Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...
and a
special municipality of the
Republic of China (Taiwan)
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
.
[ Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an ]enclave
An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
of the municipality of New Taipei City
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
that sits about southwest of the northern port city of Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan a ...
. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin
The Taipei Basin () is a geographic region in northern Taiwan. It is the largest basin in Taiwan. The basin is bounded by the Yangmingshan to the north, the Linkou Plateau to the west, and the Ridge of Xueshan Range to the southeast. The shape ...
, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan a ...
and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River
The Tamsui River (alternatively Danshui River, ) is third longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River and Gaoping River, with a total length of , flowing through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan, Taipei and New Taipei City. It is located in northern p ...
along the city's western border.
The city of Taipei is home to an estimated population of 2,646,204 (2019), forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area
The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area () also commonly known as Greater Taipei Area () is the largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. It is composed of 3 administrative divisions: Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung. The region encompasses an area ...
, which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro district. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or just the city itself. Taipei has been the seat of the ROC central government since 1949 and was the seat of Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lo ...
from 1887 to 1895 and again from 1945 until 1956 when the provincial government moved to Zhongxing New Village
Zhongxing New Village, sometimes rendered as Chunghsing New Village is an urban village located in Nantou City, Nantou County, Taiwan (ROC) and was until 2018, when the Taiwan Provincial Government was abolished, was the seat of government of ...
in Nantou County
Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...
, it became the nation's special municipality (then known as Yuan-controlled municipality) on 1 July 1967 from provincial city status.
Taipei is the economic
An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...
, political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...
, educational and cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...
center of Taiwan and one of the major hubs in East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...
. Considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha − City by GaWC
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershir ...
, Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area. Railways
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
, highways
A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...
, airports and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Songshan and Taoyuan. The municipality is home to various world-famous architectural or cultural landmarks, such as the former tallest building in the world between 2004 and 2009, Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
, other notable tourist attractions include Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall () is a national monument, landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, former President of the Republic of China. It is located in Taipei.
The monument, surrou ...
, Dalongdong Baoan Temple
Dalongdong Baoan Temple () also known as the Taipei Baoan Temple () is a Taiwanese folk religion temple built in the Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. The present temple was originally built by clan members in Tong'an, Xiamen, Fujian, who immig ...
, Hsing Tian Kong, Lungshan Temple of Manka
Bangka Lungshan Temple (also Lungshan Temple of Manka, Mengjia Longshan Temple) is a Chinese folk religious temple in Wanhua District (alternately known as Bangka/Mengjia), Taipei, Taiwan. The temple was built in Taipei in 1738 by settlers fro ...
, National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which w ...
, Presidential Office Building, Taipei Guest House
The Taipei Guest House () is the historical building located at 1 Ketagalan Boulevard, Bo'ai Special Zone, Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is owned by the Government of the Republic of China and used as a state guest house for receiv ...
and Zhinan Temple. Popular shopping districts including Ximending
Ximending (sometimes Hsimenting, ; Tâi-lô: Se-mn̂g-ting; Japanese Romaji: ) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, along with its main rival, the Eastern District of Taipei.
Overview
Ximending ha ...
as well as several night markets dispersed throughout the city. Natural features such as Maokong
Maokong () is an area located in Wenshan District of Taipei, Taiwan. The area used to be the biggest tea growing area of Taipei. There are many intertwining footpaths which have been used to transport tea. Now, it is a popular place for tea cultu ...
, Yangmingshan
Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan ...
and hot springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
are also well known to international visitors.
In English-language news reports, the name ''Taipei'' often serves as a synecdoche
Synecdoche ( ) is a type of metonymy: it is a figure of speech in which a term for a part of something is used to refer to the whole ('' pars pro toto''), or vice versa ('' totum pro parte''). The term comes from Greek .
Examples in common E ...
referring to central government of Taiwan. Due to the ambiguous political status of Taiwan
The controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan or the Taiwan issue is a result of World War II, the second phase of the Chinese Civil War (1945–1949), and the Cold War.
The basic issue hinges on who the islands of Taiwan, P ...
internationally, the term ''Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by the ...
'' is also frequently used as a synonym
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are al ...
for the entire country, as when Taiwan's governmental representatives participate in international organizations
An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states a ...
or Taiwan's athletes compete in international sporting events, including the Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
.
Romanization
The spellings Taipei and Tʻai-pei derive from the Wade–Giles
Wade–Giles () is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Francis Wade, during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert A. Giles's '' Chinese–English Dictionary'' o ...
romanization ''Tʻai²-pei³'' which means ''the North of Taiwan'' in Chinese. The name could be also romanized as ''Táiběi'' according to Hanyu Pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
and Tongyong Pinyin
Tongyong Pinyin () was the official romanization of Mandarin in Taiwan between 2002 and 2008. The system was unofficially used between 2000 and 2002, when a new romanization system for Taiwan was being evaluated for adoption. Taiwan's Ministry ...
.
The city has also been known as Tai-pak (derived from Taiwanese Hokkien
Taiwanese Hokkien () (; Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-uân-uē''), also known as Taigi/Taigu (; Pe̍h-ōe-jī/ Tâi-lô: ''Tâi-gí / Tâi-gú''), Taiwanese, Taiwanese Minnan, Hoklo and Holo, is a variety of the Hokkien language spoken natively by about ...
) and Taipeh.
History
Prior to the significant influx of Han Chinese colonists, the region of Taipei Basin
The Taipei Basin () is a geographic region in northern Taiwan. It is the largest basin in Taiwan. The basin is bounded by the Yangmingshan to the north, the Linkou Plateau to the west, and the Ridge of Xueshan Range to the southeast. The shape ...
was mainly inhabited by the plains aborigines called Ketagalan
Ketagalan or Ketangalan () are a Taiwanese aboriginal people originating in what is now the Taipei Basin. Their language has now become extinct.
On 21 March 1996, the road in front of the Presidential Office Building was renamed from "Long Liv ...
. The number of Han colonists gradually increased in the early 18th century under Qing Dynasty rule after the government began permitting development in the area. In 1875, the northern part of the island was incorporated into the new Taipeh Prefecture Taipeh Prefecture () was a Qing dynasty prefecture created from the northern part of Taiwan Prefecture, Qing-era Taiwan in 1875, while the island was still part of Fujian Province. It consisted of a region surrounding modern-day Taipei, including ...
.
It was formerly established as Taipeh-fu and was the temporary capital of the island in 1887 when it was declared a province ( Fukien-Taiwan Province). Taipeh was formally made the provincial capital in 1894. The romanized transcription of Taipeh was changed to Taihoku in 1895 when the Empire of Japan annexed Taiwan, based on the Japanese reading of the two characters. The writing in Chinese characters remained unaltered. Under Japanese rule, the city was administered under Taihoku Prefecture
Taihoku Prefecture (台北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...
. Taiwan's Japanese rulers embarked on an extensive program of advanced urban planning
Urban planning, also known as town planning, city planning, regional planning, or rural planning, is a technical and political process that is focused on the development and design of land use and the built environment, including air, water, ...
that featured extensive railroad links. A number of Taipei landmarks and cultural institutions date from this period.
Following the surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...
to the Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
during 1945, effective control of Taiwan was handed to the Republic of China (ROC). After facing defeat from Communist forces, the ruling Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
relocated the ROC government
The Government of the Republic of China, is the national government of the Republic of China whose ''de facto'' territory currently consists of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other island groups in the " free area". Governed by the De ...
to Taiwan and declared Taipei the provisional capital of the ROC in December 1949. Taiwan's Kuomintang rulers regarded the city as the capital of Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lo ...
and their control as mandated by General Order No. 1
General Order No. 1 ( Japanese:一般命令第一号) for the surrender of Japan was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on August 17, 1945.
It was issued by General Douglas MacArthur to the ...
.
In 1990, Taipei provided the backdrop for the Wild Lily student rallies that moved Taiwanese society from one-party rule to multi-party democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
by 1996
File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...
