Taipei City Construction Management Office

Every year during the fourth week of August, Taiwan celebrates Grandparents’ Day. In 2025, Taipei Zoo is collaborating with the Wenshan District Health Center and Taipei City Hospital Dementia Center on Sunday, August 24, to host a special “Walking at Taipei Zoo” event, promoting healthy and safe walking habits. This year’s theme is “Five Chapters of Joyful Aging: Learning from Life,” inviting everyone to enjoy healthy walks along the Zoo’s many trails and to learn about the joys of aging through five animal ambassadors and their stories of lifestyle and medical care.

Grandparents’ Day in Taiwan emphasizes the importance of relationships and communication between grandparents and grandchildren. Since 2011, it has been recognized by the Ministry of Education as an annual holiday held every fourth week of August. Activities across Taiwan encourage grandparents and grandchildren to participate together, strengthening bonds, fostering understanding, and allowing the older generation to pass on their wisdom. Many families look forward to spending this holiday strolling through the Zoo and taking part in engaging activities.

Taipei Zoo Director Lucia Ju hopes this year’s “Five Chapters of Joyful Aging: Learning from Life” program and animal ambassador stories will highlight important lessons for seniors pursuing healthy living. Take the koala’s slow metabolism, for example: it reminds us that human metabolism also slows as we age. Like koalas, we can maintain better physical and mental balance by adopting healthy lifestyle routines. Or consider the bees—though short-lived, they are constantly in motion, helping them maintain strength and flexibility. Each animal and its way of life offers unique insights into the complex process of aging.

This year, the Zoo will once again showcase five distinct, friendly, and safe walking paths. Enjoy the flat, relaxing terrain of the Formosan Animal Area, or walk down memory lane at the Children’s Zoo. Next, prepare for a cardio workout on the uphill Conservation Boulevard, then rest in the cool shade of the lush Temperate Zone Animal Area. Finally, don’t miss the therapeutic hike at Insect Valley behind the Insectarium. In addition to butterflies, insect songs, bird calls, and fragrant plants, walking these five paths offers a chance to awaken the senses and relieve stress. This year’s Walking at Taipei Zoo pamphlet also features a stamp-collecting activity with five animal ambassadors, each representing the joys of aging. Everyone is welcome to join in for an educational and fun stroll around the Zoo.

Director Chen Xing-Yi of the Wenshan District Health Center notes that Taipei City’s Wenshan District has already entered a super-aged society, with a particularly high percentage of seniors living alone. Depression rates are among the highest in the city, and issues such as falls, frailty, and lack of social participation are major health concerns. To encourage outdoor walking and intergenerational exchange, the Health Center is collaborating this year with Taipei Zoo and Taiwan’s largest online hiking platform, Hiking Note. On Sunday, August 24, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Zoo will host the Walking at Taipei Zoo stamp-collecting activity. Participants can pick up a pamphlet at the tents in front of the Education Center and explore five designated safe walking paths. Of the five missions located throughout the Zoo, completing at least three at three designated spots qualifies participants for a small prize.

This year, Taipei Zoo is once again partnering with the digital health service platform H2U to promote a new “Zoo Walking Expedition” digital path on the popular mountaineering app, Hiking Note. Visitors can record their walking routes and collect three types of cute digital animals, making the walk even more memorable and engaging. H2U has long promoted healthy lifestyle habits and this year is collaborating with the Ministry of Education’s Sports Administration and the sports team Ironkids Taiwan  to launch the National Technology Fitness Test. During the Walking at Taipei Zoo event, fitness testing services will be available, helping grandparents and family members better understand their health and fitness.

The activity site will also host a diverse range of health education booths, featuring topics such as shared reading, oral and vision care, hearing screening, nutrition promotion, mental health, medication safety, physical fitness tests, and therapeutic DIY activities for grandparents and grandchildren. Each booth will include interactive games and quizzes, making learning fun while enriching health knowledge.

The activity not only promotes seniors’ health through walking, but also allows parents, children, and grandparents to share an enjoyable and educational experience, putting the concepts of “intergenerational harmony” and “age-friendly living” into practice in daily life, while creating cherished cross-generational memories.

In addition, the Taipei City Government Department of Sports is offering a special U-Coin bonus mission. U-Sport Taipei City citizen members who pick up a stamp collecting pamphlet at the Zoo and complete the tasks will receive an extra 50 U-Coins as a reward. The Taipei Zoo Friends Association has also prepared 200 limited-edition gifts, to be given to the first 200 seniors who complete the walk on the event day (available while supplies last).

For event details, please see: News – Activities. Walking at Taipei Zoo 2025