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Taiwan is located in East Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean and off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It is known by many names — Formosa, Republic of China, or Chinese Taipei Swimsuits. Taiwan possesses its own individuality although it is Chinese in some ways and is often associated with mainland China. It has been influenced too by Japanese, Confucian, Han Chinese, American and European cultures.
Taiwan is also dubbed as one of the ‘Four Asian Tigers’ together with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea. However, its rapid economic growth has taken its toll on its ecological resources. Thus, the Taiwanese government has tried to preserve what is left of its natural wealth by establishing six areas as national parks, each boasting of naturally beautiful landscapes, mountain ranges, bodies of water, rainforests and wildlife, marine ecosystems, and many more.
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Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is home to the famous 508-meter tall Taipei 101, which was the tallest building in the world from 2004 until the emergence in 2010 of the 828-meter tall Burj Khalifa, of Dubai in The United Arab Emirates. Aptly called Taipei 101 because of its 101 floors, it has an Indoor Observatory (89th floor), an Outdoor Observatory (91st floor) and shopping malls from the basement to the 6th floor.
Aside from Taipei 101 and the six national parks, there are many other places to visit or see in Taiwan — among others, the National Palace Museum (holding 600,000 pieces of antiquities, paintings and calligraphic works); temples (in Tainan, Taiwan’s temple town); Shilin Night Market; Taipei Zoo; traditional folk festivals; and natural attractions outside of the metropolitan areas.
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Taiwan has two international airports in Taoyuan, and the other in Kaohsiung. Several airlines serve both airports connecting them to North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. Taiwan can also be reached by sea from Macau and Okinawa, Japan on board ferries to Keelung and Kaohsiung.
The country is evenly hot and humid during summer (June to August). So, it is ideal to go there at other times of the year. However, it is best to avoid the holidays like the Chinese New Year (in late February) and the various festivities in October when streets, hotels and transport can become crowded to overcrowded.