. The city has ever since served as the seat of Taiwan's democratically elected national government.
Early settlers–Qing dynasty
The region known as the Taipei Basin
The Taipei Basin () is a geographic region in northern Taiwan. It is the largest basin in Taiwan. The basin is bounded by the Yangmingshan to the north, the Linkou Plateau to the west, and the Ridge of Xueshan Range to the southeast. The shape ...
was home to Ketagalan
Ketagalan or Ketangalan () are a Taiwanese aboriginal people originating in what is now the Taipei Basin. Their language has now become extinct.
On 21 March 1996, the road in front of the Presidential Office Building was renamed from "Long Liv ...
tribes before the eighteenth century. Han Chinese
The Han Chinese () or Han people (), are an East Asian ethnic group native to China. They constitute the world's largest ethnic group, making up about 18% of the global population and consisting of various subgroups speaking distinctive v ...
colonists from Dabu County
Dabu County () is a county in Meizhou City, in the east of Guangdong Province, China. A center of Hakka culture, it has a population of 375,000.
Famous natives
This is the ancestral hometown of 1st Guyana President Arthur Chung even though the ...
, Yongding County
Yongding () is a District (China), district under the jurisdiction of Longyan prefecture-level city in the southwest of Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. The district is a center for Hakka culture, including the traditional Hakka ''tulo ...
, Anxi and Tong'an
Tong'an District () is a northern mainland district of Amoy which faces Quemoy County, Republic of China. To the north is Anxi and Nan'an, and to the south is Jimei. Tong'an is also east of Lianxiang and Changqin to the West. It covers of Southern Fujian
Minnan, Banlam or Minnan Golden Triangle (), refers to the coastal region in Southern Fujian Province, China, which includes the prefecture-level cities of Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. The region accounts for 40 percent of the GDP of Fujian Pro ...
began to settle in the Taipei Basin in 1709.
In the late 19th century, the Taipei area, where the major Han Chinese settlements in northern Taiwan and one of the designated overseas trade ports, Tamsui
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
, were located, gained economic importance due to the booming overseas trade, especially that of tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
export. In 1875, the northern part of Taiwan was separated from Taiwan Prefecture
Taiwan Prefecture or Taiwanfu was a prefecture of Taiwan during the Qing dynasty. The prefecture was established by the Qing government in 1684, after the island came under Qing dynasty rule in 1683 following its conquest of the Kingdom of Tungnin ...
and incorporated into the new Taipeh Prefecture Taipeh Prefecture () was a Qing dynasty prefecture created from the northern part of Taiwan Prefecture, Qing-era Taiwan in 1875, while the island was still part of Fujian Province. It consisted of a region surrounding modern-day Taipei, including ...
as a new administrative entity of the Qing dynasty. Having been established adjoining the flourishing townships of Bangka, Dalongdong
Dalongdong (), or Toalongpong (; and variants 大浪泵/大隆同), is an old village in historical Taipei located near the narrows of the confluence of the Keelung and Tamsui Rivers. The district has since been merged with the newer Twatutia distr ...
, and Twatutia
Dadaocheng is an area in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien ''Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ''), Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng ( Mandarin) during the Kuomintang era. ...
, the new prefectural capital was known as ''Chengnei'' (), "the inner city", and government buildings were erected there. From 1875 until the beginning of Japanese rule in 1895, Taipei was part of Tamsui County of Taipeh Prefecture and the prefectural capital.
In 1885, as work commenced to govern the island as a province, Taipeh was thus temporarily designated as a provincial capital. The city officially became the capital in 1894. Nowadays, all that remains from the historical period is the north gate. The west gate and city walls
A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...
were demolished by the Japanese while the south gate, little south gate, and east gate were extensively modified by the Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
and have lost much of their original character.
Empire of Japan
As settlement for losing the First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the p ...
, China ceded the island of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territor ...
to the Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...
in 1895 as part of the Treaty of Shimonoseki
The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China and in the period before and during World War II in Japan, was a treaty signed at the , Shimonoseki, Japan on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China, ending the Firs ...
. After the Japanese takeover, Taipei, romanized into English as Taihoku following the Japanese language pronunciation, was retained as the capital. It subsequently emerged as the political center of the Japanese Colonial Government. During that time the city acquired the characteristics of an administrative center, including many new public buildings and housing for civil servants. Much of the architecture of Taipei dates from the period of Japanese rule, including the Presidential Office Building which was the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan
The governor-general of Taiwan ( ja, 臺灣總督, Taiwan Sōtoku) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945.
The ...
.
During Japanese rule, Taihoku was incorporated in 1920 as part of Taihoku Prefecture
Taihoku Prefecture (台北州; ''Taihoku-shū'') was an administrative division of Taiwan created in 1920, during Japanese rule. The prefecture consisted of modern-day Keelung, New Taipei City, Taipei and Yilan County. Its government office, ...
. It included Bangka, Twatutia
Dadaocheng is an area in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien ''Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ''), Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng ( Mandarin) during the Kuomintang era. ...
, and among other small settlements. The eastern village of was annexed into Taihoku City in 1938. Taihoku and surrounding areas were bombed by Allied forces on several occasions. The largest of these Allied air raids, the Taihoku Air Raid
The Taihoku Air Raid () that took place on 31 May 1945 was the largest Allied air raid on the city of Taihoku (modern-day Taipei), then under Japanese colonial rule, during World War II. Many residents were killed in the raid and tens of tho ...
, took place on 31 May 1945.
Post-WW2 under ROC
Upon the Japanese defeat following the nuclear bomb destruction of Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui ...
and its consequent surrender in August 1945, the Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
(Chinese Nationalist Party) assumed control of Taiwan. Subsequently, Taipei was established as a provincial city and a temporary Office of the Taiwan Province
Taiwan Province (; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a nominal administrative division of the Republic of China (ROC). Its definition has remained part of the Constitution of the Republic of China, but the province is no lo ...
Administrative Governor was established in it. In 1947 the Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
(KMT) government under Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
declared island-wide martial law in Taiwan
Martial law in Taiwan () refers to the periods in the history of Taiwan after World War II during control by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led Government of the Republic of China regime. The term is specifically used ...
as a result of the 28 February Incident, which began with incidents in Taipei but led to an island-wide crackdown on the local population by forces loyal to Chiang. Two years later, on 7 December 1949, Chiang and the Kuomintang forces were forced to flee mainland China by the after defeat by Communist revolutionaries. The KMT-led national government that fled to Taiwan declared Taipei to be the provisional capital of a continuing Republic of China.[ Taipei has never been declared the official capital but Kuomintang loyalists today generally regard it as such. In 2004 elementary textbook references stating "Nanjing is the capital of the Republic of China" were replaced with "Taipei is the location of the central government of the Republic of China."]
Taipei expanded greatly in the decades after 1949, and as approved on 30 December 1966, by the Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan.
...
, Taipei was declared a special municipality on 1 July 1967. In the following year, Taipei City expanded again by annexing Shilin, Beitou
Beitou District is the northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan. The historical spelling of the district is Peitou. The name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Kipatauw'', meaning witch. Beitou is the most mountainous and ...
, Neihu
Neihu District is a district of Taipei City, Taiwan. Neihu means "inner lake." The older name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Tayour'' (transliterated by the Dutch as ''Cattajo''), meaning woman's head ornament.
Many mountainous roads an ...
, Nangang, Jingmei
Jingmei () is a neighborhood in Taipei City. Formerly an administrative district, in 1990 it merged with Muzha District become western parts of new created Wenshan District.
Jingmei is located south of downtown Taipei with adjacency with Xindia ...
, and Muzha. At that time, the city's total area increased fourfold by absorbing several outlying towns and villages and the population increased to 1.56 million people.
The city's population, which had reached one million in the early 1960s, also expanded rapidly after 1967, exceeding two million by the mid-1970s. Although growth within the city itself gradually slowed thereafter — its population had become relatively stable by the mid-1990s – Taipei remained one of the world's most densely populated urban areas, and the population continued to increase in the region surrounding the city, notably along the corridor between Taipei and Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan a ...
