Healthy food, fruit shops everywhere, ease of working out, the convenience of transportation, parks, and more.
All of this makes Taipei a city where people can easily start getting in shape, it makes it The Healthiest City in Asia.
So if you’re thinking about an Asian city to move to for work or study, and health is an important deciding factor, then Taipei should be on the top of your list.
Let me tell you why.
Scenery Parks – Go Run
In Taipei there are many parks where you can go for a walk or a run, some are bigger than others, and some are definitely more scenic, those would be the ones that are next to a river.
- Tamsui Riverside Park
- Guting Riverside Park
- Dajia Riverside Park
- Guanshan Riverside Park
These parks are located alongside the river, which makes for a very good running or biking track, you’ll get some nice views of the city and also some gentle breeze on your face.
Along these riverside parks you’ll usually find basketball and tennis courts where you’ll see groups of young Taiwanese having fun.
You’ll also find elderly men and women doing aerobic classes or practicing
There are other parks which are big enough to go for a run and that have a more centric location in the city.
You can check
Daan Park, Taipei
Da’an forest park is located in Da’an district and it occupies 26 hectares, perfect to go for a run.
Another park that has a very centric location is 228 peace memorial park, is near Taipei
It’s only 7 hectares in size, and is also a memorial site that was built to commemorate those who died in the events of February 28 of 1947, is also the oldest park in Taipei.
If doing cardio outdoors is not your thing and you prefer a treadmill or elliptical machine then you’ll want to know that going to the gym in Taipei is convenient and cheap.
You burn around 700 calories running during 1 hour
Working out
In Taipei city and New Taipei city there are around 12 Sports centers altogether.
The name in Chinese is 運動中心 ( Yùndòng zhōngxīn)
In each one you”ll find at least, 1 gym, 1 pool, 1 badminton court and some other studio rooms used for
You don’t have to pay a membership, you pay as you go. I go to the gym 5 times a week, and the fare for 1 hour and 10 minutes is only 50NTD, only 1.64 USD.
Right outside the gym area you’ll find lockers where you can put your stuff, the fare to use a locker is 10NTD, you’ll also see shelves where you can just put your bag and go work out.
I must say I’ve never had anything stolen, so feel safe to just put your bag on the shelf.
You’ll also find showers you can use after working out, they’re not the nicest ones in town, but they’re decent, good enough to take a shower after an early work out and before going to work in case you don’t have the time to go back home and shower.
The fare to use the swimming pool is 110 NTD, and you can be there for as long as you want.
When you pay to use the pool area you’ll also have the right to use the steam rooms, and the hydrotherapy pools.
Here’s some info for you to know more about where each one of the sports centers is located.
List of Public Gyms in Taipei City
- Taipei Da’an Sports Center (臺北市大安運動中心)
- Website: https://dasc.cyc.org.tw/
- Address: No. 55號, Section 3, Xinhai Road, Da’an District, Taipei City, 106
- Taipei Xinyi Sports Center (臺北市信義運動中心)
- Website: https://xysc.cyc.org.tw/
- Address: No. 100號, Songqin Street, Xinyi District, Taipei City, 110
- Taipei Songshan Sports Center (臺北市松山運動中心)
- Website: http://sssc.com.tw/
- Address: No. 1號, DunHua N Rd, Songshan District, Taipei City, 105
- Taipei Zhongzheng Sports Center (臺北市中正山運動中心)
- Website: http://www.tpejjsports.com.tw/
- Address: No. 1號, Section 1, Xinyi Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, 100
- Taipei Zhongshan Sports Center (臺北市中山運動中心)
- Website: https://cssc.cyc.org.tw/
- Address: No. 2號, Lane 44, Section 2, Zhongshan North Road, Zhongshan District, Taipei City, 104
- Taipei Nangang Sports Center (臺北市南港運動中心)
- Website: https://ngsc.cyc.org.tw/
- Address: No. 69號, Yucheng Street, Nangang District, Taipei City, 11
- Taipei Wanhua Sports Center (臺北市萬華運動中心)
- Website: http://whsc.com.tw/
- Address: No. 6-1號, Xining Rd, Wanhua District, Taipei City, 108
More Sport centers in Taipei City
- Taipei Datong Sports Center
- Wen Shan Sports Center
- Shilin Sports Center
- Taipei City Beitou Sports Center
Sports Center in New Taipei City
- Sanchong Civil Sports Center
- Yonghe Sports Center
- Zhonghe Sports Center
- Tamsui Civil Sports Center
- Xinzhuang Civil Sports Center
So as you can see, there are sports center all over the place in Taipei City and some more in New Taipei city area, so there is no excuse for you not to work out.
With so many cheap venues to work out I think you can agree with me that Taipei is one The Healthiest City in Asia
Important Gym Information
Just like in any gym, these places tend to be crowded after 6 pm from Monday to Friday, and from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday and Sunday.
Although
The best time to go is early morning, right before going to work or to school, as the amount of people is few.
Don’t forget to take a hand towel with you as it is a requirement to enter the gym area, and a swimsuit in case you’re going to the pool.
If you forget your towel, you can buy a small one from the front desk at the gym area, they sell for around 20NTD.
In all of the Sports Centers there is usually a counter on the first floor where you pay to go to the gym or the pool, they’ll give you a card or a receipt which you’ll have to show when you enter the Gym or Pool area.
