Experimental Farm of National Taiwan University

On one of Taipei's hot and sunny day there's nothing better than finding a shadowy place to take a rest and eating a delicious ice cream. If you're looking for a such a place you may consider visiting the campus of National Taiwan University (NTU).

About one and a half years ago a Taiwanese friend of mine showed me for the first time the campus. She took me to a small shop - a nice one-storey building with a few tables outside and protected from the sun by trees. She explained that all the products sold in that store are made through crops grown on NTU farmland. I bought an ice cream in that shop, and it was one of the best I've ever eaten (not surprisingly, on weekends, when many families go to the campus to walk and relax, this ice cream is often sold out).

The Affiliated Experimental Farm to the College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture of National Taiwan University, as it is officially called, is a place of teaching, research and practice for students of the said department as well as for students from nearby high-schools. It originated from the Practice Farm of Taihoku (Taipei) High School of Agriculture and Forestry, established in 1924 during the Japanese colonial era (1895-1945).

The NTU farm and the campus are a real oasis of green inside Taipei's concrete jungle. While walking around you can even hear the noise of the vehicles coming from the large traffic arteries that surround it. And, of course, you can see the city's landmark, Taipei 101, towering on the horizon, reminding us of how fast and radically Taiwan's capital has changed over the past decades.

Taipei 101

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