.
In 1990 Taipei's 16 districts were consolidated into the current 12 districts. Mass democracy rallies that year in the plaza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
around Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall led to an island-wide transition to multi-party democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
, where legislators are chosen via regularly scheduled popular elections, during the presidency of Lee Teng-Hui
Lee Teng-hui (; 15 January 192330 July 2020) was a Taiwanese statesman and economist who served as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), President of the Republic of China (Taiwan) under Constitution of the Republic of China, the 1947 C ...
.
Geography
Taipei City is located in the Taipei Basin
The Taipei Basin () is a geographic region in northern Taiwan. It is the largest basin in Taiwan. The basin is bounded by the Yangmingshan to the north, the Linkou Plateau to the west, and the Ridge of Xueshan Range to the southeast. The shape ...
in northern Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
. It is bordered by the Xindian River
The Xindian River (or Xindian Creek) () is a river in northern Taiwan. It flows through New Taipei and the capital Taipei for .
Overview
The Xindian River is one of the three major tributaries into the Tamsui River. Its main tributary is the B ...
on the south and the Tamsui River
The Tamsui River (alternatively Danshui River, ) is third longest river in Taiwan after Zhuoshui River and Gaoping River, with a total length of , flowing through Hsinchu County, Taoyuan, Taipei and New Taipei City. It is located in northern p ...
on the west. The generally low-lying terrain of the central areas on the western side of the municipality slopes upward to the south and east and especially to the north, where it reaches the -tall Qixing Mountain, the highest (dormant) volcano
A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface.
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ...
in Taiwan in Yangmingshan National Park
Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan, ...
. The northern districts of Shilin and Beitou
Beitou District is the northernmost of the twelve districts of Taipei City, Taiwan. The historical spelling of the district is Peitou. The name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Kipatauw'', meaning witch. Beitou is the most mountainous and ...
extend north of the Keelung River
The Keelung River () is a river in northern Taiwan.
The Keelung River originates in the mountains west-northwest of the town of Jingtong in Pingxi District, New Taipei City, flows down to a rift valley and then flows ENE to Sandiaoling. Then ...
and are bordered by Yangmingshan National Park. The Taipei city limits cover an area of , ranking sixteenth of twenty-five among all counties and cities in Taiwan.
Two peaks, Qixing Mountain and Mt. Datun, rise to the northeast of the city. Qixing Mountain is located on the Tatun Volcano Group
Tatun Volcanoes (), a group of volcanoes located in northern Taiwan, is located 15 km north of Taipei, and lies to the west of Keelung. It just adjoins the northern coast of the Taiwan island. The volcano group was a result of episodic vo ...
; its -high main peak renders it the tallest mountain at the rim of the Taipei Basin; -high Mt. Datun is a close runner up. These former volcanoes make up the western section of Yangmingshan National Park, extending from Mt. Datun northward to Mt. Caigongkeng (). Located on a broad saddle between two mountains, the area also contains the marshy Datun Pond.
To the southeast of the city lie the Songshan Hills and the Qingshui Ravine, which form a barrier of lush woods.
Climate
Taipei has a humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...
(Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...
: ''Cfa''). Summers are long-lasting, very hot and humid, and accompanied by occasional heavy rainstorms and typhoons; while winters are short, generally warm and generally very fog
Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. Reprint from Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus, and is heavily influ ...
gy due to the northeasterly winds from the vast Siberian High
The Siberian High (also Siberian Anticyclone; russian: Азиатский антициклон (''Aziatsky antitsiklon'')) is a massive collection of cold dry air that accumulates in the northeastern part of Eurasia from September until April. It ...
being intensified by the pooling of this cooler air in the Taipei Basin. As in the rest of Northern Taiwan, daytime temperatures of Taipei can often peak above during a warm winter day, while they can dip below that same level during afternoon showers and thunderstorms in the summer. Occasional cold fronts during the winter months can drop the daily temperature by , though temperatures rarely drop below . Extreme temperatures ranged from on 13 February 1901 to on 24 July 2020, while snow has never been recorded in the city besides on mountains located within the city limit such as Yangmingshan
Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan ...
. Due to Taiwan's location in the Pacific Ocean, it is affected by the Pacific typhoon season, which occurs between June and October.
Air quality
In comparison to other Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
n cities, Taipei has "excellent" capabilities for managing air quality
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...
in the city. Its rainy climate, location near the coast, and strong environmental regulations have prevented air pollution from becoming a substantial health issue, at least compared to cities in southeast Asia and industrial China. However, smog is extremely common and there is poor visibility throughout the city after rainless days.
Motor vehicle engine exhaust, particularly from motor scooters, is a source of air pollution
Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different type ...
in Taipei. There are higher levels of fine particulate
Particulates – also known as atmospheric aerosol particles, atmospheric particulate matter, particulate matter (PM) or suspended particulate matter (SPM) – are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. The te ...
matter and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...
s in the mornings because of less air movement; sunlight reduces some pollution.
Cityscape
Demographics
While Taipei City is home to 2,704,810 people (2015), the greater metropolitan area
A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...
has a population of 7,047,559 people. Even though the population of the city has been decreasing in recent years, the population of adjacent New Taipei
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
has been increasing. The population loss, while rapid in its early years, has been stabilized by new lower density development and campaigns designed to increase the birthrate in the city. As a result, the population has begun to rise again since 2010.
Due to Taipei's geography and location in the Taipei Basin
The Taipei Basin () is a geographic region in northern Taiwan. It is the largest basin in Taiwan. The basin is bounded by the Yangmingshan to the north, the Linkou Plateau to the west, and the Ridge of Xueshan Range to the southeast. The shape ...
as well as differing times of settlement and differing degrees of economic development of its districts, Taipei's population is not evenly distributed. The districts of Daan, Songshan, and Datong
Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 ce ...
are the most densely populated. These districts, along with adjacent communities such as Yonghe and Zhonghe, contain some of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the world.
In 2008, the crude birth rate
The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...
stood at 7.88%, while the mortality rate
Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of d ...
stood at 5.94%. A decreasing and rapidly aging population is an important issue for the city. By the end of 2009, one in ten people in Taipei was over 65 years of age. Residents who had obtained a college education or higher accounted for 43.48% of the population, and the literacy rate stood at 99.18%.
Like the rest of Taiwan, Taipei is composed of four major ethnic groups: Hoklos, Mainlanders, Hakkas
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan ...
, and aborigines. Although Hoklos and Mainlanders form the majority of the population of the city, in recent decades many Hakkas have moved into the city. The aboriginal population in the city stands at 16,713 at the end of 2018 (<1%), concentrated mostly in the suburban districts. Foreigners (mainly from Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...
, the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, and Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
) numbered 69,982 at the end of 2019.
Economy
As Taiwan's business, financial, and technology hub, Taipei has been at the center of rapid economic development in the country and has now become one of the global cities in technology and electronics. This development is part of the so-called Taiwan Miracle
The Taiwan Miracle () or Taiwan Economic Miracle refers to the rapid industrialization and economic growth of Taiwan during the latter half of the twentieth century.
As it developed alongside Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong, Taiwan became ...
which has seen dramatic growth in the city following foreign direct investment
A foreign direct investment (FDI) is an investment in the form of a controlling ownership in a business in one country by an entity based in another country. It is thus distinguished from a foreign portfolio investment by a notion of direct c ...
in the 1960s. Taiwan is now a creditor
A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some property ...
economy, holding one of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves
Foreign exchange reserves (also called forex reserves or FX reserves) are cash and other reserve assets such as gold held by a central bank or other monetary authority that are primarily available to balance payments of the country, influence ...
of over US$403 billion as of December 2012.
Despite the Asian financial crisis
The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998– ...
