A guided tour off-the-beaten-path in old Tamsui. The historic town of Tamsui (sometimes spelled Danshui), which stretches along the northeastern shore of the Tamsui River, is taking on a new on life from efforts to preserve its past while creating new opportunities for tourism and cultural development. With a little planning, a visitor can escape…
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…
Taiwan needs to reinvent itself, and one potential solution is to develop a luxury goods market that is the envy of the region. This is part of a 6-part feature story on luxury goods in Taiwan: Aiming to be Asia’s Luxury Shopping Destination From Bags to Riches The Jewelry in Taiwan’s Crown Luxury Watches: More…
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…
On February 4, TransAsia Airways flight GE235 crashed into the Keelung River just after takeoff, killing 43 and injuring 15. The Airbus ATR-72-600 plane carrying 53 passengers – 37 of them Chinese tourists – and five cabin crew took off from Songshan Airport in the heart of Taipei at 10:52 a.m. bound for the offshore…
Perhaps influenced by the popularity of cooking and culinary reality TV shows, Taipei’s dining scene has been becoming more diversified in recent years. From gourmet Taiwanese cuisine, trendy Peruvian restaurants, to health-conscious vegetarian and vegan cafés, these new restaurants will surely provide something for everyone. By Anita Chen Mountain and Sea House 山海樓 No….
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…
