The summer vacation may be coming to an end and the Mid-Autumn Festival is right around the corner, but just like the endlessly high temperatures, summer party spirits are showing no signs of falling. Here’s what’s keeping the hands up in the air this weekend.
VU FROM THE DARKSIDE
The long-lost drum ’n’ bass parties are brought back into action this summer by DJ Nonsensii and his Konkrete Jungle sessions. After a big success of the first Konkrete Jungle party at Ageha back in May, Nonsensii has been busy keeping the fans entertained with a series of drum ’n’ bass throwdowns featuring some of the best local DJs. Tomorrow night, Chin, Soul Basic and Nonsensii will be delivering rocking beats as they welcome you to the jungle. (also see listings, below.)
WHERE:VU Livehouse, B1, 77 Wu Chang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1)
WHEN: Today 10pm to 4am
ENTRY:NT$300 (with one drink)
ON THE NET:www.myspace.com/konkretejungletw
OASIS POOL PARTY
Summertime should be all about getting out of the house and having fun in the water. Boasting great music, hot babes, yummy food, cheap booze, an intimate private-party vibe and an amazing pool, Oasis, a bi-weekly event, is the summer paradise for Taipei’s party animals. The music is diverse but promises to be appropriate for the pool. Expect to hear everything from deep house and hip-hop to reggae. The venue is situated on the side of a hill overlooking Taipei City and it’s about a 10-minute drive from the Taipei 101. Nature-lovers can enjoy its mountain-spring pool and beautiful surroundings while others go crazy about the sexy girls and the bikini contest. So if you are stuck in the city of Taipei again this weekend, make this pool party a special treat for yourself!
WHERE:Taipei Country Club (台北鄉村俱樂部), 1 Qingyun Rd, Taipei City (台北市青雲街1號)
WHEN:Tomorrow 1pm to 9pm
ENTRY:NT$300 (with one drink)
ON THE NET:www.sexy-girls-of-summer.com
AFRO-CARIBBEAN NIGHT
What makes a better soundtrack to the summer than African and Caribbean music? This special event is hosted by Island Jam, a group of Caribbean music ambassadors from Jamaica and Martinique, who have been making these kinds of grooves happen in Taipei for years. Their parties are the mecca of Taipei’s reggae, dub, ska and Afro-Caribbean music enthusiasts. Come and experience the exotic flavor this weekend and groove to the beats by Pan Africana, Taili and Katzu.
WHERE: VU Livehouse, B1, 77 Wu Chang St Sec 2, Taipei City (台北市武昌街二段77號B1)
WHEN: Tomorrow, Saturday 10pm to 4am
ENTRY:NT$350 (with one drink)
ON THE NET:www.myspace.com/taili9
Sept.16 to Sept. 22 The “anti-communist train” with then-president Chiang Kai-shek’s (蔣介石) face plastered on the engine puffed along the “sugar railway” (糖業鐵路) in May 1955, drawing enthusiastic crowds at 103 stops covering nearly 1,200km. An estimated 1.58 million spectators were treated to propaganda films, plays and received free sugar products. By this time, the state-run Taiwan Sugar Corporation (台糖, Taisugar) had managed to connect the previously separate east-west lines established by Japanese-era sugar factories, allowing the anti-communist train to travel easily from Taichung to Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港). Last Sunday’s feature (Taiwan in Time: The sugar express) covered the inauguration of the
This Qing Dynasty trail takes hikers from renowned hot springs in the East Rift Valley, up to the top of the Coastal Mountain Range, and down to the Pacific Short vacations to eastern Taiwan often require choosing between the Rift Valley with its pineapple fields, rice paddies and broader range of amenities, or the less populated coastal route for its ocean scenery. For those who can’t decide, why not try both? The Antong Traversing Trail (安通越嶺道) provides just such an opportunity. Built 149 years ago, the trail linked up these two formerly isolated parts of the island by crossing over the Coastal Mountain Range. After decades of serving as a convenient path for local Amis, Han settlers, missionaries and smugglers, the trail fell into disuse once modern roadways were built
“Once you get there, you think, that’s a little embarrassing or revealing or scary... but ultimately, I learned that is where the good stuff is,” says Taiwanese-American director Sean Wang about writing indie breakout Didi (弟弟), which debuted at Sundance Film Festival Asia 2024 in Taipei last month. Didi is a heartwarming coming-of-age story centered on the Asian American experience. Not just a 2000s teenage nostalgia piece, but a raw, unflinching look at immigrant families and adolescent identity struggles. It quickly became the centerpiece of the event, striking a chord with not only those sharing similar backgrounds but anyone who’s ever
In a stark demonstration of how award-winning breakthroughs can come from the most unlikely directions, researchers have won an Ig Nobel prize for discovering that mammals can breathe through their anuses. After a series of tests on mice, rats and pigs, Japanese scientists found the animals absorb oxygen delivered through the rectum, work that underpins a clinical trial to see whether the procedure can treat respiratory failure. The team is among 10 recognized in this year’s Ig Nobel awards (see below for more), the irreverent accolades given for achievements that “first make people laugh, and then make them think.” They are not