Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in the Pacific Ocean, 150 kilometers off the eastern coast of the Chinese mainland. It has an area of 36,178 km². Officially, Taiwan is one of the provinces of China, but the island defends the status of an independent state. Here harmoniously neighboring secluded beaches, reserves with endemic plants and animals, the peacefulness of temples and the turbulent life of modern megacities in all its manifestations.

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Video: Taiwan

Contents

The Face of Taiwan

Taiwan’s character is defined by Chinese cultural traditions, but there is also a clear Japanese affinity. Western influence is also noticeable, dating back to the days of the European colonies. This symbiosis of cultures has made Taiwan a distinctive crossroads of such disparate civilizations.

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In recent decades, the country has confidently entered the club of global leaders of international business and advanced technologies, especially in the field of electronics. There are numerous innovation centers, technology parks. The country is prosperous, the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the State Bank of Taiwan exceed 400 billion U.S. dollars. This financial indicator of the country’s economic development is one of the highest in the world.

The island of Taiwan is a major center of international tourism with an excellent infrastructure. The capital city of Taipei boasts well known attractions, but there are also many amazing places to see in other parts of the country. Picturesque landscapes of the island, where the eternal summer reigns, dispose to an active and informative vacation, numerous museums store authentic treasures, cities showcase monuments of ancient architecture and architectural wonders of the XXI century.

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Taiwan’s coastline abounds with beaches. In the north they are covered with pebbles and black volcanic sand, on the southwest coast the sand is coral, white or golden. Fans of diving, windsurfing and sailing rush here. There are also wild beaches on the island, preserving the pristine beauty.

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Travelers have at their disposal international air and sea ports, a network of excellent highways, comfortable transportation, world brand hotels and excellent restaurants where Taiwanese chefs demonstrate the wonders of culinary art.

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History

The island of Taiwan has been home to aboriginal tribes of Austronesian peoples since ancient times. They still today inhabit many islands in the Pacific Ocean as far as Australia. According to archaeologists, the first settlements of primitive people appeared in Taiwan about 30,000 years ago.

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Chinese migration from coastal provinces to the island of Taiwan began in the early Middle Ages and intensified in the 17th century.

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Portuguese navigators who arrived on the shores of Taiwan in the 16th century saw many exotic lands, but the beauty of the island so impressed the discoverers that they charted it under the name Ilha Formosa, meaning “beautiful island”. The name Formosa is still used in the international lexicon today as a synonym for Taiwan.

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Between 1624 and 1642, European trading factories were active in Taiwan. The southern part of the island was colonized by the Dutch East India Company, while the Spaniards ruled the north. Europeans built schools and churches on the island, translated and printed the Bible in local languages. To this day among the natives (there are about 400 thousand of them in modern Taiwan) are many Catholics and Protestants.

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After a number of uprisings of the local population against the colonizers, the Taiwanese pirate and charismatic leader Koxinga in 1664 united the forces of several tribes, expelled the Europeans and proclaimed himself ruler of Taiwan. He was supported by the Chinese emperor of the Ming dynasty. But the independence of the islanders did not last long. In the 80s of the XVII century in China established the Qing dynasty. The new emperor sent a military squadron to the island and annexed Taiwan to the Celestial Empire. A flood of immigrants from China poured into the island, and the authorities pursued a policy of “Chineseization”, banning local dialects and beliefs. Children from mixed marriages were considered Chinese.

After 200 years, as a result of defeat in the war with Japan, China lost Taiwan. The Japanese occupation lasted from 1895 to 1945. These decades were marked by the active “Japaneseization” of the island’s population. During World War II, the Japanese formed several military units from Taiwan’s aboriginal population that bravely fought the Americans and Australians in the Pacific. One of these units belonged to a group of kamikazes who fearlessly attacked enemy airfields.

