Meteor Garden Tour - NCCU - Chiayi City - 2024
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| Tranquil Lake |
Getting there
First you need to get yourself to Chiayi City. There are several ways to get there, including buses, the regular train (TRA), and their High-Speed Rail (THSR), which, althought costly, is the fastest way to get to the City. In our case we took THSR from Tauyuan City since we were staying in a hotel there the night before. If you are comming from Taipei, THSR ride takes less than two hours.
- Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA)
- Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR)
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| At HSR station in Taoyuan |
Once you arrived at the HSR station in Chiayi, you'll find buses outside the station. You take bus 106, which will stop directly at National Chung Cheng University. Keep in mind that the bus follows a set of schedule, with departures from the HSR station at 10:00 am, 12:00 noon, 3:00 pm, and 5:00 pm.
For a better and more accurate reference to the scehdule of the bus, refer to this link:
We got out of the station earlier than what we planned and our bus will not arrive until around 10:00 am, our only option was to take a taxi. There are taxi drivers waiting outside the station. Be prapared to be patient as most drivers don't speak english, but they are polite and helpful. It cost us 650 NTD to get to NCCU. Though costly, the ride got us to the university in just 30 minutes. It was 9:30 am when we arrived at the campus. You don't need to pay for an entrance fee when visiting the university.
Sites to Visit
The main reason most tourists visit this place is because of the TV series "Meteor Garden". Naturally, fans of the show will reminisce about scenes from the TV series and get to experience the actual locations where it was filmed. If you're a fan of the the show, you probably have few spots in mind to visit. In our case, I was just tagging along with my wife, who is a huge fan of the show.
There are probably other places you might know, but here are the ones we visited inside the campus.
There are probably other places you might know, but here are the ones we visited inside the campus.
1. Tranquil Lake
Our first stop was the "Tranquil Lake", located just a short walk from the entrance of the university. If you are a fan of Meteor Garden, you'll definitely recognize this spot-it's where the main character often sits on this very bench. For those of us who aren't as familiar with the show, it's a beautiful and calming place that lives up to its name. It's a perfect spot to unwind and take in the surroundings.
2. Administration Building
On the way to the Central Fountain, we passed by this imposing art deco building. While I'm not exactly familiar with the relevance of this building to the TV show, I was particulary fascinated by the robust design of this ziggurat-looking building that seemed to take us back in time.
3. The Central Fountain
Aside from the fact that in the TV series it is where the main characters' graduation took place, I found that, as a non-fan, I could still appreciate the beauty of the place. The architecture was captivating, especially the freestanding columns surrounding the fountain, whose impressive presence made everything still interesting, even when the fountain wasn't running.
4. Library and Information Building
One of the most iconic, if not the most well-known, location among the fans is the Library & Information building. Its fame is primarily due to a single locker. Locker number 150 is said to belong to the lead female character in the series, and it is still present today, though it is now permanently locked. The locker is situated in the basement of the building and can be accessed via a spiral staircase. It is important to note that visitors who make their way to this location should be mindful of their surroundings and maintain silence.
5. Streets and Walkways
This is a huge campus, and getting from one location to another requires quite a bit of walking. To get around more efficiently, students and teachers often use bikes and motorcycle to navigate the campus. As a result, the campus features a well-maintained network of streets and walkways. If you are a fan of the TV show, you might recognize some of the streets, as, according to my wife, several scenes were filmed in some of the streets here. As a non-fan, however, I was primarily captivated by a narrow walkway lined with trees on both sides. With their flowering canopies envloping creating a romantic scene.
5. A certain set of stairs
This particular set of stairs doesn't hold much appeal for me, as I am not a fan of the show. On the other hand, as soon as we approached the stairs, my wife, being a fan of the show, immediately started talking about the details and the significance of the stairs in the TV series. I realized I just couldn't share her excitement at that moment.
Where to eat?
While there is a restaurant in the campus, my wife and I decided to get our lunch from a family mart inside the activity center.
Getting back to Chiayi City
To get back to the city, you have the option to take a taxi, which would be a lot faster but more costly. Or you can take either bus 106 or bus 7309. The buses stops at the designated bus stop near the bridge.
For a better and more accurate reference to the scehdule of the buses, refer to these links:
In our case, we took bus 106 to Chiayi Station. The bus arrived at the university at around 1:15 pm and it took us roughly 1 hour to reach Chiayi . Paying for the fare was easy using our Easy cards and it costs 83 NTD each.
Summary
I may not be a fan of the TV series, and though I could not share the excitement of my wife, I certainly had a great time at the campus. Wandering through the tree shrouded streets and walkways, mesmerized by the art deco inspired buildings and dwarfed by the towering pillars of the central fountain was certainly a good experience for a non-fan of the TV show like me.
Thank you for reading this blog.
We hope we are able to share few valuable insights with you.
Until then, as Rick Steves would say,
"keep on traveling!".
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