Beijing’s latest weaponization of tourism illustrates the risk of relying on the mercurial China market Taiwan’s hospitality sector could contract this year following Beijing’s decision to sharply curtail the flow of visitors from China, reversing many years of steady inbound tourism growth. Over the past decade or so, Chinese tourism has benefited Taiwan considerably. Before…
Visitors to Taiwan looking for a place to properly unwind often prefer the less developed, less crowded eastern half of the island. But even along the generally highly populated western plain, it is possible to find spots that are relatively unspoiled and can make for a tranquil, relaxing getaway. A prime example is Miaoli County,…
In the Taiwan of yesteryear, there was minimal interaction between places that are now just one hour’s drive from each other. Before the 20th century, the island had few proper roads and just one short stretch of railway. Getting from the island’s north to the south, or from the west to the east, often involved…
The island is a cornucopia of delights for cyclists keen for the call of the open road, mountain adventures, Pacific Ocean vistas, and myriad cultural highlights. Every Sunday Lin Kun-you gets up before dawn and puts on his spandex uniform of fitted and padded cycling shorts, short-fingered gloves, and an aerodynamic road cycling helmet. His…
Thanks to Taiwan’s network of freeways and expressways, it is usually possible to get from the harbor metropolis of Kaohsiung to Kenting National Park — 110 kilometers away on the island’s southern tip — in a little over two hours. For local people trying to pack as much seaside fun into the weekend as possible,…
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…
