Getting a Sales-Tax Refund in Taiwan
February 9th, 2017
Foreign citizens visiting Taiwan can take advantage of the government’s sales-tax (VAT) refund system if they spend more than NTD3,000 in a single day at any participating shop no more than 30 days before leaving the country. Taiwan’s VAT rate is a mere 5% but on big-ticket items the savings could be significant. It makes […]
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South Taiwan’s Hakka Strongholds, Part 2
December 9th, 2016
These days, Taiwan is one of the safest places in the world for tourists and expatriates. But it wasn’t always so peaceful. Uprising were frequent, while settlers battled indigenous people for control of the best land. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Taiwan was rocked by a series of rebellions, and because there […]
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South Taiwan’s Hakka Strongholds, Part 1
December 3rd, 2016
Taiwan’s southern half is a stronghold of Taiwanese Holo culture, and it’s where you’ll find the ancient former capital, Tainan, as well as Kaohsiung, a modern city. At the same time, the south has intriguing pockets of Hakka culture and tradition. The Hakka are Taiwan’s largest ethnic minority. For the last several decades, Taiwan’s demographics […]
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Bonding Over Coffee: An American Inspired by Life of Taiwan
November 10th, 2016
When a chance to travel almost anywhere in world landed on her lap, Maretta Delacruz didn’t hesitate to choose Taiwan. ‘Why Taiwan? Taiwan is a melting pot of Asia/Pacific Islands, with strong influences from mainland China, Japan and aboriginal cultures. From Taipei to the south, this little island is known for an amazing variety of […]
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Shopping for tradition in Taiwan
November 2nd, 2016
International brands are every bit as popular in Taiwan as they are in the West, yet wander around any of Taiwan’s cities and you’re sure to come across photogenic shops selling products which hark back to an era before mass marketing and containerisation. In many old neighbourhoods there are businesses which specialise in rice. In […]
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Joshua Samuel Brown: Lonely Planet Author
October 19th, 2016
American travel writer Joshua Samuel Brown has covered places as far away as Belize and Singapore for Lonely Planet, but Taiwan has long held a special place in his heart. He’ll be heading back to Taiwan in January 2017 to begin work on his fourteenth book, a hybrid travelogue/guidebook titled Formosa Moon for Things Asian […]
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Nick Kembel: Taiwan Tea-loving Writer
October 6th, 2016
Nick Kembel, author of Taiwan In The Eyes of A Foreigner, is a Canadian writer/photographer who blogs about Taiwan at nickkembel.com. He lives in New Taipei City, and was interviewed in June 2016. Life of Taiwan: You first arrived in Taiwan in 2008. Did you have any particular expectations about the island? Nick Kembel: A […]
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Christmas in Taiwan
September 29th, 2016
Fewer than one in 20 Taiwanese is Christian, yet the religion is accepted as part of mainstream society thanks in large part to the medical and educational work done by Western missionaries since the 1860s. Several of the country’s high schools and universities were established by missionaries, as were a number of major hospitals. The […]
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Global Felines and the Cats of Taiwan
September 19th, 2016
Global Felines was launched in July 2015 by Jill Henley-Su, a freelance translator/photographer and cat lover living in Taipei. “When I started my freelancing career, I spent some time traveling around. At the end of every trip, I usually found there were more photos of cats than of anything else. That’s when I decided to […]
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Visiting Taiwan in the Autumn
September 1st, 2016
“Autumn, the year’s last, loveliest smile…” wrote William Cullen Bryant. The 19th-century American poet never visited Taiwan, but his words are just as true for East Asia’s most alluring island as they are for the New England he knew and loved. The main reason is, of course, the weather. In October and November it’s dependably […]
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Japanese-era Architecture in Tainan & Chiayi
August 31st, 2016
Between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan was a colony of the Japanese Empire. During that half century, the island changed beyond recognition as the Japanese authorities built roads, railways, and schools, while Japanese corporations invested heavily in industries such as sugar and power generation. Despite World War II air raids and the breakneck growth of Taiwan’s […]
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Taiwan’s Versatile and Wonderful Bamboo
August 31st, 2016
If you visit Taiwan, you’ll notice bamboo is used in countless different ways. Bamboo scaffolding is put up when houses are being repaired or repainted. Alongside highways, bamboo poles hold up advertisements. On the southwestern coast, oysters are raised on bamboo frames. Effigies of gods, carried through the streets during folk-religion processions, are held aloft […]
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