We all know Taiwan is famed for its night markets and bing lang meis. But no tour of Taiwan is ever complete without experiencing first-hand the local pop culture. My trip to Taipei in late spring this year happened to coincide with the promotion period of Jolin Tsai's latest album, Dancing Diva, and I concluded that there is nowhere quite like Taiwan to be fully immersed in the Chinese pop craze.

Clearly the most prominent advertisement seen at Xi Men Ding. And it's no normal mobile phone ad. Notice the countdown clock showing the number of days to the album release date? How strategic. At every turn of the street you also find other ads or posters featuring your favourite celebrities. Rainie Yang Chen Lin was almost omnipresent.

Minutes before the arrival of Jolin at Xing Guang San Yue shopping mall, everyone's all too excited about her impending arrival; can you resist joining the fun and pre-ordering her album at these makeshift stalls? I would have done so if not for the fact that there is no way I can collect the album when I return to Singapore.

I wonder how many thousand cameras were snapping away at that time, and how many of the photos taken would eventually be shared online (like now). Talk about free publicity.

And lastly, with the hardcore playing of her music videos on TV channels all day and extensive media coverage to boot, it's hardly any surprise her albums are now flying off the racks at music stores.

I am very determined to check out other big shots the next time I visit Taiwan again. =)