Taiwan is a island nation in East Asia.
The official name is Republic of China (ROC).
Taiwan is an island bordered by the South China Sea, East China Sea, and the Philippine Sea.
Neighbours include China (officially the People’s Republic of China, abbreviated as PRC) to the west, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.
The official language is Standard Mandarin.
As of 1 January 2017, the population of Taiwan was estimated to be 23,405,309 people.
It is the 136th largest country in the world by area with 36,193 square kilometers (13,974 square miles).
Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is a modern metropolis with Japanese colonial lanes, busy shopping streets and contemporary buildings.
The terrain in Taiwan is divided into two parts: the flat to gently rolling plains in the west, where 90% of the population lives, and the mostly rugged forest-covered mountains in the eastern two-thirds.
Yushan, also Mount Jade or Mount Yu, at 3,952 meters (12,966 feet) above sea level is the highest mountain in Taiwan and the world’s fourth-highest mountain on an island.
Taiwan has 1,566 kilometers (973 miles) of coastline.
Taiwan beaches are among Asia’s best beaches, ranging from fine white and golden sand beaches to black sand and sparkling white coral beaches.
Taiwan has 9 national parks. They cover a total of 8.6% of the country’s area.
Taroko National Park is Taiwan’s top tourist destination. The park covers 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles) and rises from sea level in the east to over 3,700 meters (12,140 feet) further west. The park was named after the Taroko Gorge, the landmark gorge of the park carved by the Liwu River.
The National Palace Museum is located in Taipei. It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese imperial artifacts and artworks, making it one of the largest of its type in the world. The collection encompasses 8,000 years of history of Chinese art from the Neolithic age to the modern. Most of the collection are high quality pieces collected by China’s emperors.
The most well known temple in Taiwan, the Lungshan Temple of Manka was built in 1738 by settlers from Fujian as a gathering place for Chinese settlers. It is a Buddhist temple located in the old village part of Taipei, Wanhua District. This temple has stood the test of time and lasted through several natural disasters and wars.
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a national monument, landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of Chiang Kai-shek, former President of Taiwan. It is located in Zhongzheng District, Taipei. The Memorial Hall is white with four sides. The roof is blue and octagonal, a shape that picks up the symbolism of the number eight, a number traditionally associated in Asia with abundance and good fortune.
Taipei 101 is a landmark supertall skyscraper in Xinyi District, Taipei. The building was officially classified as the world’s tallest in 2004, and remained such until the completion of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2009.
In 1945, following the end of World War II, the Republic of China (ROC) took control of Taiwan. However, the resumption of the Chinese Civil War led to the ROC’s loss of the mainland to the Communists, and the flight of the ROC government to Taiwan in 1949.
Although the ROC continued to claim to be the legitimate government of China, its effective jurisdiction since 1949 has been limited to Taiwan and its surrounding islands.
The PRC has consistently claimed sovereignty over Taiwan and asserted the ROC is no longer in legitimate existence.
Although Taiwan is fully self-governing, most international organizations in which the PRC participates either refuse to grant membership to Taiwan or allow it to participate only as a non-state actor.
The quick industrialization and rapid growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the 20th century has been called the “Taiwan Miracle“. Taiwan is one of the “Four Asian Tigers” alongside Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.
The electronics sector is Taiwan’s most important industrial export sector.
Beef noodle soup is considered a national dish and every year the city of Taipei holds an annual Beef Noodle Festival, where various chefs and restaurants compete for the “best beef noodle” title in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese tea culture is an integral part of the global tea culture. Taiwanese tea culture includes tea arts, traditional tea ceremonies, and the social aspects of tea consumption.
Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink invented in Taichung in the 1980s. Most bubble tea recipes contain a tea base mixed/shaken with fruit or milk, to which chewy tapioca balls and fruit jelly are often added.
Forget clubs and bars — in Taiwan, the best nightlife is found at food markets. The country has a penchant for snacking and a desire to eat with friends all night long. Although night markets are traditionally a Chinese phenomenon, Taiwan’s scene has grown to be considered one of the best in the world.
In Taiwan, women want fair skin and they will go to great lengths to avoid sun exposure on their skin. On a sunny day, sidewalks are filled with women carrying their umbrellas, keeping the sun off of their faces and their bodies cool.
Baseball is Taiwan’s national sport and it is a popular spectator sport.