Recently, I took a trip to the Republic of China — also known as Taiwan — to visit the great city of Taipei. There comes a time when we all need a break from the mainland.

My girlfriend was invited to participate in a workshop at 夢想社區 // the Dream Community, and do check out the link. So I tagged along for the holiday weekend. She is a glass-blower, and relished the opportunity to use their studio for which to work on various creative projects. I was very lucky to be there to observe.

The Dream Community is a fascinating place, inspired by the aesthetics of Burning Man (recall I’ve been there) and full of amazing structures. The have a camp called Burning Mazu at the festival and it was quite cool to see how it gets built all the way on the other side of the world. The models, the building of parts, the planning and the labor. It sure takes a lot of work.

 

The entire space was filled with glorious wonders…

 

The space consists of several buildings with workshops inside. You can go there to explore, soak in the atmosphere, and even drop by while people working on projects.

 

A lot was going on. From the glass furnaces to feats of art car engineering. For one thing, here’s a tile project:

 

I wasn’t properly a part of the art community, I was just accompanying my partner and checking it out. Everyone was very welcoming to me and I hope to return one day. Yet, there are some things I generally wouldn’t get used to. For example, I wouldn’t want to eat communally every day.

 

And at last, the glass-blowing project concluded with these beautiful glass bells hanging from the metal tree!

 

 

Meanwhile, the rest of Taipei. Yes we did the usual touristy activities and visited the Taipei 101 skyscraper.

 

And I highly recommend the hot springs at Beitou!

 

Taipei is a place with an altogether different vibe from mainland China. Different from Hong Kong as well. More chill, ever more cultural, and in particular incredibly inspiring. After careful consideration, it has been decided that I will be spending more time there.

Above all, the artistic side is most appreciated.