"Beautiful Island" a Taiwan Travel Page by chewy3326

In the 16th century, the first Dutch ships sailed by the island of Taiwan; after seeing the island, they decided to name it Ilha Formosa, the Beautiful Island.

Despite being rather tiny, the Republic of China is a very interesting, diverse, beautiful, polluted, smoggy, friendly, offensive, jammed, humid, hot, and wonderful place. It claims to be the second most densely populated nation on earth (not including microstates), but can also boast of vast, untouched stretches of alpine mountain scenery. Taiwan has a mostly subtropical climate, but also has tropical rain forest in its far south, and alpine tundra in its lofty mountains. The island also has the tallest and seventh tallest buildings in the world (tallest and fourth tallest in Asia), Taipei 101 in Taipei, and the Tuntex Skyscraper in Kaohsiung. It has immense stretches of overpopulated cities, but also hundreds of square kilometers of unbroken, rarely trodden wilderness. Its people may seem offensive and unfriendly at first, but get to know them well and they will become all the more friendlier.

Though it is not yet up to par with cities like Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo, the city of Taipei is quickly becoming one of Asia's most vibrant cities. Nonetheless, Taiwan still doesn't have the tourist hordes that plague mainland China and Japan. Visit Taiwan now, before the secret's out: Ilha Formosa lives up to its name.

The Republic of China has a population of around 23 million people, all crowded on a rather small island. It only takes six hours to travel from Taipei to Kenting (the northern and southern tips of the island), but there is a lot of diversity crowded into that small space. Almost 75% of all the land on the island is mountainous; the remaining 25%, most of which is in the western coastal plain, is heavily developed.

Running the length of the island are four major mountain chains, from north to south: Xueshan (Syueshan) (Snow Mountain) Range, Zhongyang (Central) Mountain Range, Yushan (Jade Mountain) Range, and Alishan (Ali Mountain) Range. While Taipei may seem hot, humid, and subtropical, a short drive can put you in the heart of the Zhongyang Mountain Range, where the scenery is alpine and magnificent, the temperatures are 20 degrees C lower, and there are dozens of kilometers of trails above the timberline waiting for you to explore.

There is much I still hope to see in the Republic of China (I have spent more time here than in any other country except for the United States). I was not able to see the rock formations at Yehliu (near Taipei) during this visit, and that will be a priority next time; I also would like climb Yushan, the highest peak in Northeast Asia (3995 meters, taller than Fuji-san). The Central Cross Island Highway was destroyed by the 921 Earthquake and has not yet been repaired, but locals say it has the most alpine and beautiful scenery in all of Taiwan. And I've never been on the East coast of Taiwan, which as I've heard is much more sparsely populated and much more beautiful than the west.

This is my list of my ten favorite places in Taiwan, in no particular order:
1. Hehuanshan
2. Fort San Domingo, Danshui
3. Taipei 101
4. CKS and SYS Memorial Halls, Taipei
5. National Palace Museum
6. Sun Moon Lake
7. Xitou Forest Recreation Park
8. Maobitou (Cat's Nose), Kenting
9. Lugang
10. Alishan

I've been to the Republic of China quite a few times, but I'll never quite understand it (I don't claim to. This also applies to America, where I live.)

Does My Chinese text show up? If not, leave a comment or email me; I'll try and fix it, if possible.