Taipeh Travel Guide, Taiwan

City population: 2.7 million

Country Code: TW

Currency: New Taiwan Dollar

Location and Climate  

Taipei is Taiwan’s capital city since 1984. It is the largest city in Taiwan which is located in the northern half of the country.

The climate is very welcoming - it is warm and humid. Winters are mild and summers are rainy. Major crops in the country include rice, tea, sugar cane, and banana. They have gas, marble, limestone, small coal deposits and hydroelectricity as their natural resources.

The good news to those who are planning to visit the place is that the city has a very wide Wi-Fi coverage for easy access to the Internet anywhere in the country.

Government

The head of the state is the President. The primary law-making body is the Legislative Yuan.

People

Taiwanese have preserved their native language and culture. Although Western influence is seen in their arts, business and other facets of society, they still maintain their indigenous culture. For example, Chinese Mandarin and Hakka is still widely used over the country and Chinese design is displayed in their architecture, as in the bamboo stalk-shaped Taipei 101 building.

Every morning, you may join the locals in one of their parks, practicing tai-chi, their favorite exercise which is also a form of martial arts.

Like their other Asian neighbors, they love festivities and celebrations. They love street dancing and merry making. That is why they have lots of it throughout the year.

One of their largest festivals is the Dragon Boat Festival. This shows their high respect towards the dragon. The Taiwanese believe that dragons chase evil and bad spirits, that’s why dragons are worshipped in their place. They also have dragon dance using dragon costume during their colorful festivals. How joyous it is to witness these important events in the dates of their calendar!

Religion

The place is tolerant of many diverse religions; however, the major religions in the place are Taoism, Buddhism, Yi Guan Dao, Protestantism, Confucianism and Christianity with Buddhism having the highest number of population. There are some who practice a blend of two or three religions, and with the influence also of old Chinese folk traditions. Visitors can find gigantic churches and beautiful temples towering in the sky.

Commodities

Taiwan is very successful in international commerce and trade. Their major exports include fish, machinery, sporting goods, footwear, toys, chemicals and many others. Electronics is their main export products like laptops, printers and computer parts.