PERFECTLY LOCATED AS BOTH AN ENTRY POINT AND A REGIONAL HUB IN ASIA. TAIWAN IS UNIQUE IN ITS BLEND OF WESTERN CULTURE AND EASTERN CULTURES. A MODERN, OPEN SOCIETY WITH A DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT AND WESTERN INSTITUTIONS, TAIWAN ALSO MAINTAINS THE TRADITIONS, LANGUAGE AND CULTURE OF THE WORLD’S OLDEST CIVILIZATION.

TAIWAN IS A LONG ISLAND COVERING 36,000 SQUARE KILOMETERS OF LAND. SITUATED BETWEEN THE SOUTHEAST OF THE ASIAN CONTINENT AND THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST ASIA ISLAND ARC OF THE WEST PACIFIC OCEAN, IT FACES JAPAN AND RYUKYU ISLANDS IN THE NORTH AND THE PHILIPPINES IN THE SOUTH, CONNECTING ALL PARTS OF ASIA. AT ABOUT THE SIZE OF THE NETHERLANDS, BUT WITH A POPULATION OF SOME 23 MILLION, TAIWAN IS MORE POPULOUS THAN THREE-QUARTERS OF THE WORLD’S NATION.

TAIWAN HAS MORE THAN ITS SHARE OF NATURAL SPLENDOR. MOUNTAIN RANGES WITH MANY PEAKS REACHING OVER 3,000 METERS- INCLUDING EAST ASIA’S HIGHEST, JADE MOUNTAIN - AND FORESTED FOOTHILLS OCCUPY MORE THAN HALF OF ITS AREA. THE ISLAND ALSO FEATURES VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS, TABLELANDS, COASTAL PLAINS AND BASINS.

IN 1544, PASSING PORTUGUESE SEAFARERS DUBBED TAIWAN ILHA FORMOSA, ‘ BEAUTIFUL ISLAND’ , BESTOWING A NAME WHICH WESTERNERS USED UNTIL WELL AFTER WORLD WAR II.

DUTCH AND SPANISH SETTLERS ESTABLISHED BASES IN THE EARLY 17TH CENTURY.

THE DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY FOUNDED A SMALL COLONY ON TAIWAN’S SOUTHWEST COAST IN 1624. THE DUTCH TRADED SUGAR, RICE, PEPPER, SILK AND SATIN, PORCELAIN, NUTMEG AND CINNAMON. THEY FOUND THEIR TAIWAN OPERATION HIGHLY PROFITABLE, AMD WOULD HAVE SURELY STAYED MUCH LONGER BUT FOR KOXINGA, A MILITARY LEADER CHINESE PEOPLE KNOW AS CHENGGONG.

THE STATE HE CREATED IN TAIWAN, THE KINGDOM OF DONGNING, LASTED 21 YEARS. WHEN QING FORCES ATTACKED IN 1683, KOXINGA’S TEENAGE GRANDSON THREW IN THE TOWEL AND THE ISLAND BECAME PART OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE.

THE 18TH CENTURY SAW THE EMERGENCE OF SIZEABLE CHINESE TOWNS AS WELL AS THE FOUNDING OF MANY OF TAIWAN’S MOST IMPORTANT TEMPLES.

IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY, TAIWAN STARTED TO ATTRACT WESTERN AND JAPANESE INTEREST FOR ECONOMIC AND STRATEGIC REASONS. THE WAR WHICH BROKE OUT BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN IN THE SUMMER OF 1894 HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH TAIWAN , BUT CHINA’S DEFEAT LED TO THE QING EMPIRE CEDING TAIWAN TO JAPAN.

**Over 95% of Taiwan's 23.4 million people are Han Chinese, of which the majority includes descendants of early Hoklo immigrants who arrived from Fujian in large numbers starting in the 17th century.**

THE ROC WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1912 IN CHINA. AT THAT TIME, TAIWAN WAS UNDER JAPANESE COLONIAL RULE AS A RESULT OF THE 1895 TREATY OF SHIMONOSEKI, BY WHICH THE QING CEDED TAIWAN TO JAPAN. THE ROC GOVERNMENT BEGAN EXERCISING JURISDICTION OVER TAIWAN IN 1945 AFTER JAPAN SURRENDERED AT THE END OF THE WORLD WAR II.

WHEN WORLD WAR II ENDED, TOKYO RENOUNCED IT COLONIES. YET ALMOST 70 YEARS LATER, JAPAN’S INFLUENCE IN TAIWAN IS STIL TANGIBLE. JAPANESE-ERA BUILDINGS ARE LANDMARKS IN TAIPE AND ELSEWHERE, AND THERE IS A STRONG ATTACHMENT TO JAPANESE CUISINE, CULTURE AND FASHION.

