Maokong Gondola

August 4, 2026

I had two weeks after I finished my one-on-one classes and before I went back to Sydney. I thought I’d go on the Maokong Gondola [貓空纜車].

The above Google Map showed my route. I arrived by MRT to the Taipei Zoo [動物園] MRT station; walked the short distance to the start of the gondola at the Zoo Station [動物園站水舞區]; rode the goldola to Zhinan Temple Station [指南宮站] and visited the temple; rode the goldola again to Maokong Station [貓空站]; ate there; and then caught the bus back to Wanfang Community [萬芳社區] station.

On August 4th, it was a beautiful day but very hot – 35 degrees at early afternoon on the clock at Beixin Elementary School [北新國民小學].

A photo of the railway ‘tracks’ at Daan [大安] station on the Brown line. Wikipedia says “The Wenhu line (… also known as Brown line) is a rubber-tyred light metro line in Taipei … [It] began revenue service on 28 March 1996 … This was the first metro line constructed in Taipei. … The fleet ran on rubber-tyred track at a maximum speed of 80 kilometres per hour”. Looking down you can see there are tracks, not rails, for the rubber wheels to run on.

Inside the car. The trains are driverless, though I couldn’t see this as I was sitting in the rear carriage.

The end of the line at Taipei Zoo [動物園] station. By the way, the Chinese transcription of “zoo” is “animal garden”.

Looking the way we’d come, through a glass panel – notice the imperfections in the glass.

Turning to the left is the Maokong Gondola [貓空纜車] station, just in view past the cranes. The gondola goes up the mountain, from the center of the photo to the top left.

A sign next to the turnstiles – “Good fortune comes to honest people”.

And another sign just nearby. I assume there is less stilted grammar in the Chinese version than the English version, but I don’t know as my Chinese is at the level of a 3-year old child.

Outside there is a large sign showing the zoo and the gondola. “Up” on the wall corresponds to south, so comparing this to a Google Map, this sign is upside down.

A view of Taipei Zoo [動物園] station from a distance.

As I walked to the Maokong Gondola [貓空纜車] I photographed the train on an elevated viaduct.

Maokong Gondola [貓空纜車] close up, with the machinery emerging to the left.

Taiwan Obsessed has an excellent guide to the Maokong Gondola [貓空纜車] and Maokong [貓空], including relevant information such as opening hours. I’ll be referencing this webpage liberally.

There were a party of school children waiting to go on the gondola.

Taiwan Obsessed said “While there have long been roads up to the tea growing area, Maokong Gondola wasn’t built until 2007. This was well after Taipei Zoo was moved from the Taipei city center to this location (1986) and the Taipei Zoo MRT station opened (1996).”

The entrance to the goldola. Taiwan Obsessed advises just go through without stopping, so I did.

I climbed up several stairs in succession, pausing to photograph (above) a view over the river valley.

The entrance to the gondola. You can see a gondola car in the center of the photo. The entrance gates are immediately in front of the gondola cars. Taiwan Obsessed advises swiping my Easy card. The cost of a one-way trip is NTD 180 ($AUD 9) and EasyCard charges a maximum of NTD 300 ($AUS 15) per day: gondola rides over that amount are free.

There were only a few people queuing. I walked up, swiped my Easy card, and was immediately directed to a car.

I had my own gondola car! Above is a photo of the gondola car moving slowly forward, immediately before accelerating and lifting away.

The gondola car went up and up, and the view slowly revealed itself.

Taipei 101 showed itself.

At first the gondola car was travelling over thick forest (above). I think it’s actually Taipei Zoo [動物園], or close to it.

Quite a fine view.

Coming into a waypoint.

This could be Taipei Zoo [動物園].

A zoomed-out shot of the scenery. What a view!

I went down into Taipei Zoo South Station [動物園南站].

The gondola car slowed to a crawl, and the automatic door slid open. An attendant was busy with the preceding car.

The attendant checked things were correct, and even posed for a photo – very nice of her!

Then I was up and away, passing Maokong Gondola Angle Station Two [貓空纜車轉角二站], according to Google Maps.

A fine day and a beautiful view.

Tremendous scenery!

What a gorgeous view!

I went a little crazy, snapping photo…

… after photo. No photo filters, these were the actual views.

Coming down into Zhinan Temple Station [貓空纜車指南宮站].

A guard watched as I walked between the gondola car and the lifts (on right in the photo).

There are a lot of clips of the Maokong Gondola [貓空纜車] – and I mean a lot – so I just picked one at random.

The view from the station. Taiwan Obsessed said “Zhinan Temple Station [貓空纜車指南宮站] is named after Zhinan Temple [指南], also spelled Chih Nan Temple… the large temple complex beside it.”

Taiwan Obsessed said “To the left (east side) when you get off, there’s a small Taoist shrine and pond [仙山靝龍]”. Google Translate rendered this as “Fairy Mountain Dragon”.

On the other side of the station is the path leading to the temple, with a helpful sign.

Going down this path, I noticed shrubs with many little metal things, with a red tassel below. Taiwan Tourist Administration said “Zhinan Temple sits on Monkey Mountain and, in addition to the steps, is accessible by a paved road. But the stone steps are worth a trip in themselves; they are flanked by rows of stone posts topped by stone lanterns that were donated by devotees during the period of Japanese occupation (1895-1945).  Rest platforms are available every 100 steps or so, with the entire path extending for about 1,200 steps.” Is that what this is?

The temple was just coming into view.

The temple reveals itself.

Zhinan Temple [指南宮]. The temple is Daoist [宮], not Buddhist [寺].

A photo of the courtyard. The prayer area is to the right under a white and red canopy.

There were metal dragons under the gate.

Quite a view looking out from the steps of the temple. Taiwan Tourist Administration said “Taking the stone steps, it is possible to reach Zhinan Temple Corridor, as well as see the entire Muzha tea farm landscape. This temple is known to foreigners as ‘the Temple of a Thousand Steps.’ This is no exaggeration—there are actually around 1,200 stone steps up to the temple—and there is a saying, ‘live an extra 20 seconds for each step you climb.’ If this is true, you can add more than six hours to your life by climbing all of the steps.”

A photo of a mythological animal. Viewers with a Chinese background would know which one. I realized that I was quite ignorant of Daoism, to my shame.

For instance, in the courtyard there was a booth offering some kind of objects for a donation.

A close-up of the prayer area. Taiwan Tourist Administration said “The main deity in this temple is Lu Dongbin, one of the Eight Immortals of Chinese legends. He is a well-loved deity, despite a reputation for somewhat randy behavior. He is said to return frequently to the mortal world to bring salvation to the faithful.”

Undiscovered Taipei said “Built in 1890, the temple is dedicated to the Daoist immortal Lu Tung-pin, better known as ‘Xiangong’ or ‘Luzu.’ A scholar of the Tang period, Lu loved poetry and books. He successfully passed the provincial level imperial examination and became a county magistrate. Because of his pious devotion to the Dao, Lu’s path crossed with that of the Daoist immortal Zhong Liquan, who showed him the way to enlightenment. Many mysterious and noble deeds were attributed to Lu, making him one of the best known and most-loved of the Daoist immortals in Taiwan.”

The entrance to the inner temple.

Taiwan Tourist Administration said “It is said that immortal Lu Dongbin couldn’t pursue the only woman among the Eight Immortals, He Xiangu. As a result, he can be jealous of couples who are together. Therefore, most couples dare not go to the Zhinan Temple together, out of concern that their relationship may end.” Fortunately I was alone.

Very fine carvings on the pillars.

A man telling the woman about something to do with this picture, which I assume is of various Daoist immortals. Apparently this temple is also associated with these ten immortals, but I can’t find information about them in my cursory research.

Outside the inner temple I found this curious structure, with red beams and a diagram. What is the meaning of this? People who are familiar with Chinese religion, please enlighten me!

I think it’s not this: Taiwan Tourist Administration said “After passing through the mountain gate to the worship hall, you can see a pair of dragon pillars with their heads raised upwards. After entering the hall, if you look carefully on the ground surrounded by red railings, you will find the ‘Dragon King,’ a coiled dragon with a pearl in his mouth.”

Taiwan Tourist Administration said “The name “Zhinan Temple” includes two important meanings: 1. that the god, Lu Enzhu(Lu Dongbin) resides at the Southern (“nan”) temple in the Heavenly Court; and 2. that in order to determine who on Earth needs help, he uses a compass (“zhinan”).

Taiwan Tourist Administration said “After going around the Drum Tower, you will arrive at the three-story Fuyou Temple. On the first floor, a guest room provides overnight accommodations. This was formerly called the ‘dream room.’ In those days, if believers prayed and received permission from Lu Dongbin to live in the dream room, they had an opportunity to receive guidance overnight in a dream.”

A sign saying “Chih Nan Temple” [指南宮]. Both Chih Nan [指南] and Zhinan [指南] refer to this temple – the Chinese characters are identical – but in English differ because of the differing romanization system used. I wonder, when I translate this webpage into Chinese, whether this explanation makes sense?

There are two more main temples an this stop, Chunyang Temple [純陽寶殿] and Daxiong Temple [大雄寶殿], with an estimated walking time to visit the three temples of 45 minutes. Taiwan Obsessed said “Is it worth the money and time? In my opinion, if you’re already templed out, or if you’ve got a busy day, you don’t really need to bother. However, if you’re in no major rush, then it’s worth the time. Few tourists stop at the temple, so it’s never busy, and there’s a commanding view of the city.” However, I decided to skip the remaining two temples and made my way back to the gondola station.

I stepped from the lift straight to another empty goldola car. The view was quite a sight (above).

On the way I glimpsed a side view of Daxiong Temple [大雄寶殿].

Dramatic scenery!

A distant view Daxiong Temple [大雄寶殿]. The glass walls were dirty so this isn’t a clear view.

Coming to Maokong Station [貓空站].

I disembarked the gondola car and immediately took this photo.

Taiwan Obsessed said “Maokong [貓空] literally means ‘cat holes’, which most likely refers to the presence of civets in the past (the animal family group which civets belong to has the cat character in its name) as well as potholes. Because mao means ‘cat’, you’ll see some cat statues and cat-shaped cookies at Maokong.”

Maokong [貓空] from the station. Taiwan Obsessed said “Maokong [貓空] feels like a world away from Taipei. It has the biggest concentration of traditional teahouses in Taipei and a network of hiking trails, including one to a small temple buried in the jungle. The area has some of the best views of Taipei 101 and the Taipei city far below.”

The entrance to Maokong Station [貓空站]. As usual for a major site, there are many webpages on Maokong [貓空]. Apart from Taiwan Obsessed, Undiscovered Taipei has an article on things to do including the zoo. Taiwanderers has a page on it as well. Taiwan Tourist Administration also has an article about the tea gardens. Unfortunately, I didn’t travel more than a few hundred meters from Maokong Station [貓空站].

There was a road enticing me to wander…

… but I was hungry, so I walked across the road to a tea shop.

Taiwan Obsessed said “The main teas produced in Maokong area are baozhong tea [包種茶] also spelled Baochung or Paochung… which is a lighter oolong with subtle melon fragrance, and tieguanyin tea [鐵觀音茶] or Iron Goddess… which is a slightly darker oolong with a roasted flavor.”

I was hungry for a soft serve ice cream. Taiwan Obsessed said “The soft serve ice cream is a must. It’s honestly one of my main reasons to go to Maokong”, so I followed his recommendation. The cost was NTD 90 (about $AUD 4.50), a little expensive. I tried to get a photograph with the server, thrusting the ice cream in her hand and taking rapid photos, with the result above.

Coming down the road and scross from the bus stop – in the photo there is a minibus on the left – there was a small, unsophisticated restaurant.

On the large water tanks were a list of the dishes, for instance Pig’s Blood Soup.

I ordered stinky tofu [臭豆腐]. The one delivered to me (above) was deep-fried chunks of fermented tofu (hence the “stinky” part of the name) with a side of raw Taiwan cabbage and cucumber. It comes with two sauces, a brown sauce and a chilli sauce, on a paper plate. It cost NTD 80 (about $AUD 4), and it was delicious. Taiwan Obsessed has a webpage on it.

I walked across the road to the bus station by the side of Maokong Station [貓空站]. There were quite a few buses to different locations, fitting as this was a major site. There were signs on the wall of the bus shelter (above, just visible) showing schedules and routes, and an electric clock counting down the minutes to various buses. I selected a bus that was due in a few minutes.

When the minibus came, I hopped on it and was taken through narrow turns down and out of the park.

The bus stopped near Wanfang Community Station [萬芳社區站] (above), where I caught the train home.