Back in the early part of the last century, an anti-monarchist Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) was established in Beijing, which sought to turn China into a democratic state. The party’s ideologue and leader was the revolutionary Sun Yat-sen. After his death in the mid-1920s, General Chiang Kai-shek became the leader of the Kuomintang. From 1927 to 1947, Chiang Kaishi was the recognized leader of China. In 1949, after the defeat of Mao Zedong in the civil war with the Communists, who had seized power in mainland China, the adherents of the ideas of the Kuomintang transferred their activities to Taiwan, proclaiming the Republic of China on the island, hoping to extend their power to the lost mainland territory. This state had originally been a member of the United Nations since 1947 and was represented on the UN Security Council. Only in 1971, communist China, with the support of the USSR and the Communist bloc countries, succeeded in having the Republic of China excluded from the United Nations and its place taken by the People’s Republic of China. Diplomatic relations with Taiwan were severed by most governments of the world. The confrontation between the two irreconcilable antagonists – Taiwan and the PRC – continues, although its intensity has noticeably decreased by the beginning of this millennium.

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China has declared its intention to peacefully annex Taiwan under the principle of “one country, two political systems,” as it did with Hong Kong. But the Taiwanese government has a different vision of the prospects for unification, so the “Taiwan Question” has not been resolved to this day.

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The reforms and transformations carried out by the Taiwanese government in the 60s and 80s turned the republic into a highly developed state with a powerful economy, mighty industry, based on advanced technology and enviable scientific and technological potential. Along with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea, democratic Taiwan has become one of the “Asian Tigers” that surprised the world with its rapid economic success and high standard of living. Today, the capital city of Taipei is home to 30 billionaires.

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Tourism is an important part of Taiwan’s economy. In 2017, 6.5 million tourists visited the island, adding $12 billion to the country’s budget. Professionals for the tourism industry are trained by the National University of Hospitality and Tourism in Passon.

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Geography and climate

The island of Taiwan stretches from south to north for about 400 km, with a land width of about 140 km and a total area of over 35,880 km². The outline of the coastline resembles an oval almond nut. It is separated from the mainland by the Taiwan Strait, which connects the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The island is crossed by the Tropic of Cancer, geographically it belongs to the equatorial zone.

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The time in Taiwan is 5 hours ahead of Moscow time. The distance from Moscow to Taipei is 7,350 km, from Vladivostok to the capital of Taiwan is 2,220 km.

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Nature has generously endowed Taiwan with amazing landscapes. Most of the island is covered with densely forested long mountain ranges, overlooking the rocky and precipitous eastern Pacific coast. Several mountain peaks rise more than three kilometers high. Taiwan’s highest point is Mount Yushan (3,952 meters).

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In the north, a group of ancient extinct volcanoes completes the mountain range, but active underwater volcanoes have been found on the seabed in the Taiwan Strait. The island is located in an earthquake-prone zone, and earthquakes are not uncommon here.

Taiwan’s east coast, facing the Pacific Ocean, is cluttered with long mountain ranges. The opposite, western coast of the island is a hilly, fertile valley irrigated by numerous rivers and streams flowing down from the mountains. It is home to the largest cities, agricultural land, and more than 90% of Taiwan’s population.

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There are two distinct climatic zones on the island. In the north is the realm of subtropics, but in the south the climate is tropical, there is eternal summer and temperature fluctuations are insignificant. The island is located on the path of the seasonal monsoons that carry warm moist air from the Pacific Ocean to the vastness of South Asia.

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The air temperature in the winter months ranges from +14…+23 °C. In summer, from June to August, the thermometer column rises to +26…+34 °С. During this period the rainy season comes to Taiwan, ending with strong winds, often turning into powerful typhoons (August/September). Summer is especially rainy in southern Taiwan: 90% of annual precipitation falls here from early June to mid-August, while rainfall is rare in other months of the year.

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The tourist season in Taiwan lasts all year round, but the climate determines the priorities of travel. Beach vacation here is most comfortable in September-November, when the rains stop, and the daytime air temperature is still within +25…+30 ° C. In December and in the following winter months the temperature of coastal waters at the northern coast of the island drops below +18 °С, and becomes uncomfortable for swimming, but it is quite possible to sunbathe by the sea. Winter and spring in Taiwan is the time of cognitive tourism, traveling through national parks and reserves.

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Nature

Nature has endowed Taiwan with exotic beauty. The plains are covered with rice fields, sugar cane plantations, orchards and pastures of lush grasses. On the coast there are thickets of mangrove trees, pineapples, coconuts and bananas. The mountain slopes are covered with humid tropical forests. About 3,000 species of plants are represented here, half of them are Taiwanese endemics. In the foothills are green palm and bamboo groves covered with lianas. Tea plantations are also located here. Further, up to an altitude of 3.3 km begin evergreen forests, consisting of cypresses, eucalyptus, tree ferns, camphor trees, emitting the scent of cinnamon. Higher up, the forests are replaced by rhododendron shrubs and high mountain meadows with alpine vegetation.

