Wender·Vista
Taoyuan
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTaiwan
on the coastal plain south-west of Taipei

Taoyuan

— — the city most travellers cross before they realise they are in it.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“The special municipality on Taiwan's north-western coastal plain, west of Taipei across the Linkou ridge. For most international visitors it is the airport, the rail link, the first hour on the island. For Taiwan it is something else — a Hakka-rooted city of more than two million, the country's industrial spine, and the home of Cihu, where Chiang Kai-shek's casket has rested since 1975. The old camphor-trade road through Daxi still runs past the temple at Furen Gong, and the reservoirs of the Dahan River sit green in the foothills behind.

from the studio
Taoyuan
— bring it home

Taoyuan, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Taoyuan

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Taoyuan is a special municipality on the north-western coastal plain of Taiwan, immediately south-west of Taipei and New Taipei. It was upgraded from county status to a directly governed municipality on 25 December 2014 and now counts a population of over 2.3 million across twelve districts. The municipality is home to Taoyuan International Airport, the principal international gateway to Taiwan, and is connected to Taipei by the Taoyuan Metro Airport MRT, which opened in 2017. The Hakka population is among the largest of any city on the island.

— the stone

The old town of Daxi, on the Dahan River in eastern Taoyuan, preserves a row of early-twentieth-century shophouse façades along Heping Old Street, a legacy of the camphor and tea trade that moved through the river port under Japanese rule. Upstream, the Cihu mausoleum complex holds the resting casket of Chiang Kai-shek, placed there in 1975 in anticipation of an eventual return to the mainland that never came. The surrounding sculpture park gathers more than two hundred Chiang statues removed from public squares across Taiwan after democratisation.

— the visit

Most international arrivals reach Taoyuan first at the airport in Dayuan District, from which the Airport MRT runs to Taipei Main Station in about thirty-five minutes on the express service. Travellers staying in the municipality itself usually base in Taoyuan or Zhongli districts and day-trip to Daxi Old Street, the Cihu complex, and Shimen Reservoir in the foothills. The Hakka cultural belt around Longtan and Yangmei is worth a separate visit, especially during the Tung Blossom Festival in late April and early May.

— where
Taiwan · Taoyuan Special Municipality, Taiwan
— position
24.9936° N · 121.3010° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
40 km NE
Taipei
capital city
20 km SE
Daxi Old Street
Japanese-era shophouse row
25 km S
Shimen Reservoir
Dahan River reservoir
N
Taoyuan
Taipei
Daxi Old Street
Shimen Reservoir
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Taoyuan — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

On Taiwan's north-western coastal plain, immediately south-west of Taipei. It is home to Taoyuan International Airport and is linked to Taipei Main Station by the Airport MRT in about thirty-five minutes on the express service.

Taoyuan is a special municipality with over 2.3 million residents across twelve districts. It was upgraded from county status to direct-governed municipality on 25 December 2014.

A mausoleum complex in Dasi District where the casket of Chiang Kai-shek has rested since 1975. The surrounding park gathers more than two hundred Chiang statues relocated from public spaces across Taiwan after democratisation.

Heping Old Street in Daxi preserves a row of early-twentieth-century shophouse façades, a legacy of the camphor and tea trade that moved through the Dahan River port under Japanese rule.

Yes. Taoyuan has one of Taiwan's largest Hakka populations, concentrated in the southern districts of Longtan, Yangmei, Pingzhen and Zhongli, with a strong Hakka cultural presence in language, food and festival life.

October through April for cooler, drier weather. Late April and early May bring the Tung Blossom Festival in the Hakka belt, when the hills around Longtan turn briefly white with falling petals.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. Taoyuan rarely turns up as a print subject even for people who grew up there, which makes a piece of it land as recognition rather than souvenir. A Small or Medium with a studio note carries well.

Japandi and quiet-Asian interiors with pale wood, paper-shade lighting and indigo textiles. The palette also sits well in a tea-room corner or a minimalist Asian-modern study with brass and dark walnut.

It fits the current Japandi direction toward specific East Asian places rather than generic cherry-blossom imagery. A Medium reads as a real Taiwanese municipality rather than a stock Asian scene.

Above a sofa, a Large or a four-tile Mural. Above a narrow console, a Medium. For a long entry or stair wall, a nine-tile Mural gives the city and its river-and-ridge setting their full horizon.

Yes, with Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and handle humidity, which makes them safe for backsplashes, powder rooms, and showers. Glossy is reserved for framed wall pieces.

Microfibre cloth and water. The colour is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, beneath a thin glossy finish, so it does not lift with normal cleaning. Skip abrasives and solvents.

Yes. Every WenderVista tile is original to a single studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Nothing is licensed in or out, and the same eye curates every place that enters the atlas.

— if this one stayed with you

A few you might also love.

Hand-picked by the eye that found Sorapis. Same air, same kind of quiet.