Law School Blog
Welcome to Taipei!
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
We departed Seoul early Wednesday morning for Taipei, Taiwan. After a short
(2 1/2 hour) flight, we arrived on this impressive island nation. Taipei City is in the northern part of the country, which has four distinct regions—Northern, Central, Southern, and a series of small offshore islands off the southeastern coast. Taipei is easily the largest and most energetic city in the country of 23 million with a population of 6 million.
Taipei is far less dense than other well-known Asian cities. Most of the buildings are fewer than 20 stories high. There is one noted exception, Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world which is in the city's growing entertainment and financial district. Off to see that tomorrow.
One of the must-see places are the National Palace Museum which contains one of the world's greatest collections of ancient Chinese art. Since we had no event until an evening dinner with alumni, my wife and I used our afternoon to marvel at more than 8000 years of Chinese history. Here are a few pictures of the collection, taken before I was asked not to take any more.
The museum is awe-inspiring with works in jade and bronze that hail from 5000 to 1500 B.C.E.
Our private dinner with 10 UW alumni was a truly pleasant affair—great food, conversation, and some telling testimonials of how attending the UW became the springboard for a lifetime of achievement. Hearing such stories always underscores my decision to go into education. There is nothing more rewarding than to watch students achieve in school and then in life. I will look forward to following the careers of our alumni here and, of course, to the accomplishments of those of you reading this quick note. More on Thursday.
Dean Knight