, the economy continues to expand at about 5% per year, with virtually full employment and low inflation. The city's GDP stand at US$327 billion in 2014. , the nominal GDP per capita in Taipei city is 5th highest in East Asia, behind Tokyo, Singapore, Osaka, and Hong Kong, but ahead of Seoul, as well as London and Paris, according to ''The Economist''. GDP per capita based on Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) in Taipei in 2015 was US$44173, behind that of Singapore (US$90151 in 2016 from the IMF) and Hong Kong (US$58322 in 2016 from the IMF; also based on PPP). The ''Financial Times'' ranked Taipei highly in economic potential (2nd, behind Tokyo) and business friendliness (4th) in 2015. The city is home to 30 billionaires, the 16th most in the world, ahead of many global cities such as Los Angeles and Sydney. Business Insider also ranks Taipei the 5th most high-tech city globally, the highest in Asia, in 2017. While the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2017 ranks Taipei as the smartest technology city globally.
Taipei's main development fields include the information and communications technology
Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications ( telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...
(hardware and software), biotechnology, general merchandizing (wholesale/retail), financial services, and MICE
A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
industries. Most of the country's major firms are based there including Acer Computers
Acer Inc. ( ) is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology, headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City. Its products include desktop PCs, laptop PCs ( clamshells, 2-in-1s, co ...
, Asus, CTBC Bank
CTBC Bank () is amongst the largest privately owned banks in Taiwan.
History
It was established in 1966 under the name China Securities and Investment Corporation. In 1971, its name was changed to Chinatrust Investment Company Limited. In 1992, i ...
, Fubon Financial Holding
Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd. () ( ) is a financial investment holding company consists of the following key subsidiaries: Fubon Asset Management, Fubon Insurance Co. Ltd., Fubon Securities, Fubon Bank (present Taipei Fubon Bank), Fubon Li ...
, Tatung Company
Tatung Company () (Tatung; ) is a multinational corporation established in 1918 and headquartered in Zhongshan, Taipei, Taiwan.
Description
Established in 1918 and headquartered in Taipei, Tatung Company holds 3 business groups, which includes ...
, D-Link
D-Link Corporation is a Taiwanese multinational networking equipment manufacturing corporation headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. It was founded in March 1986 in Taipei as ''Datex Systems Inc.''
History
D-Link Corporation changed its name fr ...
, and others. 5 Global Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in Taipei. The city also attracts many multi-national corporations, international financial institutions, foreign consulates, and business organizations to set up base there. Thus, Taipei has nearly 3,500 registered foreign businesses and attracts over 50% of the total foreign investment in Taiwan. Foreign companies with offices or regional headquarters in Taipei include Google
Google LLC () is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company focusing on Search Engine, search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, software, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, ar ...
, Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
, IBM, Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
, HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...
, Citibank
Citibank, N. A. (N. A. stands for " National Association") is the primary U.S. banking subsidiary of financial services multinational Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, and later became First National City ...
, Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dust ...
, Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technolog ...
, Apple
An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple trees are cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus '' Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancest ...
, JP Morgan
JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in City of New York, New York City and Delaware General Corporation Law, inco ...
, PwC
PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounti ...
, and many others. Most financial and foreign firms like to reside in the central business district of Taipei, the Xinyi Special District
Xinyi Planning District ( zh, 信義計畫區), also known as the Xinyi Planning Area, is located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The total area of the Xinyi Planning District is 153 hectares. It was designed in the 1970s and developed f ...
. With Citi, JP Morgan, DBS Bank, Cathay Life Insurance, Shin Kong Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Bank, and soon Fubon Financial and Nan Shan Life Insurance all establishing skyscrapers in the area. Meanwhile, technology and electronics companies are often co-located in the Neihu Technology Park
Neihu District is a district of Taipei City, Taiwan. Neihu means "inner lake." The older name originates from the Ketagalan word ''Tayour'' (transliterated by the Dutch as ''Cattajo''), meaning woman's head ornament.
Many mountainous roads an ...
or the Nankang Software Park
The Nankang Software Park (NKSP; ) is located in the 87-hectare Nangang Trade and Economic Park, Taipei, Taiwan.
Location
The Nankang Software Park is located on east side of Taipei City. The park is accessible by three highways, one expressway, ...
. The startup and innovation scene in Taipei is also very vibrant. In 2018 alone, Microsoft announced plans to invest US$34 million to create an artificial intelligence R&D center in Taipei, while Google announced it will hire 300 people and train 5,000 more in artificial intelligence for machines. Taipei is Google's biggest engineering site in Asia. IBM also announced in 2018 that it will develop a cloud research lab and expand its R&D center in Taipei with eyes on artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and cloud computing. According to the 2016 Global Entrepreneurship Development Index, Taipei's entrepreneurial spirit ranks 6th worldwide and 1st in Asia. Taipei has more than 400 startups and numerous incubation centers, accelerators, venture capitals, and angel investors. The city's startup ecosystem is valued at US$580 million by Startup Genome in 2018.
Tourism is a small but significant component of the local economy with international visitors totaling almost 3 million in 2008. Taipei has many top tourist attractions and contributes a significant amount to the US$6.8 billion tourism industry in Taiwan.
Culture
Tourism
Tourism is a major part of Taipei's economy. In 2013, over 6.3 million overseas visitors visited Taipei, making the city the 15th most visited globally. The influx of visitors contributed US$10.8 billion to the city's economy in 2013, the 9th highest in the world and the most of any city in the Chinese-speaking world.
Commemorative sites and museums
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
The National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall () is a national monument, landmark and tourist attraction erected in memory of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, former President of the Republic of China. It is located in Taipei.
The monument, surround ...
is a famous monument, landmark and tourist attraction that was erected in memory of General Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
, former President of the Republic of China
The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had ...
. The structure stands at the east end of Memorial Hall Square, site of the National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall (NCH) (An Ceoláras Náisiúnta) is a national cultural institution, sometimes described as "the home of music in Ireland". It comprises the actual concert hall operation, which in various chambers hosts over 1,000 ...
and National Theater and their adjacent parks as well as the memorial. The landmarks of Liberty Square stand within sight of Taiwan's Presidential Office Building in Taipei's Zhongzheng District
Zhongzheng District (also Jhongjheng District) is a district in Taipei. It is home to most of the national government buildings of the Republic of China (Taiwan), including the Presidential Office, the Executive Yuan, the Control Yuan, the ...
.
The National Taiwan Museum
The National Taiwan Museum (NTM; ), established in 1908, is the oldest museum in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was founded by the colonial government during Taiwan's period of Japanese rule. The museum is located in Zhongzheng District, T ...
sits nearby in what is now 228 Peace Memorial Park
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number o ...
and has worn its present name since 1999. The museum is Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
's oldest, founded on 24 October 1908 by Taiwan's Japanese colonial government
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of Japan, 1947 constitutio ...
(1895-1945) as the Taiwan Governor's Museum. It was launched with a collection of 10,000 items to celebrate the opening of the island's North-South Railway. In 1915 a new museum building opened its doors in what is now 228 Peace Memorial Park
8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9.
In mathematics
8 is:
* a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2.
* a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number o ...
. This structure and the adjacent governor's office (now Presidential Office Building), served as the two most recognizable public buildings in Taiwan during its period of Japanese rule.
The National Palace Museum
The National Palace Museum (; Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: Kwet-li̍p kù-kiung pok-vu̍t-yèn), is a museum in Taipei, Republic of China (Taiwan). It has a permanent collection of nearly 700,000 pieces of Chinese artifacts and artworks, many of which w ...
is a vast art gallery
An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
and museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make th ...
built around a permanent collection centered on ancient Chinese artifacts. It should not be confused with the Palace Museum
The Palace Museum () is a huge national museum complex housed in the Forbidden City at the core of Beijing, China. With , the museum inherited the imperial royal palaces from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China and opened to the public in ...
in Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...
(which it is named after); both institutions trace their origins to the same institution. The collections were divided in the 1940s as a result of the Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
. The National Palace Museum in Taipei now boasts a truly international collection while housing one of the world's largest collections of artifacts from ancient China.
