Yingge Day Trip|What To See In The Ceramics Capital of Taiwan

鶯歌(Yingge)As a college student, I often frequented the entire Yingge-Sanxia area (Sanying) and became familiar with the abundance of hipster and art-related attractions. Three years later, upon my return to Yingge, I discovered many new things that previously didn’t exist and must say taking a train here and having a look around is the perfect way to spend a day. Yingge’s famous handmade ceramics, Sanying Waterfront, Yingge Ceramics Park and Yingge Ceramics Museum are all worthy of an IG post…most importantly, there is no shortage of exquisite things to eat and buy at Yingge Old Street. So quit your dawdling and take a look at how to arrange your Yingge day trip itinerary!

This article is translated by Tom Eldridge.
中文版本：鶯歌一日遊|文青IG拍照景點路線、老街美食購物、博物館

Yingge鶯歌
Yingge gets its name from a stone shaped like a warbler bird on the outskirts of town. Due to its location in the mountains, chances of rain are considerable- if this is the case, go spend some time indoors making ceramics! There is record of Hakka migrants operating tea plantations in Yingge District as well as Sanxia as early as the 17th century. Porcelain making began during the Jiaqing reign of the Qing Dynasty as clay was discovered in the mountains nearby that was suitable for making kilns. Making due with local resources, pottery increasing became Yingge’s claim to fame and the town even became known as Taiwan’s Jingdezhen (a Chinese city famous for porcelain).

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Yingge Transportation
Train：Local train to Yingge Station
Bus：Less popular option. Can take buses 702 or 851 from Sanxia, or buses 917 or 981 from Yongning.
Drive: National Freeway 2 or 3, Yingge Highway Interchange

It’s extremely convenient to take a train from Taipei to Yingge (only around 30 mins from Taipei Main Station) and since Yingge’s main attractions are all located within 15 mins of the train station, it’s very easy to get around on foot. As a result, taxis are not common and even if you find one they don’t tend to accept passengers that aren’t traveling longer distances (to Sanxia for instance). Personally I think it’s perfectly reasonable to walk the entire time, at least you can get a bit of exercise and prepare your summer swimsuit bods! There are signs everywhere so don’t worry about getting lost!

Yingge Walking Route, Attractions
In the past three years, loads of new attractions have sprang up everywhere in Yingge and there’s now even an artist-in-residence center. One thing to keep in mind is that many of the new attractions are popular only on weekends and if you come on a weekday there is no guarantee that everything will be open. So without further ado, let me lead you on a walking tour of Yingge!

|Sanying Waterfront (Sanying Art Village)
Address：New Taipei City Yingge District Guanqian Rd No. 300(新北市鶯歌區館前路300號)
Hours：Daily
Time to allow：30-45 mins

Sanying Waterfront is a small piece of paradise in the midst of Yingge Village and frankly took us a bit of time to locate. This area is a combination of a nature park, Yingge ceramics art, and Sanying Area Specialty Park. There are occasionally events here and I can imagine it’s quite busy on weekends. There’s a bike friendly path, large-scale ceramics artwork,  and even an aquatic stage. The original concept of the park was to create a space where the residents of Yingge and Sanxia could take a leisurely stroll and simultaneously enjoy the pleasures of nature and art.

The most popular photo op here is the collection of gigantic ceramic pieces scattered around the field as if left behind by a giant. They truly make for a cute picture!

Although coming here on a weekday is like arriving in a ghost town, for exactly this reason it’s quite easy to take pictures amongst all the artwork as there’s nobody around to disrupt your photo shoot.
So happy!!! Each piece of artwork was made by a prominent Taiwanese artist and the buildings nearby also tend to put various pieces of artwork on display. I’m certain that this space will become increasingly popular and people will come from all over to visit Yingge and Sanxia.

This art village is BIG!!! If you’re interested in covering the entirety of it, I would suggest renting a bicycle.

After visiting the art village we made our way towards Yingge Old Street. The Ceramics Museum is between these two places, only about a five minute walk or so. The bike path is designed perfectly, it’s absolutely fantastic to not have to fight through the hoards of trucks roaring past on the main road. Safe, scenic, and leisurely… what more could you ask for?

|Ceramics Museum
http://www.ceramics.ntpc.gov.tw/
Address：New Taipei City Yingge District Wenhua Rd No. 200(新北市鶯歌區文化路200號)
Hours：Weekdays 09:30-17:00 Weekends 9:30-18:00
The museum is closed the first Monday of every month (typically remains open on holidays, for further details check museum schedule)
Admission：80 NTD
Time to allow：1.5-2 hrs

After coming to Yingge so many times, I’ve finally made it inside the Ceramics Museum (and New Taipei City residents enter free of charge, how awesome is that!). Even if you pay the standard 80 NTD cost of admission, it’s extremely cost-effective considering how large the place is (even just the new Ceramics Park in the back is worth half a day).  The glass design of this museum is similar to Yilan’s Lanyang Museum and as a result it can get a tad warm inside although it’s stunning.

There are special exhibits here intermittently that feature local artists and explain Taiwanese ceramics culture, history and production. Anybody who is into antiques or ceramics will be sure to get a kick out of this wonderful museum.

If you’re only looking for photo ops and Instagram posts , the museum is still definitely worth a visit LOL.
The glass design creates spectacular lighting and a Western vibe that will make the less informed believe you really ARE at the Louvre (don’t try to trick people who have really been there though hahaha).

My favorite part was the history of Yingge’s ceramics industry. Thinking how much effort was put into a local traditional craft in order for Yingge to become the internationally known porcelain center it is today is simply awe-inspiring.
The lyrics of the song written on the wall here talk about the strenuous lives of the potters who have lived and worked here.

