Previously home to light, assembly-type industries, the zones now mainly serve tech-oriented electronics operations. Free trade zones of one kind or another have been around since at least the 1930s, but when the Taiwan government created an export-processing zone (EPZ) in Kaohsiung in December 1966 – half a century ago this month – it…
The growing market for larger vessels and the emergence of domestic demand offer hope for the industry. Taiwan has long been an important producer of yachts and sailboats, though it is only recently that recreational boating has finally begun to catch on. One in every three new yachts sold in the United States between 1977…
The opening of the National Palace Museum branch in nearby Taibao is bringing more tourists to the area. Until recently, when tourists made their way to Chiayi City it was usually as a stopover on the way to or from the mountains of the scenic Alishan region nearby. But as of this year there is…
Industrialist Shi Wen-long shares his eclectic and fascinating collection of art and artifacts through his private museum. If an exhibition center wants to be taken seriously – yet displays a stuffed polar bear across the corridor from medieval Indian weaponry, while oil paintings by the likes of Anthony van Dyck share the upper floor with…
Almost all of the beancurd and soy milk consumed in Taiwan is made from soybeans imported from the United States. Photos by Rich J Matheson Few comestibles are more Taiwanese than tofu, soy sauce, and soymilk. All three are made from soy, a legume first cultivated in Northeast Asia at least 2,700 years ago. Directly…
The story of Taroko Gorge begins hundreds of millions of years ago with the accumulation of sediment and volcanic lava beneath what is now the Pacific Ocean. These materials blended with calcium carbonate from the bones of sea organisms and hardened into limestone. In due course, tectonic pressure compressed the limestone until it metamorphosed into…
Fushan Botanical Garden isn’t easy to get to, but it’s well worth the trip. Fushan Botanical Garden (福山植物園) is located in New Taipei City’s Wulai District, 10 kilometers as the crow flies from the Atayal village of Fushan. There is no road – and no legal access for hikers – from Greater Taipei, so visitors…
Pingtung County’s Donggang Township will be the scene of the King Boat Festival, held every three years, from October 4 to 11 this autumn. For most of its history, Taiwan was a thoroughly pestilential place. In the 1700s, it was said that of every 10 Chinese migrants who reached the island, “Just three remain. Six…
The institute, the only Taiwan-based international organization, contributes to the global fight against malnutrition and poverty. A short distance from the Southern Taiwan Science Park and its cluster of optoelectronics and green-energy companies, an institute quietly engages in vital work in an entirely different sphere. What is now known as “AVRDC – The World Vegetable…
Following the merger of Tainan City and Tainan County at the end of 2010, the special municipality of Tainan now encompasses 2,191 square kilometers (eight times the land area of Taipei) and has almost 1.9 million people. Among its far-flung attractions are the hot springs at Guanziling, and the Zengwen, Wushantou, and Nanhua reservoirs. Much…
