Nature in a Nutshell: Taiwan’s Botanical Gardens
February 28th, 2020
Not every nature-lover coming to Taiwan has time to immerse themselves in the mountainous interior. For those who can’t spare more than half a day away from the big city — or who prefer carefully-managed ecosystems to true wilderness — botanical gardens are excellent places to understand why Taiwan has been called a ‘biodiversity hot-spot’. […]
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2020: The Year of Mountain Tourism
January 6th, 2020
For its size, Taiwan is one of the most mountainous countries in the world. Nearly one-third of the island is a kilometre or more above sea level, while a tenth is above 2,500 m (a statistic where Taiwan matches Alpine Switzerland). No fewer than 258 named peaks top 3,000 m — a stunning total, given […]
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Waterbird Wonderland: Taiwan’s Unique Natural Wonders, Part 3
December 15th, 2019
It’s not just humans who find Taiwan’s cooler months exceptionally comfortable. Between October and April, millions of migrating birds reach the island via the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, drawn by plentiful food and lowland temperatures that seldom dip below 12 degrees Celsius. One of the most interesting avian visitors is the endangered Black-faced spoonbill, of which […]
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The Purple Butterfly Valley: Taiwan’s Unique Natural Wonders, Part 2
November 16th, 2019
Between now and next March, a mountainous district in Greater Kaohsiung will justify its alternative name. Maolin is also known as ‘the Purple Butterfly Valley’ because late each autumn hundreds of thousands of lepidopterans migrate from the colder northern half of Taiwan to this perennially sunny corner of the island. For some of the butterflies, […]
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Taiwan In Colours: Green
October 5th, 2019
As soon as you leave Taiwan’s cities, you’ll see plenty of green. The island straddles the Tropic of Cancer, and seldom lacks for sunshine or precipitation. Plots of land which are neither built on nor cultivated are soon taken over by grasses and weeds, then bushes and eventually fast-growing trees. Since the 1970s agriculture has […]
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Taiwan in Colours: Blue
July 4th, 2019
Taroko Gorge, perhaps Taiwan’s finest natural attraction, is one of those places where Mother Nature avails herself of almost every hue on her palette. The layers of marble, schist and gneiss range from near-pure white to dark grey. There are creamy browns, near silvers and even diluted golds. But at the bottom of this breathtaking […]
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Island of Trees: Taiwan’s Magnificent Woodlands
June 20th, 2019
Here’s a statistic that astounds many who’ve never visited Taiwan: About 58% of the main island is covered by trees or bamboo, with stands of hardwoods accounting for more than half of this area. That’s a higher percentage than in the US, Canada, or Brazil. The figure for the UK is a mere 12%. This […]
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New Taiwan Photo Book: Ilha Formosa Taiwan in 100 HDR Panoramic Images & Scripts
May 8th, 2019
If you think the photos accompanying this blog post are stunning, you’re not alone. They’re just a few of the hundred pictures Sherman Cheng selected for inclusion in his stunning new book, Ilha Formosa Taiwan in 100 HDR Panoramic Images & Scripts. Cheng, who retired a few years ago after a career in a multinational […]
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No Cyclist Knows Taiwan’s Roads Better: Chatting With Nathan Miller
October 29th, 2018
‘Taiwan offers some of the best cycling in Asia. The network of roads that wind throughout the mountainous terrain is a hill-climber’s dream come true,’ says Nathan Miller, an American who’s been pedalling around and across the island for a decade. It’s fair to say Miller is a hardcore cyclist. ‘I have seven bikes: two […]
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Why a Car and Driver Makes all the Difference
August 24th, 2018
Taiwan is a hiker’s paradise. Whether you seek a multi-day epic trek through the island’s highest mountains or an hour-long stroll through soothing woodland, you’ll find a multitude of trails that match your fitness and ambition. Some of the finest hill-country experiences, however, are only available to those who have their own vehicles. Even then, […]
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Taiwan After Dark
August 6th, 2018
The sun has set but you know you won’t be able to sleep for a good few hours. You’ve no interest in hitting a bar, and you went to a top-notch restaurant for dinner so there’s no point in going to a night market. Department stores don’t do a lot for you, so what are […]
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Taiwan’s Rivers
May 22nd, 2017
Taiwan is very mountainous and gets plenty of rain, so it’s no surprise the island is cleaved with short, fast rivers. The longest waterway is the 186 km-long Zhuoshui (the name means ‘turbid water’). Only four other rivers are more than 100 km in length. For centuries these waterways hindered north-south journeys. Few permanent bridges […]
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