The Great Finger to China

During a quick stop in Taipei, Taiwan I had the great opportunity to see and enter the world's current tallest building: Taipei 1o1. This building is by leaps and bounds the tallest thing in all of Taiwan, so it sticks out like a sore thumb in this city, not known for a massive skyline like Shanghai, Hong Kong, or New York City. So, our guide said the structure has been nicknamed the "Great Finger to China." Just in case you were not aware, when Mao and the Communists took control of mainland China in 1949 the democratic republican government of China was forced to flee to the island of Taiwan, where they remain to this day. Taiwan believes it is still the "true" China and the country's official name is the Republic of China. This history and animocity between the two countries leads to the middle finger reference to Taipei 101.

Taipei 101 is quite an engineering marvel, but my favorite part besides the 88th floor observation deck view was the fact that it only took 36 seconds to get from the lobby to the 88th floor. I think that bears repeating - it took just 36 seconds to rise 88 floors! That is one impressive elevator. Unfortunately, like most of Asia, Taipei was experiencing a lot of haze and smog on the day we went up in Taipei 101, so the views are not as impressive in my pictures as they would have been on a clear day.

Taipei was a quick, yet worthwhile visit - we did see Taipei 101, walked around the city, had some great local cuisine, and found time for a Taiwan foot massage, but rest assured, work was done. We took counselors from Taipei American School out to dinner one night and then had a great visit to that school the next day where we spoke to the entire junior class - over 200 students - and then had a college fair where I ran out of all materials, so Vanderbilt was a pretty popular choice for those students.