In North America, Japan, and much of Europe, October is when the tourist season begins to wind down. Jackets and scarves come out of storage, crowds thin, and souvenir vendors begin to disappear. If anything, the opposite is true in Taiwan. The island’s climate is a major reason; the final quarter of each year is…
Tainan (the place name simply means “south Taiwan”) is already well known to tourists because of its fabulous temples, fascinating fortresses, and delicious street food. When the summer rains cease and daytime temperatures sink from the 30-plus degrees Celsius (86-plus degrees Fahrenheit) that characterize its hot season, Taiwan enters what many consider to be the…
A festival of one kind or another is going on every day of the year in Taiwan. Some are meticulously organized and heavily promoted. Others – for instance, the raucous rites accompanying the birthdays of minor deities – are entirely local and receive little publicity. To spread the word about Taiwan’s rich and diverse festival…
Many Taiwanese show a passion for food that exceeds even the legendary culinary enthusiasm of the French. When greeting each other, Taiwanese people often ask “Have you eaten yet?” rather than “How are you?” Step into any popular restaurant in Taiwan and you will see foodies not only enjoying their meals, but also taking photos…
Since the 1980s, Taiwan’s prosperity has allowed its citizens to travel abroad in large numbers. Group tours were extremely popular at first, but in recent years more and more Taiwanese have opted to travel independently. Whether they realize it or not, an increasing number are choosing to spend their vacations in a manner that matches…
Spend a week in Taiwan, and you are likely to have the chance to see a festival of some kind. Some are traditional yet raucous expressions of the folk beliefs that, combining Buddhism and Taoism, give the island a uniquely colorful religious landscape. Others are of much more recent origin, and have been organized to…
If you are the kind of person who prefers to focus on a smaller area but get to know it in real detail, Taiwan can be an exceptionally rewarding destination. If you have only a few days in Taiwan and want to see as many of its gorgeous temples, engrossing museums, and breathtaking mountains as…
After the excitement of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year, many residents of Western countries find the first month or two of each year a little sluggish. In Taiwan, however, this is an extremely buoyant period. The Lunar New Year kicks off sometime between late January and mid-February (in 2015, it began on February 18), and…
Taiwan’s diverse society fuses ancient traditions with cutting-edge modernity, and nothing underscores this duality better than the calendars seen in homes and offices. Like their counterparts in the West, Taiwan’s workers, civil servants, and students generally refer to the Gregorian calendar when making appointments and meeting deadlines. The Chinese lunar calendar, however, is used to…
Taiwan’s stunning landscape is the result of constant geological activity over millions of years. Because of the continuing collision between the Philippine Sea Plate and the Asian Continental Plate, the island’s already impressive mountains are rising approximately four centimeters per year. Like other places located where tectonic plates push against one another, Taiwan occasionally suffers…