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
The Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines () is a museum located just 200 meters diagonally across from the National Palace Museum in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. It houses exhibits relating to the cultures and histories of the Taiwanese ab ...
stands just across the road from the National Palace Museum. The museum offers displays of art and historical items by Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese peo ...
along with a range of multimedia displays.
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum
The Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM; ) is a museum in Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is in the Taipei Expo Park. The museum first opened on August 8, 1983, at the former site of the United States Taiwan Defense Command. It was the first ...
was established in 1983 as the first museum in Taiwan dedicated to modern art
Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...
. The museum is housed in a building designed for the purpose that takes inspiration from Japanese designs. Most art in the collection is by Taiwanese
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan (Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, r ...
artists since 1940. Over 3,000 art works are organized into 13 groups.
The National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall near Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
in Xinyi District is named in honor of a founding father of the Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeas ...
, Sun Yat-sen
Sun Yat-sen (; also known by several other names; 12 November 1866 – 12 March 1925)Singtao daily. Saturday edition. 23 October 2010. section A18. Sun Yat-sen Xinhai revolution 100th anniversary edition . was a Chinese politician who serve ...
. The hall, completed on 16 May 1972, originally featured exhibits that depicted revolutionary events in China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
at the end of the Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
. Today it functions as multi-purpose social
Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not.
Etymology
The word "social" derives from ...
, educational, concert
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide var ...
and cultural
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.T ...
center for Taiwan's citizens.
In 2001 a new museum opened as Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei
The Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (MoCA Taipei; ) is a museum of contemporary art, located in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan.
History
The museum building was built during the Japanese rule in 1921 for what later became Jiànchéng Element ...
. The museum is housed in a building that formerly housed Taipei City government offices.
Taipei 101
Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
is a 101-floor landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ri ...
that claimed the title of world's tallest building when it opened in 2004, a title it held for six years before the Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa (; ar, برج خليفة, , Khalifa Tower), known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration in 2010, is a skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It is known for being the world’s tallest building. With a total height ...
in Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...
was completed. Designed by C.Y. Lee & Partners and constructed by KTRT Joint Venture, Taipei 101 measures from ground to top, making it the first skyscraper in the world to break the half-kilometer mark in height. Built to withstand typhoon winds and earthquake tremors, its design incorporates many engineering innovations and has won numerous international awards. Today, the Taipei 101 remains one of the tallest skyscrapers in the world and holds LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
's certification as the world's largest "green" building. Its shopping mall and its indoor and outdoor observatories draws visitors from all over the world. Taipei 101's New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
fireworks display is a regular feature of international broadcasts.
Performing arts
The National Theater and Concert Hall
The National Theater () and National Concert Hall () are twin performing arts venues at Liberty Square in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. Completed in 1987, the landmarks stand on the south and north sides of the square with Chiang Kai-s ...
stand at Taipei's Liberty Square and host events by foreign and domestic performers. Other leading concert venues include Zhongshan Hall
Zhongshan Hall () is a historical building which originally functioned as the Taipei (Taihoku) City Public Auditorium (public hall). It is located at 98 Yanping South Road in the Ximending neighborhood of Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. In ...
at Ximending
Ximending (sometimes Hsimenting, ; Tâi-lô: Se-mn̂g-ting; Japanese Romaji: ) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, along with its main rival, the Eastern District of Taipei.
Overview
Ximending ha ...
and the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall
The National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall () is located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is a memorial to the Republic of China's National Father, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, and was completed in 1972. The total building area covers in an open space ...
near Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
.
A new venue, the Taipei Performing Arts Center, is under construction and slated to open in 2015. The venue will stand near the Shilin Night Market
Shilin Night Market () is a night market in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan, often considered to be the largest and most famous night market in Taiwan.
Overview
The night market encompasses two distinct sections sharing a symbiotic relations ...
and will house three theaters for events with multi-week runs. The architectural design, by Rem Koolhaas
Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He is often cited as a r ...
and OMA, was determined in 2009 in an international competition. The same design process is also in place for a new Taipei Center for Popular Music and Taipei City Museum The Taipei City Museum is a new exhibit hall being planned for construction in Taipei, Taiwan. City officials on July 24, 2008, announced plans to conduct an international design competition for the facility in tandem with plans for the Taipei Perfo ...
.
Shopping and recreation
Taipei is known for its many night market
Night markets or night bazaars are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. They are typically open-air markets popular in East Asia, So ...
s, the most famous of which is the Shilin Night Market
Shilin Night Market () is a night market in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan, often considered to be the largest and most famous night market in Taiwan.
Overview
The night market encompasses two distinct sections sharing a symbiotic relations ...
in the Shilin District
Shilin District (also spelled Shihlin District, zh, t=士林區, p=Shìlínqū, poj=Sū-lîm-khu) is a district of Taipei. The central command center of the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) is located in Shilin.
History
The name ''Shilin'' w ...
. The surrounding streets by Shilin Night Market are extremely crowded during the evening, usually opening late afternoon and operating well past midnight. Most night markets feature individual stalls selling a mixture of food, clothing, and consumer goods.
Ximending
Ximending (sometimes Hsimenting, ; Tâi-lô: Se-mn̂g-ting; Japanese Romaji: ) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, along with its main rival, the Eastern District of Taipei.
Overview
Ximending ha ...
has been a famous area for shopping and entertainment since the 1930s. Historic structures include a concert hall, a historic cinema, and the Red House Theater. Modern structures house karaoke businesses, art film cinemas, wide-release movie cinemas, electronic stores, and a wide variety of restaurants and fashion clothing stores. The pedestrian area is especially popular with teens and has been called the "Harajuku
is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refere ...
" of Taipei.
The newly developed Xinyi District is popular with tourists and locals alike for its many entertainment and shopping venues, as well as being the home of Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
, a prime tourist attraction. Malls in the area include the sprawling Shin Kong Mitsukoshi
is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain.
History
It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , sell ...
complex, Breeze Center, Bellavita, Taipei 101 mall, Eslite Bookstore
Eslite Bookstore () is one of the largest retail bookstore chains in Taiwan. It also offers one of the largest selections of English-language publications and translation materials in Taiwan. Its headquarters is in Xinyi District, Taipei.
Br ...
's flagship store (which includes a boutique mall), The Living Mall, ATT shopping mall, and the Vieshow Cinemas (formerly known as Warner Village). The Xinyi district also serves as the center of Taipei's active nightlife, with several popular lounge bars and nightclubs concentrated in a relatively small area around the Neo19, ATT 4 FUN and Taipei 101 buildings. Lounge bars such as Barcode and nightclubs such as Spark and Myst are among the most-visited places here.
The thriving shopping area around Taipei Main Station
Taipei Main Station () is a railway and metro station in Taipei, Taiwan. It is served by Taiwan High Speed Rail, the Taiwan Railways Administration, and the Taipei Metro. It is also connected through underground passageways to the terminal sta ...
includes the Taipei Underground Market
Taipei City Mall () is a shopping center located at the intersection of the Datong and Zhongzheng districts in Taipei, Taiwan. It is the first underground market in Taipei City. It is located under Civic Boulevard (市民大道 ''Shìmín Dàdào' ...
and the original Shin Kong Mitsukoshi
is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. It is a subsidiary of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, which also owns the Isetan department store chain.
History
It was founded in 1673 with the (shop name) , sell ...
department store at Shin Kong Life Tower
Shin Kong Life Tower (), at 51 stories and a height of , is one of Taiwan's earliest skyscrapers. The rose-colored tower topped by a pyramid stands in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, and dates from 1993. Its first twelve floors and two underground f ...
. Other popular shopping destinations include the Zhongshan Metro Mall
The Zhongshan Metro Shopping Mall () is an extensive underground shopping mall in Zhongshan District and Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is located at Changan West Rd., No. 52-1. The mall stretches from Taipei Main Station in the south to S ...
, Dihua Street and the Guang Hua Digital Plaza. The Miramar Entertainment Park
Miramar Entertainment Park () is a shopping mall located in the Dazhi area in Zhongshan District of Taipei, Taiwan.
