Xindian

hike

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.

Nyingma school of Buddhism

The main Taiwan center of Penor Rinpoche (http://palyul.org/index.htm), the head of the Nyingma school of Buddhism, is located 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

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.

Dragon Boat

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, which in 2007 falls on June 19.