Fall is the favorite time of year for many people in Taiwan. In the lowlands, the heat of summer has abated, but there is still plenty of sunshine. In October and November, the weather is superbly comfortable. Taipei’s daytime temperatures average 19 to 25 degrees Celsius (66 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit). In a typical year,…
Taiwan is a densely populated island. Think of a place only slightly bigger than Maryland, but much more mountainous, and with almost four times as many people. Gridlock would result if everyone drove a car, so Taiwan’s government prioritizes public transportation – and not just for commuters. In recent years, a great effort has been…
In 2016, despite a significant drop in visitors from mainland China, Taiwan achieved a record high for inbound tourism, totaling 10.69 million tourists, according to the Tourism Bureau. As the trend of decreasing visitors from mainland China will likely continue, the Taiwan government is taking steps to increase tourism from other areas, including Japan, Korea,…
In their haste to get from the skyscrapers of Taipei to the bucolic backwaters of Hualien and Taitung, many visitors rush through Yilan by train or bus. Yet this county in Taiwan’s northeast offers an intriguing mix of natural and cultural attractions. Since the completion of Freeway 5 and the world’s fifth-longest road tunnel in…
In recent years, Taiwan has emerged as a leading destination for bicycling tourists, and no part of the country is more popular for this activity than the eastern counties of Hualien and Taitung. Separated from Taiwan’s major cities and more than nine-tenths of the country’s people by the imposing Central Mountain Range, Hualien and Taitung…
As the political capital and commercial center, Taipei in northern Taiwan is well-known throughout Asia. Many frequent visitors are familiar with Kaohsiung, the major port and industrial powerhouse in the south. Taichung, roughly equidistant between the two, has long been seen as Taiwan’s “third city.” Population statistics suggest a different pecking order, however. The municipality…