The shopping mall contains an IMAX theater. With 28m × 21m dimensions, its movie screen is the largest in Asia for screening ...
is known for its large Ferris wheel and IMAX
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme ...
theater.
Taipei maintains an extensive system of parks, green spaces, and nature preserves. Parks and forestry areas of note in and around the city include Yangmingshan National Park
Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan, ...
, Taipei Zoo
The Taipei Zoo, sometimes referred to as the "Muzha Zoo", is a public zoological garden in Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the most famous zoological garden in Taiwan and a leader in conservation, research and education, and recreation. ...
and Da-an Forest Park. Located north of the city center, Yangmingshan National Park
Yangmingshan National Park is one of the nine national parks in Taiwan, located in both Taipei and New Taipei City. The districts that are partially in the park include Taipei's Beitou and Shilin Districts; and New Taipei's Wanli, Jinshan, ...
is famous for its cherry blossoms, hot springs
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by circ ...
, and sulfur deposits. It is the home of famous writer Lin Yutang
Lin Yutang ( ; October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese inventor, linguist, novelist, philosopher, and translator. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generati ...
, the summer residence of Chiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...
, residences of foreign diplomats, the Chinese Culture University
The Chinese Culture University (CCU; ) is a private Taiwanese university located in Yangmingshan in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. CCU was established in 1962 and is one of the largest universities in Taiwan with an enrollment of about 32,00 ...
, the meeting place of the now defunct National Assembly of the Republic of China
The National Assembly was the authoritative legislative body of the Republic of China, commonly referred to as Taiwan after 1949, from 1947 to 2005. Along with the Control Yuan (upper house) and the Legislative Yuan (lower house), the Natio ...
, and the Kuomintang
The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...
Party Archives. The Taipei Zoo
The Taipei Zoo, sometimes referred to as the "Muzha Zoo", is a public zoological garden in Wenshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the most famous zoological garden in Taiwan and a leader in conservation, research and education, and recreation. ...
was founded in 1914 and covers an area of 165 hectares for animal sanctuary.
Bitan
Bitan (), historically called Shi-Bitan (), is a tourist spot in Xindian District, New Taipei, Taiwan. "Bitan" literally means "green lake", referring to where the Xindian River widens to form the lake. There is a well-known suspension bridge th ...
is known for boating and water sports. Tamsui
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
is a popular sea-side resort town. Ocean beaches are accessible in several directions from Taipei.
Temples
Taipei has a variety of temples dedicating to Deities from Chinese folk religion
Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...
, Taoism
Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...
and Chinese Buddhism
Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism ( zh, s=汉传佛教, t=漢傳佛教, p=Hànchuán Fójiào) is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art, politics, literature, philosophy, ...
. The Bangka Lungshan Temple
Bangka Lungshan Temple (also Lungshan Temple of Manka, Mengjia Longshan Temple) is a Chinese folk religious temple in Wanhua District (alternately known as Bangka/Mengjia), Taipei, Taiwan. The temple was built in Taipei in 1738 by settlers fro ...
(), built in 1738 and located in the Wanhua District
Wanhua District, known in Taiwanese Hokkien as Báng-kah khu and historically as "Monga" or "Monka", is a district in Taipei, Taiwan. It is Taipei's oldest district. The district is home to historic buildings such as the Bangka Lungshan Tem ...
, demonstrates an example of architecture with southern Chinese influences commonly seen on older buildings in Taiwan. Qingshui Temple () built in 1787 and Qingshan Temple ()together with Lungshan Temple are the three most prominent landmark temples in Bangka or Wanhua District.
There are other famous temples include Baoan Temple () located in historic Dalongdong
Dalongdong (), or Toalongpong (; and variants 大浪泵/大隆同), is an old village in historical Taipei located near the narrows of the confluence of the Keelung and Tamsui Rivers. The district has since been merged with the newer Twatutia distr ...
, a national historical site, and Xia Hai City God Temple (), located in the old Dadaocheng
Dadaocheng is an area in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien ''Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ''), Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng ( Mandarin) during the Kuomintang era. ...
community, constructed with architecture similar to temples in southern Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its ...
. The Taipei Confucius Temple () traces its history back to 1879 during the Qing Dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
and also incorporates southern Fujian-style architecture. Ciyou Temple
Ciyou Temple () is a prominent Chinese temple in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. The temple is dedicated to the Goddess Matsu. Raohe Street Night Market was located next to this temple as the temple has been a prominent landmark in the a ...
() in Songshan District, Guandu Temple
The Guandu Temple () is a prominent Chinese temple in Beitou District of Taipei, Taiwan, dedicated the Goddess Mazu.
History
The temple was originally constructed in 1712. It was also known as Lingshan Temple due to its location at Mount Ling.. ...
() in Beitou District, Hsing Tian Kong () in Zhongshan District and Zhinan Temple () in Wenshan District are also popular temples for locals and tourists. Xinsheng South Road is known as the "Road to Heaven" due to its high concentration of temples, churches, and other houses of worship.
The Shandao Temple
The Shandao Temple () is a temple in Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Taipei.
History
Shandao Temple was built in Japanese rule period. It was called Jōdo-shū Taihoku Betsu-in (淨土宗臺北別院), ...
() built in 1929 and located in Zhongzheng District, is the largest Buddhist temple in Taipei. Fo Guang Shan
Fo Guang Shan (FGS) () is an international Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism. The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, and ...
has a modern temple known as Fo Guang Shan Taipei Vihara () in Xinyi District, while Dharma Drum Mountain
Dharma Drum Mountain (DDM; ) is an international Buddhist spiritual, cultural, and educational foundation founded by late Chan master Sheng-yen (1931 – 2009). The center focuses on educating the public in Buddhism with the goal of improving th ...
owns the Degui Academy (), an education center in Zhongzheng District and the Nung Chan Monastery
The Nung Chan Monastery (meaning 'Farming Ch'an') is a monastery at Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is formally founded in 1975 by Ven. Dongchu, a scholar monk and disciple of renowned Chinese Buddhist Master Taixu. It's named ' ''Farming Ch ...
() in Beitou District. Linji Huguo Chan Temple
Linji Huguo Chan Temple () is a Buddhist temple located in Zhongshan District of Taipei, Taiwan.
History
It was called Rinzai Gokokuzen-ji (臨済護国禅寺), which was a branch temple of Rinzai Zen Buddhism in Japanese rule period. Construct ...
() in Zhongshan District was commenced in 1900 and completed in 1911, it is one of the very few Japanese style Buddhist Temples that was well-preserved in Taiwan.
Besides large temples, small outdoor shrines to local deities are very common and are commonly found next to roads as well as in parks and neighborhoods. Many homes and businesses may also set up small shrines of candles, figurines, and offerings. Some restaurants, for example, may set up a small shrine to the Kitchen God
The Kitchen deity – also known as the Stove God, named Zao Jun, Zao Shen, Zao kimjah, Cokimjah or Zhang Lang – is the most important of a plethora of Chinese domestic gods that protect the hearth and family. The Kitchen God is recognized in C ...
for success in a restaurant business.
Festivals and events
Many yearly festivals are held in Taipei. In recent years some festivals, such as the Double Ten Day fireworks and concerts, are increasingly hosted on a rotating basis by a number of cities around Taiwan.
When New Year's Eve
In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
arrives on the solar calendar
A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the season or almost equivalently the apparent position of the Sun relative to the stars. The Gregorian calendar, widely accepted as a standard in the world, is an example of a solar calendar.
...
, thousands of people converge on Taipei's Xinyi District for parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...
s, outdoor concerts
A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide vari ...
by popular artists, street shows, round-the clock nightlife
Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...
. The high point is the countdown to midnight, when Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
assumes the role of the world's largest fireworks
Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...
platform.
