Meteor Garden: Major throwback to real life Ying De University
Before Kdrama feels, there's Taiwanese drama series that started it all. Throwing it all back to 2001 when F4 and Shan Cai brought us too much romantic excitement.
February 2019 when I decided to travel Taiwan. Apart from seeing how delightful their country was, my ultimate itinerary was to relive my beloved childhood Asianovela– Meteor Garden. I went to Chiayi (south Taiwan) and visit National Chung Cheng University. This school was used as one of Ying De universities in Meteor Garden. I spent the whole day strolling around every corner of their enormous campus where they had shoot the scenes, while playing some MG soundtracks.
If you’re an avid fan like me, here’s a guide on how to reach NCCU (National Chung Cheng University) from Taipei main station:
1.
By THSR or Taiwan high speed railway
- (Step 1) From Taipei main station get off at Yunlin / Chiayi station (HSR).
- (Step 2 – Option 1 ) From Yunlin / Chiayi station(HSR) ride a taxi to NCCU main entrance.
Make sure you have a picture of their school written in Chinese. Otherwise, you will have hard time communicating to them, unless you speak Taiwanese, Chinese or Mandarin.
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- (Step 2 - Option 2) From Chiayi Station(HSR) take a bus (Bus #106) and alight at NCCU main entrance.
Estimate cost: NT$114
Travel time: 2hrs and 45mins
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| Bus 106 departing from Chiayi HSR station |
2.
By TRA train
- (Step 1) From Taipei main station, take a train and get off at Chiayi Station (TRA).
- (Step 2 - Option 1) From Chiayi(TRA) station, ride a taxi to NCCU.
Travel time: 20 - 30mins
- (Step 2 - Option 2) From Chiayi(TRA) station, ride a bus (Bus #106) and alight at NCCU main entrance.
Travel time: 1hr
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| Bus 106 departing from Chiayi Train Station |
3. Book a tour on Klook (Hassle free guided tour). Click here.
Everyone is welcome to visit their school. It was winter when I went there and I rarely saw students around. Now let me tour you around their vast campus and the spots that you should not missed.
Upon reaching NCCU main entrance (Daxeu Road), walk straight along Zhongzheng boulevard. Below the bridge is Tranquil lake.
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| Zhongzheng Boulevard |
For
better illustration here’s a map you can use. I mark each building to better
guide you on finding them.
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| (1) NCCU entrance gate (along Daxue Road) (2) Administration Bldg (3) Central fountain (4) Library (5)Common class bldg (6) Auditorium (7) College of Humanities (8) Activity center (9) Gymnasium (10) Softball / Track & field |
From the main entrance, walk straight towards Administration Building (Label 2).
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| Administration Building (2) |
This is Lei and Shan Cai’s favorite spot in Ying De. This is where all the “rooftop scenes”.
Outsiders are actually not allowed to enter this building but I managed to get in. My advice is to act like a normal student. Upon entrance, go immediately to the elevator and press 3rd floor. Look for the door that leads to the balcony outside. Then, you can scream “Dao Ming Si!” or better yet whisper it - remember, it’s an Administration building. Haha!
Before
heading to the next stop, you will see Central fountain (Label 3).
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| Central fountain (3) |
In front of the Central fountain is the NCCU Library (Label 4).
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| Library (4) |
Library hours:
- Weekday: 08:10AM - 09:30PM
- Saturday: 12:10PM - 07:30PM
- Sunday: 12:10 PM - 07:30PM
- Holiday: 09:10AM – 04:30PM
- Summer/Winter Break - Timely Announcement
From the main door, turn right towards the spiral stair case that says "leasing lockers".
Inside the library is a cafeteria.
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| Cafeteria |
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| Common Class bldg (5) |
Remember this scene?
When Lei comforted Shan Cai from those bully students by doing a headstand? It was taught to him by Teng Tang Jing to hold back his tears. That scene is taken here. It’s on the corner pathway of this building.
This is where Shan Cai heard Hua Ze Lei playing piano.
From Common Class bldg proceed next to Auditorium. (Label 6)
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| Auditorium (6) |
Here you will see the university’s logo painted on the ground. This scene is taken here.
Administration bldg(2), Centrail fountain(3), NCCU Library (4), Common Class bldg(5) and Auditorium(6) are just right next to each other so it’s pretty easy to find them.
Next, let’s go to College of Humanities. (Label 7)
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| College of Humanities (7) |
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| Activity Center (8) |
If you are facing Tranquility lake, on your left, is the staircase where Dao Ming Si roughly kissed Shan Cai.
You will also see the stairs where Xing Hua saw F4 for the first time.
And as I’ve mentioned, you can have a better view of the Tranquility Lake.
Now
let’s go to the university’s Gymnasium. But wait, let’s take a moment and feel
as if we are Shan Cai. From Activity center, walk along JiJi and Jian Kiang road.
Yes,
this is where Shan Cai and Ying De students walked before heading to class.
Alright! Now turn right towards NCCU Gymnasium (Label 9).
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| Gymnasium (9) |
You will see that red bars at the top of the building. This is used as
the façade of Ying De University. On the first episode of Meteor Garden, Bai He
walked towards their school. She and her best friend, Quan Hui, bragged their
luxurious items.
Lastly, in front of the Gymnasium is Track and field / Softball area (Label 10)
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| Softball / Track & field (10) |
This is where Shan Cai confronted Dao Ming Si for giving Xing Hua a “red card” in his first day of school. And I bet you know he was jealous of him.
Remember that scene where in Shan Cai was caught entering a hotel with some guy? This news spread across Ying De and she got bullied by many students for cheating Dao Ming Si. However, Dao Ming Si suddenly appeared, punched those scourge and comforted our girl Shan Cai (ayiee). Well, that scene is taken here.
There you have it Meteor Garden fanatics! Take as much picture as you can. By all means, reenacts all the scenes. I also took a vlog on my Youtube, so you might want to watch Meteor Garden part 1 | Shooting locations | NCCU. As you relive those sweet memories of the past, be sure to play some Meteor Garden soundtracks. Insert – Qing Fei De Yi.
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