This craft has been continuously passed down over many generations and the potters of the past and present are all undoubtedly worthy of our admiration and respect.

I would suggest all visitors to take advantage of the opportunity and thoroughly take in the entire museum. There are audio tour wands to rent, which unfortunately we didn’t take advantage of this time as we had a lot on the agenda but I would definitely be interested in coming back in the future and taking an entire day to slowly soak it all in.  This museum is really worth the price of admission!!!

|Ceramics Art Park
Address：Behind Ceramics Museum
Free admission during current trial opening
Time to allow：1-1.5 hrs
Come visit during the weekend please.

The Ceramics Park is located right behind the museum and has only been open since December 2019, in fact it is still operating as a trial project. The concept here seems to be quite attractive, however since I came on a weekday the majority of shops and attractions weren’t open (such as kiln-baked pizza and bread, water recreation area, and pottery throwing). The sand pit was also a big nope because of the rain and there was also a lot of ongoing construction. Although we didn’t have much luck here at least we were able to laugh about it and amuse ourselves hahaha.

There was only one open store (小陶窯)  here when we came which sells a plethora of Taiwanese souvenirs and Yingge goodies, however my #1 recommendation is their tea leaf ice cream!!! The Earl Grey flavor was amazing as was the “Dongfang meiren”. There is also a childrens’ play area inside. The Ceramics Park is a great place to take your little ones!

There’s a place here to play with dominoes and make mosaics! We ended up playing here for half an hour due to the crummy weather! And because I’m actually a child hahaha. If you look carefully you can see my mosaic features a part of my Mandarin name. 🙂

One more time, say it along with me: Come! On! The! Weekend! Your kids will love it and you’ll have a blast taking trendy photos.

The next item on our agenda was to grab some grub at Yingge Old Street. Anybody who’s been to Sanxia knows there’s a famous pork chop with rice joint called  Dongdao 東道排骨飯. It turns out Yingge has its own popular pork chop called Houdao 厚道排骨飯 that rivals Dongdao. If you’re interested have a look at an article I wrote a while back introducing this tasty pork chop: 鶯歌│逛老街沒時間做手拉坏? 告訴你到底要玩什麼要吃什麼!! 同步上映：厚道排骨飯!

There is a multitude of shops selling porcelain items all along the Old Street with a huge range of prices (be careful tourists!). Having a knowledge of ceramics is certainly handy when shopping here.

|The Shu’s Pottery新旺集瓷
http://www.shuandws.com/
Address：Yingge District Jianshanpu Rd No. 81鶯歌區尖山埔路81號
Hours：Tues-Sun 10:00 – 18:00
Purchases drinks above 100 NTD will receive a complimentary handmade ceramic cup!

This shop is layed out and decorated in a manner that’s extremely reminiscent of Northern Europe and Japanese thrift stores. I never would have known if I hadn’t taken a peek inside!

This shop sells various styles of porcelain cups and kitchen utensils that make for a great gift or souvenir. There are lots of porcelain items that can be bought for 100 NTD or less, what a bargain! Guided  tours of the museum upstairs can be reserved on their official website.

Established in 1926, The Shu’s Pottery products can be found in souvenir shops all over Taiwan.

n addition to their own porcelain items, other local businesses’ products can be found here. The atmosphere here is just like a cute Japanese odds and ends shop, I kid you not! It’s so cute that young ladies will have to be dragged out of here. I couldn’t get enough of this beautiful ceramic pot, how I wanted to take it home…

Who could resist these cute chopsticks holders (only 30 NTD!)??

In addition to shopping for porcelain items, guests can also indulge in afternoon tea here. We enjoyed a relaxing afternoon of tea and cakes here and I would recommend having a nice sit-down here especially during a rainy day.

The pottery throwing activity here isn’t expensive, but an appointment must be made in advance even on a weekday since it fills up fast!

|甕仔麵
Address：New Taipei City Yingge District Chongqing St No. 95 2nd floor (新北市鶯歌區重慶街95號2樓)
Hours：Weekdays 10:00-19:00 Weekends 10:00-20:00

This restaurant was a new discovery during this trip, it’s across the street from Tai Hwa Pottery.
The average price of a meal is between 120-150 NTD and neither the quality or quantity of the dishes will leave you in want. If you don’t know where to eat this is a good place to start!

The preserved egg tofu and steamed broccoli are both delicious, and the made-to-order soy sauce chicken is quite a bargain at 150 NTD considering the portion size. The included meatball soup was also a hit! The fried chicken with rice was also quite generous in size and more importantly, very tasty!! The complimentary unlimited plum juice was very refreshing. This restaurant is a must for all who come to Yingge Old Street!

|More Tips
Come on the weekend! Yingge and Sanxia Old Streets are both much more bustling on weekends. If you come to check out the Ceramics Park or other relatively new attractions on a weekday there might not be much to see.

Wear comfortable shoes!! If you really want to take a good look around the area and not just a quick stop at the Old Street, wear good walking shoes or you’ll regret it!

You can do the walk in reverse: if you are arriving at the train station you can take a walk along the road to Sanying Waterfront but be on the lookout for cars. I would recommend hitting the Old Street, Ceramics Park, and Ceramics Museum first before taking a walk to the Waterfront. If you’re driving there’s not much difference honestly. Take the same way back to the train station and don’t follow Google Maps’ suggestion of walking along the sketchy industrial road.

You need at least half a day here! The museum alone could take a considerable amount of time by itself. Don’t try to stuff Yingge and Sanxia into a single day, take your time to fully enjoy and discover the charm of Yingge.

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