If you have followed the news in Taiwan last weekend you could not have missed it. In front of a large crowd the world renown rock climber American Alex Honnold climbed the Taipei 101 tower without the use of any safety ropes or other safety gear.
Table of Contents
Alex Honnold Climbs Taipei 101
Live broadcasted worldwide by Netflix he seemingly relaxed and without any fear started the climb on early Sunday morning. Well, I can tell you, that was different with me. Watching safely in my home I had sweaty hands and sometimes had to look away. That man is truly a legend!
It amazes me how at ease he was climbing. Many times he took time to say hello to people as he seemingly relaxed waved to the fans inside of the building. All went well and in just one and a half hour he climbed to the top of the building!
Netflix went all out with this live shooting of the climb. They had hired 3 helicopters flying around the building. A few cameras inside the building and filming from the ground floor. They even took close up shots as during the climb a cameraman hanging on cables was lifted alongside the building.
From left to right:
left: Alex, with the crowd behind him, climbing past the first of the several ruyi ornaments.
middle: people massed inside the many floors to take pictures and watch him climb up close.
right: Almost at the top. Scaring the hell out of the crowd by freeing his hands and clamping with just his legs.
large down:
That helicopter view of Alex Honnold standing on top of the tower in his read shirt. Iconic shot!
My Taipei 101 experience
A couple of years ago I have been to the top of Taipei 101. Like every normal tourist, happily with the highspeed elevator taking me to the viewing platform on the 89th floor in just seconds. There is an indoor platform from which you can enjoy the view. But also you can go to the 91st floor where there is an outdoor viewing platform. You can walk all around it and see in all directions. Inside you can also look at the GIANT massive ball which acts as a counterweight in case of an earthquake.
We went late afternoon, took some drinks and snacks and stayed for a couple of hours as daylight turned into night and a whole new view of Taipei came to be as one by one the lights turned on.
If you want to know more about Taipei 101 have a look at this page I wrote about visiting taipei101.
What is the Taipei Basin?
So what am i referring to when I say the Taipei basin through Alex Honnold’s eyes.
Most people would say from the Taipei 101 tower you have an amazing view of “the city”. Which is true: you will see both Taipei city directly surrounding you and New Taipei city more further away. But if you look closely there is more to see, you could see the contours of the Taipei Basin.
So what is the Taipei Basin exactly? The Taipei Basin is a geographical region in northern Taiwan which is bounded by Yangmingshan in the north, the Linkou Plateau in the west and the ridge of Xueshang Range in the southeast.
In the basin The Keelung river, the Dahan river and the Xindian river all come together at the Tamsui river, which ends after a few curves in the ocean.
Yangmingshan
originally called grass mountain, Yangmingshan is part of the Tatun volcanic group located 15km north of Taipei. Currently there is no volcanic activity. Yangmingshan is known for its national park and its sulphur Deposits. Currently it is enjoyed by many as a daytrip distance from the city.
Linkou plateau
Linkou plateau is located on the southwest side of the Tamsui river and connects the basin with Taoyuan further to the south.
Xueshang Range
Also known as snow mountain Range (雪山山脈), Xueshang range stretches from the northeast (cape santiago) to about the city of Taichung spanning about 140km and 33km wide. It has about 54 peaks with Xueshan mountain as it talles peak. (3886m)
Historically the Ketagalan tribes inhabited the area, Althought their language has become extinct. In Beitou district you still can find a small but fun and interesting museum about these tribes. During the Qing dynasty, around the 18th century the han chinese started to settle in the area and slowly it turned it the metropolitan area it is now.
Due to its geologic location, the Taipei basin works as a kind of bowl. In the past it was prone to flooding but recent years the many flood prevention policies have showed its effect reducing the risk.
But also there is another problem, when there is not much wind the heat is trapped inside the city creating a severe urban heat island. Air pollution can also be a problem on these days. A study shows that on average the maximum temperature in Taipei is even higher than the temperatures in the south!
A closer look of the Taipei Basin from the Taipei 101 tower
So now we know what the Taipei basin is lets go back to Alex Honnold’s climb of the Taipei101. There’s multiple shots where you can see the Basin and its surrounding mountains and plateau’s in the far distance.
On the top 2 images we see he is almost at the top of the skyscraper. There is a good view of the surounding mountains and the river system down below. However more interesting is the large image below. There he just climbed the first section and you will see a camera shot from below. with on the background the large mountain ranges. From what I can estimate we are looking towards the south and this is either the southern part of the Linkou plateau or part of the Xueshang Range
Another example are his two selfies from the top the tower. The first is a selfie in the direction Wenshan district. For reference, behind his shoulders would be the Taipei Medical university, and just left (outside the picture) the entrance to Elephant mountain. In the far background on the right side of the picture, you’ll see a light green area. This is the Tamsui river again with behind it the High buildings of New Taipei city (I believe the southeastern part of Yonghe district. Just above his head is Wenshan district. And to the left (maybe just out of view) should be close to where actually the Taipei Zoo and the Gondola’s are. More importantly in the far background you see Xueshan Range.
If you swipe to the right, to the next selfie Alex took is in the direction of Sanchong and Luzhou district.
Below is National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall and the Taipei Dome. From there to the right top you see the foothills of Yangmingshan mountain. Going left, far away you see one bend of the Tamsui river. The small mountain you see is Mount Guanyin (觀音山) in Bali district. Folowing that line to the left stretching even more far after the picture ends is the linkou plateau
Wrap-up
So here you go, now you’ve learned about the Taipei Basin. Actually the mountain and ridges surrounding the Taipei city area can be seen from many places in the city, not only from the Taipei 101 tower. So next time have a look around you travel the city to check out if you can see them! Next blogpost we will continue looking further into the area by going back in time and explore one of the first detailed maps of the area. A map made by the Dutch in the 17th century!
Hope to see you back for more!