Taipei City Government

There's nothing better than getting outside in the bright sunshine, getting close to the earth and working up a good sweat with some vigorous exercise. A form of fun and vigorous outdoor exercise has of late become a hot ticket on the local scene－ Paintball, a safe, healthy, and splendid way to exercise the body, coordination skills, and tactical organization abilities.

Paintball was developed in the United States back in 1981. It is a team sport that though extremely exciting yet very safe. According to the Taiwan Paint-Ball Sport Promoting Association, today around the globe the number of paintball enthusiasts surpasses 10 million. In vigorous Taipei, what better way to get the blood flowing and the heart thumping than to spend a day in paintball-games competition, which brings together male and female, young and old, everyone competing on an equal playing field.

A New Type of Recreational Adventure – 147 Paintball Theme Park

Neihu's 147 Paintball Theme Park has already been up and running for ten years. According to Peter, the manager, each weekend many foreigners come out to try the paintball experience in the sub-tropical forest environment. The big draw with westerners is the simulated Vietnam battleground, which greatly heightens the realism of the battle challenge for them. It's a big jump with only six people needed for the virtual,computer-simulation games of the PK battle zone to the “real”reality of the outdoor battlegrounds with 100 to 200 warriors. The park offers eight themed theaters of military operation spread over 20,000 ping (one ping equals 36 sq. ft.).

The eight: a computer-simulation battlefield with a tight network of lanes and alleys; the aggressive guerilla-style and sniper attacks of the PK zone; the treacherous, perilous rapid multi-change war zone; the uphill battle up high slopes among a forest of murderous pillboxes; the triangular delta theater of operations, with thick forest cover; the Amazon natural-forest area; the simulated Vietnam area of trenches; and the most challenging area, the tropical-rainforest arena of war, designed for expert players. Each brings out the best in you, thrown into a thrilling, sweat-inducing battle of will and wits. The park tries to accommodate people's many needs, and it offers a Sunday service bringing together small teams into larger units. It will also, with advance notice, provide English-speaking instructors for foreign players, enabling oreign and local players to come together in the dramatic sense-heightening action.

The park is located along the banks of the Antai Stream, a pristine reserve of chirping birds and dancing butterflies. Beyond the great paintball battles, you can also avail yourself of a superbly designed group of other adventures facilities, including rope-adventure area, archery range a la Robin Hood, marksman shooting range, and more. It's a veritable feast of physicality you'll be forced to choose from. Time to round up your friends of adventure-loving buddies and head for the 147 hills!

A Pulse-Quickening Suite of Hot- Blooded Activities – Fighter Force

The whistle goes, and soon you're hearing the bark and crack of gunfire. You run ahead, head low, then crawl along, hugging the ground. Listening. Watching. Waiting.

The war-simulation combat zones of Fighter Force, located in the Waishuangxi area (i.e., near the National Palace Museum), are opened to you with a group of just 10 or more players. The zones offer fascinating possibilities to live out long-held fantasies. Hit the simulated beaches of Normandy. Battle in open country and forest in a war of annihilation. Go on a search and destroy mission in dense forest. Join the great battle for Hamburger Hill. Engage in a hair-raising war of camouflage in the forest wilderness. Or battle for your life on open grasslands, engage in a holding action to defend your military's flag, or war in the Legend of the Three Kingdoms way. No? Looking for something a little different? Well, you can also choose Mainland China, engage in a SWAT tactical battle, or go on a Deadend Mission. In the elaborately designed and staged mockups that the meticulous Fighter Force people offer, the incredible realism is, well, surreal. Foreign friends, be advised—whatever paintball you've played before, and wherever you've played it, Fighter Force will leave you feeling thunderstruck.

Fighter Force also offers a slew of other big-nature attractions for those who love adventuring in the great out-of-doors. Learn the art of camouflage or water rocketry, sit and enjoy traditional Hakka leicha (ground tea), or learn simple self-defense techniques, meeting the needs of groups of multiple likings, ensuring you and band of merry men and women an unforgettable day out of the house, out under the big sky, and with all the stresses of the workaday world out of the way.

Information

147 Paintball Theme Park Add: 147, Antai St. Tel: (02) 2631-7147 Hours: Mon~Fri 10:00-17:00, Sat~Sun 09:00-18:00 Website: www.147.com.tw (Chinese) Transportation: MRT: Take Neihu Line to Dahu Park Station, then walk 20-25 minutes. Bus: No. 21, 247, 284, 287, 531, 620, 630, 645, 646, 903, Red 2, Red 32, Brown 9, Brown 10, Blue 36, Small 1 to stop at KangNing Junior College of Medical Care and Management, then walk about 20 minutes. Fighter Force Add: 20, Lane 150, Sec. 3, Zhishan Rd. Tel: (02) 2841-1582 Hours: Tues~Sun 09:00-18:00 (closed Mon) Website:www.fighterforce.tw (Chinese) Transportation: MRT Danshui line to Shilin Station; take Exit No. 1, transfer to the Small 18 bus to Bixi Bridge stop, then walk 5 minutes.