The Gold Standard: Elevate Your Taiwan Itinerary with World-Class Hospitality
April 14th, 2026
Taiwan’s hospitality sector is seeing a significant influx of international luxury brands and boutique developments, giving discerning travellers additional options when planning the Taiwan trip of a lifetime. Taipei’s dynamic hotel scene New places to sleep in the capital include Capella Taipei (open since April 2025) in Songshan District. This 86-room luxury property offers suites […]
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Taiwan’s most compelling county? A short guide to Nantou
April 6th, 2026
Taiwan is divided into 22 counties and special municipalities, almost all of which touch the island’s 1,566-km-long (973 miles) coastline. Among these divisions, Nantou County is a landlocked region at the very heart of Taiwan. The county has almost an eighth of the country’s entire land area. In terms of elevation, it ranges from […]
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See in the Year of the Horse at the 2026 Lantern Festival!
February 9th, 2026
Around 19 out of every 20 Taiwanese is of Chinese descent, the majority of people on the island being the descendants of pioneers, migrants, and (in some cases) fugitives who left the mainland province of Fujian between 1622 and 1895, when Taiwan became a colony of Japan. In Taiwan as in other places in Asia […]
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Happy Holidays! from Life of Taiwan
December 18th, 2025
The pattern of holidays and celebrations in Taiwan is very different to that in the United States. Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa mean nothing to ordinary Taiwanese people and, with the exception of the one in twenty who attends a Christian church, Christmas usually passes unobserved. The slightly strange history of Christmas in Taiwan This year, […]
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Michael Jacobson: A Journey into the Heart of Indigenous Taiwan
August 19th, 2025
When Seattle resident Michael Jacobson visits Taiwan, he’s not on a foodie quest. Nor does he obsess about drinking the finest oolong tea or taking photos of the island’s vibrant temple culture. But that’s not to say he doesn’t enjoy those aspects of East Asia’s most intriguing destination. It’s rather that his deep interest in […]
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Rainy Day Revelry: Places to Visit on a Wet Day in Taipei
July 8th, 2025
The recent arrival of Typhoon Danas, which made landfall in southwestern Taiwan on the night of July 6–7, serves to remind everyone thinking of visiting Asia’s most enthralling island in the summertime there’s a risk that rainfall will interfere with their itinerary. Many people explore places like Tamsui and Jiufen in wet weather and have […]
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Taiwan, Island of Street Food
June 15th, 2025
Wherever you begin your tour of Taiwan, you can’t help but notice the vast number of street vendors in urban areas. Even in little towns with just a few thousand residents, you can expect to find stalls selling tasty snacks, drinks, and other inexpensive items. This is one reason travellers who opt to cycle or […]
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An Experience Unlike Any Other: The One Nanyuan
March 10th, 2025
In a corner of northwestern Taiwan that’s often overlooked by international visitors, a sublime rural retreat faces the mighty Xueshan Mountain Range. Less than an hour’s drive from Taiwan’s main airport, The One Nanyuan is truly one of a kind. Created at the behest of a newspaper magnate and covering an area slightly larger than […]
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Slowing Down: Enjoy Taiwan at a Gentler Pace
October 17th, 2024
Taiwanese are famous for their industriousness. Thanks to their efforts, since World War II the island’s economy has been transformed from one which depended on agriculture to a powerhouse of manufacturing and technology. Not everyone is obsessed with work and business, however. As Taiwan has grown richer, its people have learned to appreciate the importance […]
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Six of the Best: Some Unfamiliar Proteins for Your Palate
May 20th, 2024
When a Taiwanese person talks about meat, they usually mean pork. If you spend a week or two in Taiwan, there’s a very high chance you’ll sample some of the island’s most popular pork-based dishes, such as braised minced pork over rice, spare rib and daikon soup (in case you don’t know, daikon is a […]
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Six of the Best: Taiwan’s Most Amazing Churches
March 13th, 2024
Taiwan is one of the world’s most tolerant and religiously diverse societies. The majority of its nearly 24 million follow a mix of popular religion, Buddhism, and Taoism. Many of the gods and goddesses they worship are also venerated on the Chinese mainland and by ethnic Chinese communities in Southeast Asia. Some practise a ‘purer’ […]
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Six of the Best: Taiwan’s Most Amazing Temples
January 3rd, 2024
More than 15,000 registered places of worship serve Taiwan’s 23.9 million people. The vast majority, over 12,200, are dedicated to mainstream beliefs, which in Taiwan means a blend of Buddhism, Taoism, and popular faith. Throughout the country there are also around 2,800 Christian churches and at least 10 mosques. Some of these buildings are new […]
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