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The island has 9 national parks, dozens of wildlife sanctuaries, biosphere reserves, protected landscape areas, which occupy one fifth of the country’s territory. Black bears, smoky panthers, lynxes, spotted deer, Taiwanese macaques, crab-eating mongooses, and many other rare animals live peacefully in the reserves.

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Abundant rainfall feeds more than 150 fish-rich mountain rivers and lakes. There are trout, freshwater salmon, and endangered endemic species of river fauna listed in the Red Book.

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Taiwanese currency

The country adopts the Taiwan dollar, internationally known as NT $ or TWD. You can exchange money at airports, banks and hotels. It is easy to orient in prices for goods in terms of rubles: the exchange rate for October 2018 is 1 TWD = 2.1 rubles. There are terminals installed everywhere in the cities, and Visa, American Express, Master Card and other bank cards are accepted for payment. In the regions, it is not uncommon to be asked to pay only in cash. Please note that banks in Taiwan do not work on Sundays. On Saturdays they are open only until noon. Weekday banking hours are 09:00-12:00, then after lunch break banks are open from 14:00-17:00.

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Northern Region

Taiwan sightseeing tourists start with a walk around Taipei, the capital city located on the northern tip of the island, because it is here that the main airport is located, where millions of curious travelers arrive every year. Taipei is one of the most technologically advanced and comfortable cities on the planet. It is home to the government of the Republic of China, residences of foreign diplomats, major educational and scientific centers, headquarters of international corporations.

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The Taipei 101 tower dominates the city. In this bold project the architects for the first time in the world crossed the threshold of half a kilometer – the height of the building is 509.2 meters. The facades of the slender pagoda rising to the heavens are covered with green tinted glass, and in the evenings they are spectacularly illuminated. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, the building is enveloped in stunning fireworks, a spectacle traditionally broadcast on all the world’s TV channels. The structure resists the typhoons and earthquakes that hit the island every year. From 2004 to 2010 it was the tallest building erected on the planet, until the Taiwanese skyscraper was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa Tower (829.8 meters), built in the Emirate of Dubai.

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Different floors here are equipped with panoramic balconies overlooking the city, guides call them observatories. The highest panoramic platform is located on the 91st floor. You can also admire the capital of Taiwan sitting at the table of one of the restaurants, savoring Taiwanese cuisine.

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The number 100 is considered by Chinese tradition to be the happiest number. And 101 signifies an incredible excess of possible success. That’s how many floors this skyscraper has. On the one hundred and first floor there is a billionaires’ club closed to the general public. World celebrities visiting Taiwan are invited here. Adjacent to the skyscraper is a multi-story shopping center, which houses hundreds of fashionable stores with goods of world brands, restaurants, clubs, cinemas.

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There are several ancient Chinese temples to explore in the city. Among the oldest structures in Taiwan is the Lungshan Chinese Temple, its pagodas were erected in 1738.

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A visit to the National Palace Museum will introduce you to 8,000 years of Chinese history, from the Neolithic era to the present day. It houses about 700,000 artifacts created by the craftsmen of ancient China. The huge display includes imperial jewelry, jade and porcelain wares, ancient manuscripts and state documents, weapons, palace furniture and other items of deep antiquity. The collection was removed from the Imperial Forbidden City in Beijing in the 1940s on the orders of General Chiang Kai-shek to save the unique treasures from looting during the civil war. The palace-museum complex itself is an architectural gem in Taipei. A massive project to renovate and expand the museum is underway, with $12 billion dollars allocated for its implementation.

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Not far away is the Formosan Shung Ye Museum of Taiwanese Aborigines. Here you can learn about the island’s distinctive indigenous culture, with displays of household items, weapons, totem signs, clothing and jewelry of local tribes. Ethnic festivals and celebrations are held in the square in front of the museum.

Taiwan’s recent history is introduced at the Peace Memorial Park, the Taiwan Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Liberty Square is home to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and a large pagoda-shaped concert hall is built nearby.

