Taiwan is known throughout the world for its cutting-edge tech industries and the vibrancy of its democracy. Among birdwatchers and butterfly aficionados, it is famed for harboring fabulous biodiversity. But few people realize that, for its size, it can claim to be the world’s most mountainous island. Taiwan is only slightly larger than the U.S….
Taiwan’s striking natural beauty is never far from its lively streets. Although 23.4 million people live on its 36,191 square kilometers (an area equal to Maryland plus Rhode Island), three quarters of Taiwan’s population live in just one eighth of the land area. This is why Taiwan has bustling cities, yet also stunningly wild mountain…
In recent years, the Taiwan Lantern Festival has included displays of modern and traditional performing arts, sensational pyrotechnics, and lanterns of unimaginable size and beauty. Each year, the event is held in a different part of Taiwan. The 2016 Taiwan Lantern festival will be celebrated in the plaza in front of the Taoyuan High-Speed Railway…
Like several other places located on the Asia-Pacific “Ring of Fire,” Taiwan’s landscape was shaped by tectonic forces and volcanic activity. Yangmingshan National Park, which overlooks Taipei, includes volcanoes that last erupted 20,000 years ago, and fumaroles that continue to belch steam. Across the Danshui River stands Mount Guanyin, a 616-meter-high extinct volcano named after…
In recent years, the Taiwanese have rediscovered their love of cycling. After several decades during which many people traded in their bikes for the nimble motor scooters that dominate city streets, getting around by pedal-power is once again in vogue. There are at least four reasons for this development. The first is that since two-day…
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…
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…
