Taipei
Business meets beauty in this dynamic and fun-loving Asian metropolis.
Business meets beauty in this dynamic and fun-loving Asian metropolis.
In the south, people’s ties to rural folk culture are strongest.
If you don’t have the time, or perhaps resources, to travel all over Taiwan, you can see much of the best it has to offer within a few hours of Taipei.
If you want contrasts, head to western Taiwan and start at the coastline, continue through rich farmland and end in the high mountains of the central range.
It’s the end of the road down here, but there’s nothing remote or isolated at all about Kenting National Park (Kěndīng Guójiā Gōngyuán).
Tainan is the oldest city in the country, and the fourth largest.
For many travellers, a love affair with the east coast begins with a journey to Taroko Gorge.
If you were ever asked to define 'bustling harbour city', you could always point to the southern city of Kaohsiung (Gāoxióng).
In many ways this county (新北市; Xīnběi Shì; http://tour.
Under Japanese, and later KMT, economic planning, Kaohsiung became the centre of heavy industry; Taipei the centre of colonial administration; and Taichung? The centre of light industry.
The Hsinchu Science Park is by far the most famous site in this region, but most travellers come for the spectacular mountain scenery in the foothills of the Snow Range, the hot springs, and a small mist-shrouded mountain dotted with temples.
Just 15km north of Hualien, inside Taroko National Park, lies Taroko Gorge (Tàilǔgé), Taiwan’s top tourist destination.
Highway 9 is the main transport artery through the East Rift Valley, a long alluvial plain that just happens to sit right on the seam of the collision point between the Philippine and Eurasian plates.
The 166km coastal Provincial Hwy 2 winds along the top of the island from the mouth of the Danshui River to the alluvial plains of Ilan.
If you want to see Taiwan's natural environment raw in tooth and nail, visit a national park.
Start with a charming Taipei-river suburb as your soup base, add equal parts college-town youth vibe and oceanside-boardwalk festivity.
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