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If you wish to take a break from the hustle and bustle of Taipei, go for a walk in the Yangmingshan National Park, it is located on the outskirts of the city, just 10 km north of the center of the capital. Unlike the high-altitude reserves located in the east of the island, this park does not tire of long climbs. The summit of an ancient volcano, long since extinct and destroyed by erosion, rises only 1,120 meters above sea level. The attractions of the park include hot springs, picturesque weathered rocks resembling the figures of fairy-tale giants, canyons and lakes, impressive piles of volcanic blocks covered with sulfur crystals. In some places the volcano shows signs of underground activity: syzy gases rise from the holes-fumaroles.

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Taiwanese isoetes (Isoetes taiwanensis), an ancient aquatic fern, grows in the reservoirs. It is endemic to the island and is found nowhere else in the world. In spring, pink Taiwanese cherry blossoms bloom wonderfully, and from May to August, beautiful butterflies appear in the glades, gathering in colorful fluttering clouds.

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A trail winding down the slope in the monsoon forest will take you to the summit. This is the highest point within Taipei’s city limits. From here, from a height of over a kilometer, you can enjoy a wide panorama of the capital and its suburbs.

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Be sure to plan a visit to the Taipei Zoo, one of the largest in Asia. It features fauna from all continents, including penguins from Antarctica. Near the zoo entrance, there is a subway station and a stop for city buses No. 793, 933, 1558, BR18 and BR21. To the right of the entrance is the tourist information center, where you can pick up a guidebook describing the zoo’s pets and a map of recommended routes.

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Western and central areas of the island

The geographic center of Taiwan is located in Puli City, in Nantou County. A memorial marker is erected here on a high hill.

In the center of western Taiwan is the island’s second largest city, Taichung, with a population of 2.8 million. It has developed industry, and the city is a major financial services center and the heart of small business in Taiwan. In Taichung built the World Trade Center, where conferences of businessmen from around the world, exhibitions of goods and presentations of the latest technology. The city has luxury hotels for the business elite, many hotels for tourists. It is home to a major commercial seaport, an international airport, and train stations. The night market in Taichung, with thousands of shopping stalls, many restaurants and eateries, is considered the largest in Taiwan.

The sparsely populated central mountainous area is home to the high-mountainous Yushan National Park. It is named after the island’s highest peak, which is part of the protected area. In addition, the park includes vast areas of the Central Mountain Range, which has about thirty mountain peaks exceeding 3 kilometers in height. Despite its inaccessibility, the park is visited by more than one million ecotourists every year. Here travelers admire deep canyons, mountain rivers with waterfalls, alpine lakes. In the mountain forest, biologists have counted fifty species of mammals, including deer and bears, one hundred and fifty species of tropical birds, and 30 species of amphibians and reptiles.

The forest villages of Tungpu and Meishan within the park are home to the aboriginal Bunun tribe. The west of the park is home to the Zou hill tribe.

Tour groups are formed to visit Yushan Park, arriving by bus. You can also get here by rented car; there are 17 parking lots in the park. Three visitor centers have hotels, restaurants and cafes. Before the excursion, caretakers tell tourists about the routes, flora and fauna of the park. For the convenience of travelers in the mountains laid 40 km of footpaths with signposts, over the gorges and rivers erected 18 bridges, in the rocks cut steps. Travelers who are tired of climbing can take a breather in rest houses.

Weather in the mountains can change dramatically. Suddenly it can pour freezing rain, thick fog turns into ice. You should bring a flashlight, sturdy shoes, warm clothes and raincoat. A good pair of binoculars is a good idea for animal and bird watching.

Yunlin Province offers tours to coffee plantations, trips to ancient temples, in the village of Yongguan for tourists built amusement park Janfusun Fancyworld with the largest in Taiwan Ferris wheel height of 88 m.

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In the southwest of the island lies the city of Tainan, the former capital of Taiwan, famous for its historical and architectural sights. Some of the landmarks here are more than 350 years old. There are about two hundred temples in the city, of which the most interesting are the Taoist temple “East Mountain”, Mito Temple with its magnificent statue of the thousand-armed goddess Quanin, Chahsi Temple, Tien-Tang Temple, Confucius Temple, constantly challenging the right to be called the largest in the country.

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Southern Region

The largest city in the south of the island is Kaohsiung, with a population approaching 3 million. Heavy industry enterprises and shipbuilding yards are concentrated here. The city is located on the shore of the Taiwan Strait, in a convenient natural bay. The commercial port of Kaohsiung is among the ten largest in the world. Taiwan’s naval forces are also based in the bay. The coastline is lined with city beaches.

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The passenger port accepts cruise ships, from here you can go on boat trips to the islands belonging to Taiwan, on excursions to Hong Kong, Manila, Singapore. The city has an international airport, a railway station that accepts high-speed trains, and an extensive subway system.

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Kaohsiung’s landmarks include the 378-meter-high 85 Sky Tower. The skyscraper has restaurants, bars, and viewpoints. The building is located in the shopping center district, where you can do shopping. The central district is crossed by the Ai River, which flows into the bay. On the embankment are arranged alleys for walking, there are many cafes and inexpensive snack bars.

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A short walk from Kaohsiung North Railway Station, on Chiuju Street, is the largest science and technology museum in Asia. Its exhibits are spread over an area of 19 hectares, with themed movie theaters, an astronomical observatory, and interactive lecture halls. It takes several days to see the museum.

There are other interesting museums in the city, one of them is dedicated to the culture of the aborigines of Taiwan. Entertainment can be found at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center, which features art galleries and two large concert halls.

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On the outskirts of Kaohsiung stands Taiwan’s largest Buddhist monastery, Fo Guang Shan. The huge territory of this beautiful complex houses a temple, a gilded statue of the Big Buddha, thousands of small Buddhas, a meditation area available to everyone, a large library with a reading room, a museum, a tea room, a souvenir store.

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At the southern end of the island of Taiwan, the town of Hengchun welcomes visitors. Kenting National Park is located in this area. Here, the mountains close to the ocean are covered with dense tropical forests. The park covers 181 km² on land and has a 152 km² protected marine area with coral reefs. There are popular beaches with diving centers and sports facilities along the coast. Corals live only in warm seas, where water temperature never drops below +20 °С. This means that the beach season here lasts all year round. Scuba divers swim to underwater coral reefs inhabited by exotic fish, sea turtles, rays, moray eels, octopuses and crabs. Sharks come here to hunt, pleasure boats with tourists accompanied by flocks of dolphins, and sometimes whales swim off the coast.

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Take a walk along Banana Bay to Cape Eluanbi. Here a pristine rainforest comes up to the surf line. On the cape stands an ancient lighthouse surrounded by the walls of a small fort built back in the era of the Chinese emperors of the Qing Dynasty. The lighthouse points out dangerous reefs to sailors on passing ships and marks the southernmost point of the island of Taiwan.

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The park includes Longluan Lake, which is filled with the waters of clear mountain rivers. It is the largest freshwater body of water in Taiwan, with an area of 175 hectares and an average depth of 3.5 meters. On the western shore of the lake you will find an information center with an interactive exposition about the underwater inhabitants of the reservoir.

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The park has its own regional airport “Hengchun”, but domestic flights are irregular. Soda can be reached by bus from the international airport and high-speed rail station in Kaohsiung City.

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Eastern region

Taiwan’s mountainous east coast facing the Pacific Ocean is almost untouched by civilization. There are only a few towns and villages here. This fact gives a special charm to the pristine Taroko National Park. This is the self-name of the aboriginal tribe that still live here, the word means “people.”

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The path to the protected park begins in the coastal town of Xilin in Hualian Municipality. The steep mountainside facing the ocean is made of snow-white marble. The turbulent Liwu River, which flows into the sea, has cut a deep gorge in the marble over hundreds of thousands of years, and its steep walls shine with bluish whiteness. During the summer months, daredevils go whitewater rafting here. A powerful adrenaline rush causes athletes to overcome the Tunnel of Nine Turns, where the waters of the mountain river loop sharply, trying to throw boats on the marble cliffs.

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Hidden in these mountains are deposits of precious jade, a sacred stone in Chinese culture. A mineral of this color and shade is only found in Taiwan.

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One of the most famous attractions in Taroko Park is the Eternal Spring Shrine Mountain Shrine. Its graceful pagodas are built right above the Changchun Waterfall, which plunges down into the abyss. The temple is dedicated to the mountain road builders who died here under rock falls.

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Beaches of Taiwan

Beautifully equipped beaches in Taiwan are numerous, they are arranged in almost every seaside town or village. There are paid and free beaches on the island. Entrance to the paid beach – about 100 TWD (for children – discounts), the price includes the use of showers and toilets. Umbrellas and other equipment must be paid for separately – this applies to all beaches.

On the north coast, in the Taipei area, is Baisha Bay. Here there is a sandy beach that wraps around the hilly coast in a kilometer-long arc. This place is windy, there are always waves on the sea, on which beachgoers who brought inflatable mattresses like to rock. At low tide, the width of the sandy strip increases to two hundred meters. Exposed sandbanks and coral reefs, their recesses often become traps for colorful fish, which are interesting to observe. The beach is well equipped, there are cafes and restaurants, small stores. Fans of sand sculptures erect funny figures on the beach, which after a few hours washed away by the tide. A shuttle bus runs from the Danshui subway station to the beach.

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In the New Taipei area, at the mouth of the Shuang River, is Fulong Beach, one of the top 10 best beaches in East Asia. The sand here is fine and golden, which is rare in Taiwan. Here you can go windsurfing and kayaking. In July, a rock festival is held right on the beach, which brings together famous musicians from many countries. Nearby there is a campground for motorists. You can get to the seaside town of Fulong, which gave its name to the beach, by car or bus via the Sun Yat-sen Expressway or the North Seaside Highway, or by electric train.

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The exotic Chihsintang Beach, surrounded by high mountains, can be found in the city of Shinzhen on the east coast facing the Pacific Ocean. You can get here by train. The station is a five-minute walk from the coast. Thousands of tourists come to this beach to engage in relaxation surrounded by picturesque landscapes. There is a diving club, there are water sports equipment rentals.

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On the Pacific coast, in the city of Suao, there is another famous beach. It is covered with pebbles, the bottom here is precipitous, sharply receding into the depths, where cluttered underwater rocks. Here come fans of scuba diving. Get to this beach by rail, get off at the station “Suao.”

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On the coast of the island with a coastline stretching for more than 1 130 kilometers, you can easily find a deserted place with a wild beach, where you can be alone or have a picnic with friends. However, it is dangerous to swim on beaches where there are no lifeguard services.

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Health tourism

In recent decades, medical or health tourism has emerged in Taiwan. Specialized medical centers operate in the mountain and sea resorts of the island. Taiwanese healers combine in their practice millennia-old traditions of oriental medicine and the most modern techniques. They have at their disposal high-tech equipment and unique pharmaceutical preparations, which are made only here. These doctors are able to relieve patients of many ailments that were recently considered incurable. It should be said that patients are attracted to Taiwan not only by the high level of diagnostics and effective methods of treatment, but also by affordable prices for medical services – their cost is significantly lower than, for example, in Israel, the USA and European countries. Organ transplantation is relatively inexpensive in Taiwanese clinics, and the most complicated operations are performed with jewelry. Many medical institutions of the island are crowned with laurels of outstanding success in the treatment of various pathologies.

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Entertainment

Taipei has several dozen nightclubs with spectacular show programs, the most frequented of which are Spark and Myst, located in the central Xinyi district, where the Taipei 101 skyscraper towers.

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West of the city center, in the Wanhua district, you’ll find a concentration of nightclubs, entertainment, and shopping centers with about six thousand boutiques. This is the pedestrian area of Ximending, the epicenter of Taipei’s youth subculture life and the trendsetter of Taiwanese fashion. Ximending is often called Theater Street – there are two dozen clubs, theaters and cabarets. The most famous establishment is the Red Envelope Club cabaret restaurant. Head to this bustling nightlife district by cab, bus or subway (Ximen Station).

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There are similar entertainment centers in all major cities in Taiwan.

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To fully experience the culture of the island, you should definitely attend a performance of Taiwanese opera (gezai-si). It is a synthesis of several styles of Chinese and Japanese stage art with Taiwanese folk songs and dances that entertained the public at fairs and festivals. The stage performances are very dynamic, with actors in colorful clothes demonstrating elements of martial arts, acrobatics, dancing and singing. At the same time, the performers sing not with voices close to falsetto, as in Beijing opera, but with a natural timbre, without distorting the voice. The repertoire includes tragedies and comedies, legends and legends. To the audience’s delight, the performers often act out sketches, wh