The Taipei Lantern Festival
The Lantern Festival ( zh, t=元宵節, s=元宵节, first=t, hp=Yuánxiāo jié), also called Shangyuan Festival ( zh, t=上元節, s=上元节, first=t, hp=Shàngyuán jié), is a Chinese traditional festival celebrated on the fifteenth d ...
concludes the Lunar New Year
Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are Lunar phase, moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar.
The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named "Chinese New ...
holiday. The timing of the city's lantern exhibit coincides with the national festival in Pingxi, when thousands of fire lanterns are released into the sky. The city's lantern exhibit rotates among different downtown locales from year to year, including Liberty Square, Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
, and Zhongshan Hall
Zhongshan Hall () is a historical building which originally functioned as the Taipei (Taihoku) City Public Auditorium (public hall). It is located at 98 Yanping South Road in the Ximending neighborhood of Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. In ...
in Ximending
Ximending (sometimes Hsimenting, ; Tâi-lô: Se-mn̂g-ting; Japanese Romaji: ) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, along with its main rival, the Eastern District of Taipei.
Overview
Ximending ha ...
.
On Double Ten Day
The National Day of the Republic of China ( zh, 中華民國的國慶日) or the Taiwan National Day, also referred to as Double Ten Day or Double Tenth Day, is a public holiday on 10 October, now held annually in Taiwan (officially the Republi ...
, patriotic celebrations are held in front of the Presidential Office Building. Other annual festivals include Ancestors Day (Tomb-Sweeping Day), the Dragon Boat Festival
The Dragon Boat Festival ( zh, s=端午节, t=端午節) is a traditional Chinese holiday which occurs on the fifth day of the fifth month of the Chinese calendar, which corresponds to late May or June in the Gregorian calendar.
Names
The Engl ...
, the Zhong Yuan Festival
The Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 中元節; simplified Chinese: ) in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival () in Buddhism, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in certain East Asian countri ...
, and the Mid-Autumn Festival (Mooncake Festival). Qing Shan King Sacrificial Ceremony The Qing Shan King Sacrificial Ceremony (青山王祭) is a centuries-old festival that is held annually in Wanhua, Taipei, Taiwan. It is held between the 20th and 22nd of October (based on Lunar Calendar) and is meant to celebrate the birthday of ...
() is a century-old grand festival that is held annually in Wanhua District
Wanhua District, known in Taiwanese Hokkien as Báng-kah khu and historically as "Monga" or "Monka", is a district in Taipei, Taiwan. It is Taipei's oldest district. The district is home to historic buildings such as the Bangka Lungshan Tem ...
.
Taipei regularly hosts its share of international events. The city recently hosted the 2009 Summer Deaflympics. This event was followed by the Taipei International Flora Exposition
The 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition (2010 Flora Expo) opened on 6 November 2010 and ran until 25 April 2011 in Taipei, Taiwan. It was a garden festival recognized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH / IAH ...
, a garden festival hosted from November 2010 to April 2011. The Floral Expo was the first of its kind to take place in Taiwan and only the seventh hosted in Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
; the expo admitted 110,000 visitors on 27 February 2011.
Taipei in films
Note: The list below is not a complete list, they are examples of more notable movies filmed in the city.
*Luc Besson
Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed or produced the films ''Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Besson is associated with the ' ...
's ''Lucy
Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lu ...
'' (action/scifi/drama)
*Arvin Chen
Arvin Chen (born 26 November 1978) is a Taiwanese-American director and screenwriter. He is best known for his film ''Au Revoir Taipei.''
Early life
Chen was born and raised in the United States. His parents were immigrants from Taiwan. He wa ...
's ''Au Revoir Taipei
''Au Revoir Taipei'' () is a 2010 Taiwanese romantic comedy film set in Taipei and is Arvin Chen's feature directorial debut. It won the NETPAC Award at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival and was considered a box office success in Taiwan ...
'' (comedy)
*Chen Kuo-fu
Chen Kuo-fu (born 13 May 1958) is a Taiwanese film director, screenwriter and producer. His film '' The Personals'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Biography
Born in 1958 Chen worked as a film c ...
's ''Double Vision
Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often v ...
'' (horror/suspense)
*Chen Kuo-fu
Chen Kuo-fu (born 13 May 1958) is a Taiwanese film director, screenwriter and producer. His film '' The Personals'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.
Biography
Born in 1958 Chen worked as a film c ...
's '' The Personals'' (drama/romance)
* Jay Chou's '' Secret'' (romance)
*Leon Dai
Leon Dai (, born 27 July 1966) is a Taiwanese actor and film director. His film '' Cannot Live Without You'' was Taiwan's submission to the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.
The film also won two awards at the 46th Golden Ho ...
's '' No Puedo Vivir Sin Ti'' (drama)
* Hou Hsiao-hsien's '' Dust in the Wind'' (drama)
*Adam Kane
Adam Kane is an American cinematographer, film director, television director and producer.
Since the 1990s, Kane has amassed cinematography credits for the films '' Hail Caesar'', ''The Boondock Saints'', '' The Man'', '' Skinwalkers'' and a n ...
and Will Tiao
Will Tiao (born October 31, 1973) is a Taiwanese-American actor, producer, and real estate broker and investor.
Early life
Tiao was born and raised in Manhattan, Kansas. Tiao graduated from Manhattan High School.
Education
Tiao majored in ...
's '' Formosa Betrayed'' (political thriller)
*Andrew Lau
Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and W ...
's ''Young and Dangerous 2
''Young and Dangerous 2'' () is a 1996 Hong Kong triad film directed by Andrew Lau. It is the first sequel in the ''Young and Dangerous'' film series.
Plot
In a flashback to ''Young and Dangerous'', "Chicken" Chiu ( Jordan Chan) heads into ex ...
'' (Hong Kong studio, filmed on location in Taipei)
*Lau Kar-wing
Lau Kar-wing (born 1944) is a Martial Artist, Hong Kong martial arts film director, action choreographer and actor.
Background
Born in the Xinhui District of Jiangmen in Guangdong, China, Lau Kar-wing was the fourth child of Lau Cham (), a mart ...
's ''The Dragon Family
''The Dragon Family'' () is a 1988 Hong Kong action film directed by Lau Kar-wing starring Andy Lau, Alan Tam and Max Mok.
Plot
Lung Ying (Ko Chun-hsiung), patriarch of the Lung family and leader of the four triad families have decided to stop d ...
'' (Hong Kong studio, filmed in Hong Kong and Taipei) (Action)
*Ang Lee
Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...
's ''Eat Drink Man Woman
''Eat Drink Man Woman'' () is a 1994 Taiwanese comedy-drama film directed by Ang Lee, from a script co-written with James Schamus and Hui-Ling Wang.Howe, Desson.‘Eat Drink Man Woman’" ''The Washington Post''. 19 October 1994. Retrieved on 2 ...
'' (drama)
*Lin Cheng-sheng
Lin Cheng-sheng (; born 31 March 1959) is a Taiwanese film director. His 1997 film '' Sweet Degeneration'' was entered into the 48th Berlin International Film Festival. He won the Silver Bear for Best Director for '' Betelnut Beauty'' in 2001.
F ...
's '' Betelnut beauty'' (drama/romance)
*Morgan Matthews Morgan Matthews may refer to:
* Morgan Matthews (figure skater), American ice dancer
*Morgan Matthews (filmmaker)
Morgan Matthews is an English, BAFTA award-winning documentary director. He is the founder of Minnow Films.
Matthews' early work ...
's '' X+Y'' (drama)
*Doze Niu
Doze Niu (, also known as Niu Chen-zer; born June 22, 1966) is a Taiwanese actor, film director, show host, screenwriter, and producer. As a film director, he is best known for the Taiwanese film '' Monga''.
Early life
Niu was born in Taipei, T ...
's '' Monga'' (drama/action)
*Shimoyama Ten, Yee Chin-yen
Yee Chih-yen (; born 21 November 1959) is a Taiwanese film director.
