students. Check the university's official website for current details before you go.

Getting there

Metro: Gongguan station, on the green Songshan–Xindian Line, is on the western edge of the campus, a short walk from the main gate. From the Taipei Main Station area, allow about fifteen minutes.
From Taoyuan International Airport: the Airport MRT runs to Taipei Main Station, where you can change for Gongguan.
Buses: many city buses stop along Roosevelt Road in front of the campus.
The medical campus: the College of Medicine and the university hospital are in the city centre, near NTU Hospital station, not on the main campus.

Where families usually stay

Gongguan and Da'an: closest to the campus, with cafés and small hotels, and leafy residential streets.
Around Taipei Main Station and Ximending: the transport hub, convenient for the airport train and day trips.
Xinyi: the modern district around Taipei 101, with large hotels and shopping centres.
Zhongshan: a central area of mid-range hotels, restaurants and boutiques.

Practical tips

Autumn and spring are the most pleasant seasons. Summer is hot and humid with a chance of typhoons, and winter is mild but often damp.
Carry an umbrella at any time of year.
An EasyCard covers the metro and buses, and can also be used for the city's shared bicycles.
Start at the main gate, walk the boulevard to the library, loop north to the lake, and finish at the farm shop and Gongguan.
Comparing universities in the region? See our guides to the University of Hong Kong, the University of Tokyo and the National University of Singapore.

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Cover photo: T Gordon Cheng, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons