Today I’m going to present to you Taipei’s well known Xinyi Financial District. A hotspot for business(wo)men, luxury shopping, clubbing and more. But before we start I would like to give you a bit of information regarding Taipei’s economical performances.
The Greater Taipei Basin Area is home to 7 million people, nearly a third of Taiwan’s entire population. It is Asia’s third richest city, right after Hong-Kong and Singapore. It is home to more than 1.500 residents who own $30 million or more in assets. It might sound surprising to those who have visited the city and haven’t seen any overwhelming luxury like you would see in Hong-Kong or Shanghai for example. The reason is that Taiwanese, unlike their chinese counterparts, are well educated and strictly follow the Confucianist value of humbleness. Therefore, they are not showy, and tend to prefer to keep their wealth private. The business magazine Bloomberg has even given Taipei the title of “Asia’s stealthy rich city”.
Nonetheless, there still is an impressive area of Taipei that perfectly reflects the wealth of the city, and that is the Xinyi Financial District (信義計畫區). Seat to various multinationals, hotels and luxurious shopping malls.
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| Hsinyi Financial District is situated east of the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, and is accessible from the Red or Blue line. |
Taipei’s main business center used to be in the old city, around the Main station, Beimen and Ximen. However, the old city was already extremely crowded, making the development of modern structures such as super tall skyscrapers quite difficult. Thus, in the 1980s, the authorities decided to create a brand new business center in the Xinyi district, in the relatively vacant east part of Taipei.
I’m now gonna give you a tour of some of the most iconic architectural structures of Xinyi District.
The Taipei International Convention Center and the Taipei World Trade Center, one of the first structures to be built in the Financial District.
Xinyi is home to the fanciest residential buildings in Taiwan, with each apartment costing several millions.
The recently completed Agora Garden Tower became the most expensive residential building in Taiwan, each apartment costing up to $65 millions.
Taiwan having one of the biggest foreign exchange reserves in the world, Xinyi is also home to many banks, such as Hua Nan Commercial Bank, Bank of China, or Cathay Bank.
But for me, the most iconic structures are the following ones.
Farglory Financial Center, on the very left, Nanshan Plaza and Taipei 101, in the center, and the Bellavita Shopping Center, with its renaissance-like architecture.
What does the future hold?
Like all Financial centers, Xinyi is developing really fast, and various new structures are on the way.
The 260 meters tall Fubon Tower is expected to be completed in 2022 and will become Taipei’s 3rd tallest Skyscraper. It will become the new headquarter of the Fubon Bank.
The 280 meters tall Taipei Sky Tower is expected to be completed in 2023, it will be home to Taipei’s most luxurious hotels, and will take the spot of Nanshan Plaza as Taipei’s second tallest Skyscraper.
The current seat of the Xinyi District Administration is very old, with an ungracious architecture style, resembling a cold war bunker. The building is expected to be demolished and replaced somewhen after 2025. While no designs have been officially decided yet, the most recent proposal is a flying jungle-like skyscraper.
What is your favorite building?
Bubble Tea Island 