The central Taiwan city of Taichung covers just over 6% of the island’s land area and has a little under 12% of the population of 23.6 million, yet it includes a stunning range of landscapes. Near the coast, where visitors flock to the old temple town of Dajia and the wetlands at Gaomei, the terrain…
Visitors eager to get a glimpse of the Taiwan of yore can easily devote an entire day to Lukang and at least two days to Tainan. Lukang, a small town on the west coast, in its 18th-century heyday was one of the island’s foremost centers of trade, while Tainan was Taiwan’s capital for over 200…
No part of Taiwan is better suited to a slow-travel getaway than the East Rift Valley. This lush region stretches from just outside Hualien City to near Taitung City, 167 kilometers to the south by road. None of the townships in the valley has more than 25,000 inhabitants, and most have fewer than half that….
If you have no more than a week to explore Taiwan, and no burning desire to spend an hour on a train or a bus, it makes sense to stay close to Taipei. The capital and its hinterlands are full of places of interest. Whether you have a passion for architecture, culture, ecology, or food,…
The majority of Taiwan’s 23.7 million people live in busy cities like Greater Taipei and Kaohsiung. Of the many more rural areas that make up the rest of the island, one of the most bucolic is Yunlin County in the central-western lowlands. The Yunlin County government is located in Douliu City, and the county’s High-Speed…
Taipei has its attractions as a site for international events, but it needs a fresh mindset to win business in the ultra-competitive Asia market. Arriving at Taoyuan Airport, travelers normally pass through immigration, customs, and the baggage claim smoothly. But upon entering the arrivals area of Taipei’s primary international airport, the experience gets bumpier for…
Both economic and political considerations are behind the move to reduce the island’s dependence on visitors from China. Taiwan is aiming to attract more Muslim visitors from Southeast Asia in a bid to diversify its flagging tourism market, which has suffered from overdependence on China. Once the source of 40% of Taiwan’s 10 million annual…
In Western Europe, one of the most intriguing cultural developments of the past three decades has been the Slow Movement. What began as a reaction to the spread of fast-food restaurants grew into the global Slow Food Movement. Proponents of slow lifestyles have since applied similar philosophies to almost every facet of human existence. Living…
Taiwan’s major cities are remarkable centers of industriousness. People work long hours, yet many also fit in early morning sessions of tai chi in a park near their home, not to mention evening visits to the local night market for snacks. For many visitors, the 24/7 urban energy is part of Taiwan’s appeal. Other Taiwan…
According to many history books, the Chinese Civil War ended in May 1950 with the Communist capture of Hainan Island. By then, Chiang Kai-shek and his Chinese Nationalist (KMT) government had relocated to Taipei, and the world was beginning to refer to Taiwan as “Free China.” For Nationalist soldiers stationed on several islands within artillery…