THE ROC GOVERNMENT RELOCATED TO TAIWAN IN 1949 WHILE FIGHTING A CIVIL WAR WITH THE CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY. SINCE THEN, THE ROC HAS CONTINUED TO EXERCISE EFFECTIVE JURISDICTION OVER THE MAIN ISLAND OF TAIWAN AND A NUMBER OF OUTLYING ISLANDS, LEAVING TAIWAN AND CHINA EACH UNDER THE RULE OF A DIFFERENT GOVERNMENT. THE AUTHORITIES IN BEIJING HAVE NEVER EXERCISED SOVEREIGNTY OVER TAIWAN OR OTHER ISLANDS ADMINISTERED BY THE ROC.

**Modern Taiwanese culture blends Chinese, Austronesian, Japanese and Western influences.**

ESSENTIALS

CURRENCY : The New Taiwan dollar is the official currency of the Republic of China. The New Taiwan dollar has been the currency of the island of Taiwan since 1949, when it replaced the old Taiwan dollar, at a rate of 40,000 old dollars per one new dollar. The currency code is TWD and this is commonly abbreviated as NT$ or NTD$. Credit cards are accepted at most hotels and restaurants in main cities.

ATMs are commonly used for currency exchange and easily found throughout the city. Tipping taxi drivers isn’t usually anticipated in Taiwan. Restaurants will just add a service fee if they expect a tip, so you don’t have to provide any additional tip.

Currency exchange is regulated by the government so you don’t have to worry about getting a poor rate.

CAPITAL : The capital is Taipei; the largest city is New Taipei City or Xinbei, an urban agglomeration with 4 million people to the southwest of the capital.

LANGUAGE : Mandarin Chinese has been the official language of Taiwan since 1945 and is the most spoken language in the country. It's remarkably unchanged from the mainland variant of Mandarin that immigrants brought there, primarily in the 1940s, as they escaped political and military upheaval in that country.

One of the many interesting facts about Taiwan is that is has four official languages. These are Taiwanese, Mandarin, Hakka, and the Formosan languages (Taiwanese aboriginal languages) collectively. English is not an official language of Taiwan, but it is widely spoken and studied there.

POPULATION : The current population of Taiwan is 23,924,751 as of Friday, July 21, 2023

CLIMATE : Taiwan's climate is subtropical, except for the very southern part of the island, which is tropical. Summers are long and hot, lasting from April or May to September or October. The winters are short and mild, although snow does fall in the mountains and occasionally at lower elevations in the north.

**The most famous festival in China is Chinese New Year. It is celebrated with a lot of enthusiasm, music, dance, fireworks, and local food.**

TAIWAN’S TIME ZONE : Taiwan observes China Standard Time all year. There are no Daylight Saving Time clock changes

TRANSPORTATION : Taking the bus in Taiwan is a practical and safe way to get around town inexpensively. They're also a popular means for travelers who want to get to smaller or more rural destinations. There are a variety of buses to choose from and among the most popular are Kuo Kuang Hao, Ubus and Aloha services.

Each of the major cities has an excellent bus system that makes getting around the city very easy. That is after you figure out where each bus goes which can take some time. Once you figure out the bus routes you need, they are a very cheap and reliable means of transportation.

There are currently five MRT systems in Taiwan: Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taoyuan, New Taipei and Taichung, listed in order of their establishment. If the MRT is your main mode of transportation, it is more cost-effective to purchase a monthly pass.

SHOPPING : From the north to the south, there are many large shopping centers and chain department stores in Taiwan. Combining diverse leisure and entertainment facilities, these venues offer designer clothing, lifestyle products, food outlets, bookstores, movie houses, wholesale warehouses, amusement centers, and other attractions, providing the ultimate shopping environment. Moreover, several theme streets have sprung up, exhibiting an exciting blend of history and style, including Taipei's Ximending and Kaohsiung's New Juejiang commercial area, attracting different consumer groups. Other venues, including the weekend jade markets and the computer lane in Taipei's Guanghua Digital Plaza, are very good places to find unexpected bargains.

Aside from keeping up with the latest international trends, Taiwan offers local delicacies, each unique to its own area, that constitute another big reason to visit Taiwan; for example, old food companies and century-old pastry shops have retained the unique tastes produced by the local culture. And if you want to pick up some historic and finely crafted objects of art, then Taiwan is definitely the place to be. Shopping here will surely enrich your travel experience.