You’ll also find shops selling swimsuits and other items for swimming, some of them might be a bit pricey, so if you want to save some money better go to Carrefour and get your swim gear there.
There are also water dispensers and 7-11’s nearby, so you can take your own plastic bottle and get some free water or buy some at 7-11.
Which takes me to reason number 3 on why Taipei is one of the healthiest cities in Asia.
Convenience Store Food
Let’s explore more on why I say that Taipei is The Healthiest City in Asia
Usually, when you think of convenience store food you don’t think of it as a healthy option, at least where I come from, Nicaragua, convenience stores are full of fast food like hot dogs and a bunch of candies, cookies, snacks, sodas, and other sugary drinks.
If you wanna stay healthy you shouldn’t eat any of the things I just mentioned, but let’s face it prepping your meal for the whole week is a bit time consuming.
Sometimes you just have to go to a convenience store to get your breakfast or lunch.
Well, in Taipei you can have a full healthy meal right out of a 7-11 or Family Mart, let me show you, with pictures
I usually work out early in the morning, once I’m done working out at Zhongshan Sports Center, I take a shower, I dress up and go down to 7-11 to get 2 of these.
Onigiri, or at least a variation of Onigiri, they have different choices of filling, I only buy the one that has tuna inside, so is pretty much just that, tuna and white rice, with seaweed.
They only contain 198 calories. In Chinese the characters for calorific value are 熱量 (Rèliàng)
And even though white rice is not the healthiest option since is very low in nutrients and some experts even call it empty calories, it is still a good addition to your breakfast after working out, especially if you were lifting heavy weights.
I also buy some milk, which I use to mix with my whey protein powder.
Eating Healthy from Convenience Stores
I also get boiled eggs, yes that’s right, they have boiled eggs in Taipei’s convenience stores, now in the picture below you might notice the color of the eggs is a little dark, just a little.
Well, that’s because they boil them in black tea water, why do they do it? I’m not sure, but the taste of the eggs doesn’t really change that much, they do get a particularly strong smell, which is not that bad.
18 Post Workout Shakes Ingredients.
When you see them for the first time you might think something like: THAT’S GROSS, but give them a try, they’re just like regular boiled eggs, with a particular color and smell.
And also for the road, I get a little snack, a sweet potato, not all of the 7-11’s and Family Marts have these snacks full of nutrients, but most of them do.
If you get hungry during the afternoon you can go to your closest convenience store and get some nuts, fruits, salad wraps or an oatmeal drink.
You can also get fruits, guavas and bananas are my favorite, although I must say that getting fruit from convenience stores is expensive, you better get it at one of the many fruit vendors around the city, I’ll tell you a bit more about this later.
Having a healthy lunch from a convenience store is also possible, you can get a nice lean chicken breast for only 99NTD, add some salad and your lunch is ready, high in protein and low in carbs.
The Health Benefits of Turmeric.
The Chinese characters for protein are 蛋白質 (Dànbáizhí)
Or you can have one of this kind of lunch boxes that include chicken, half an egg, purple rice, mushrooms and some vegetables.
Remember I said I would tell you more about fruits vendors in Taipei, well here it is
Fruits Vendors in Taipei
The thing I have to say is that they’re everywhere. This one is in Zhongshan district, on Linsen North Road, and it’s open until midnight.
They even have little boxes with already peeled and chopped fruit for your convenience.
4 Health Benefits and 4 Recipes with Pomegranate
And you can really find fruit vendors in any corner of the city, for example, this nice lady that sells fruits on the side of a convenience store.
Or this random small fruits and vegetables set up outside a store near my office.
So as you can see, getting fruits in Taipei will be very easy, which means you’ll have no excuses to not have a healthy snack if you’re feeling hungry after or before a meal.
Isn’t that another point to call Taipei The Healthiest City in Asia?
Transportation
Taipei has a very convenient metro system that can get you to any of the important business and leisure areas of the city, or at least close enough, and if as that wasn’t enough, you have access to using UBIKES or OBIKES.
What is Ubike?
Is a bike sharing service offered by the Taipei City Department of transportation, all you need to start using one is an easy card, you can then register at any service center in any metro station or kiosks.
You can also rent it using an IC card.
Almost all the metro stations in Taipei have an
If for some reason the dock doesn’t release the bike, you can take a look at whatever number it shows on the screen and read what that error message is about.
After successfully using a
To read more about the costs of using an
An
More convenient transportation in Taipei The Healthiest City in Asia
Station less Bikes in Taipei.
OBIKES NO LONGER FUNCTION IN TAIWAN
If that’s the case, then the solution might be an Obike
If you’re not familiar with Obikes, then let me tell you a little bit about them.
The key benefit of
You must have an active internet connection in your phone and turn on Bluetooth to unlock the bike, once you find an Obike -you can use the app to track one- you just scan the QR code on the Obike and if successful the lock on the rear wheel should unlock.
Once you’re done using it just manually lock the bike and make sure the end of the ride is recorded in the Obike App.
And is it safe to go around the city riding a bike? The answer is yes, don’t worry
People in Taipei ride bikes everywhere.
Conclusion
So there you have it, in Taipei, you’ll be able to eat healthily and work out without any excuses, and we all know those are the two most important things you need to start living a healthy life.
Have you lived in any Asian city which you think is The Healthiest City in Asia? Let me know in the comments please
Hope you enjoyed this post.