Taipei Zebra

At the intersection of Dunhua South Road and Civic Boulevard, you will find a zebra standing with pedestrians at the crosswalk. A traffic signal runs through its body, so you cannot look away as you wait to cross the street.

The artwork, titled Time Crosswalk, was completed in 1999. It remains one of Taipei’s oldest and most recognized public art pieces. Many visitors have been surprised by it and taken photos with the zebra’s whimsical bottom. The piece also plays on a Mandarin pun—since the word for crosswalk is “zebra line” (斑馬線), the joke becomes obvious once you see the sculpture.

This part of the city—Taipei’s bustling East District—was the experimental site of the “Dunhua Art Corridor,” long before the idea of public art became widely known in Taiwan and incorporated into planning regulations. You can still find many notable works in the surrounding blocks.