Biography
Yee Chih-yen attended UCLA between 1983 and 1988.http://www.taiwancinema.com/ct.asp?xItem=12445&ctNode=39
Filmography
* '' Lonely Hearts Club'' (1994)
* ''Blue Gate ...
& Zhang Yibai
Zhang Xiaoling, better known by his stage name Zhang Yibai () (born 14 April 1963, in Chongqing, China) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and producer.
Directorial career
Zhang began his career in television and music videos before dire ...
's '' About Love'' (Japanese studio, filmed on three cities in Asia: Taipei, Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, and Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
)
*Takahisa Zeze
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter first known for his soft-core pornographic '' pink films'' of the 1990s. Along with fellow directors, Kazuhiro Sano, Toshiki Satō, and Hisayasu Sato, he is known as one of the . In recent years, he h ...
's ''Moon Child
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the List of natural satellites, fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth ( ...
'' (Japanese studio, filmed in Taipei, as the futuristic city of Mallepa) (drama)
*Johnnie To
Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in ...
& Wai Ka-Fai
Wai Ka-Fai (born 21 September 1962) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, producer, film director, and former TV screenwriter and producer.
Wai is best known for his frequent collaborations with Johnnie To, another former TV turned film director and pr ...
's ''Turn Left, Turn Right
''Turn Left, Turn Right'' () is a 2003 romance film, filmed in Taipei, Taiwan. Produced and directed by Johnnie To and Wai Ka-Fai, the film stars Takeshi Kaneshiro and Gigi Leung. The story is based on the illustrated book ''A Chance of Sunshi ...
'' (Hong Kong studio, filmed on location in Taipei)
*Tsai Ming-liang
Tsai Ming-liang (; born 27 October 1957) is a Malaysian-Taiwanese filmmaker. Tsai has written and directed 11 feature films, many short films, and television films. He is one of the most celebrated "Second New Wave" film directors of Taiwanese ...
's ''Rebels of the Neon God
''Rebels of the Neon God'' () is a 1992 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Chao-jung, and Jen Chang-bin.
Plot
A young man, Hsiao-Kang, attends a cram s ...
'' (drama)
*Renpei Tsukamoto's ''One Missed Call 2
is a 2005 Japanese horror film that is the sequel to the 2004 J-Horror film ''One Missed Call''.
Plot
Kindergarten teacher Kyoko Okudera's friend Madoka Uchiyama invites her to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, where Kyoko's boyfriend, Naoto Sakur ...
'' (Japanese studio, filmed in Taipei and Jinguashi
Jinguashi (Chinkuashih; ) is a town in Ruifang District, New Taipei City, Taiwan, notable for its historic gold and copper mines. It was also known as Kinkaseki in Japanese and was under Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese rule.
From 1942 to ...
)
*Wei Te-sheng
Wei Te-sheng (born 16 August 1969) is a Taiwanese film director and screenwriter. He directed ''Cape No. 7'', currently the highest grossing domestic Taiwanese film and the second highest-grossing film in Taiwanese film history.
Early life
We ...
's ''Cape No. 7
''Cape No. 7'' (; ) is a 2008 Taiwanese romantic musical drama film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop ...
'' (drama/comedy)
*Robert Wise
Robert Earl Wise (September 10, 1914 – September 14, 2005) was an American film director, producer, and editor. He won the Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture for his musical films ''West Side Story'' (1961) and ''The Sound of ...
's ''The Sand Pebbles
''The Sand Pebbles'' is a 1962 novel by American author Richard McKenna about a Yangtze River gunboat and its crew in 1926. It was the winner of the 1963 Harper Prize for fiction. The book was initially serialized in the ''Saturday Evening Po ...
'' (Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
studio, filmed in Taipei, Keelung
Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan a ...
, Tamsui
Tamsui District (Hokkien POJ: ''Tām-chúi''; Hokkien Tâi-lô: ''Tām-tsuí''; Mandarin Pinyin: ''Dànshuǐ'') is a seaside district in New Taipei, Taiwan. It is named after the Tamsui River; the name means "fresh water". The town is popul ...
and Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
) (drama)
*John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS (; born September 22, 1946) is a Hong Kong filmmaker, known as a highly-influential figure in the action film genre. He was a pioneer of heroic bloodshed films (a crime action film genre involving Chinese triads) and the gun fu ...
's ''A Better Tomorrow
''A Better Tomorrow'' () is a 1986 Hong Kong crime action film directed and co-written by John Woo, and starring Ti Lung, Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun-fat. The film had a profound influence on Hong Kong action cinema, and has been recognised a ...
'' (Hong Kong studio, filmed in Hong Kong and Taipei) (action)
*Wong Kar-wai
Wong Kar-wai (born 17 July 1958) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films are characterised by nonlinear narratives, atmospheric music, and vivid cinematography involving bold, saturated colours. A pivotal figure ...
's '' Happy Together'' (Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
studio, filmed in three cities : Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, Hong Kong, and Taipei)
*Kirk Wong
Kirk Wong (黃志強; born March 28, 1949) is a Hong Kong film director and actor. Wong is best known for action films '' Crime Story'' and ''The Big Hit''. Wong's other films like ''Health Warning'', ''Organized Crime & Triad Bureau'', and '' R ...
's '' Crime Story'' (Hong Kong studio, filmed in Hong Kong, Taipei) (action)
*Edward Yang
Edward Yang (; November 6, 1947 – June 29, 2007) was a Taiwanese filmmaker. Yang, along with fellow auteurs Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, was one of the leading film-makers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese cinema. He won the Be ...
's ''Yi Yi
''Yi Yi'' () is a 2000 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Edward Yang centering around the struggles of an engineer named NJ (played by Wu Nien-jen) and three generations of his middle-class Taiwanese family in Taipei.
The title in C ...
'' (drama)
*Yee Chin-yen
Yee Chih-yen (; born 21 November 1959) is a Taiwanese film director.
Biography
Yee Chih-yen attended UCLA between 1983 and 1988.http://www.taiwancinema.com/ct.asp?xItem=12445&ctNode=39
Filmography
* '' Lonely Hearts Club'' (1994)
* ''Blue Gate ...
's ''Blue Gate Crossing
''Blue Gate Crossing'' () is a 2002 Taiwanese film by writer-director Yee Chin-yen. It was nominated for ''Best Asian Film'' at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards held in 2004.
Cast
* Chen Bolin as Zhang Shihao
* Gwei Lun-mei as Meng Kerou
* Yolin ...
'' (romance)
Government
Taipei City is a special municipality Special municipality may refer to:
* Special municipality (Netherlands)
There are twelve provinces of the Netherlands (), representing the administrative layer between the national government and the local municipalities, with responsibility fo ...
which is directly under the Executive Yuan
The Executive Yuan () is the executive branch of the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Its leader is the Premier, who is appointed by the President of the Republic of China, and requires confirmation by the Legislative Yuan.
...
(Central Government
A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...
). The mayor of Taipei City
The Mayor of Taipei is the head of the Taipei City Government and is elected to a four-year term. Until the election of Tsai Ing-wen, the office was seen as a stepping stone to the President of the Republic of China, presidency: presidents Lee Teng ...
was an appointed position since Taipei's conversion to a centrally administered municipality in 1967 until the first public election was held in 1994. The position has a four-year term and is elected by direct popular vote. The first elected mayor was Chen Shui-bian
Chen Shui-bian (; born 12 October 1950) is a retired Taiwanese politician and lawyer who served as the president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2000 to 2008. Chen was the first president from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) whic ...
of the Democratic Progressive Party
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
. Ma Ying-jeou
Ma Ying-jeou ( zh, 馬英九, born 13 July 1950) is a Hong Kong-born Taiwanese politician who served as president of the Republic of China from 2008 to 2016. Previously, he served as justice minister from 1993 to 1996 and mayor of Taipei from ...
took office in 1998 for two terms, before handing it over to Hau Lung-pin
Hau Lung-pin (; born 22 August 1952) is a Taiwanese politician. As a member of the New Party, he was elected to the Legislative Yuan in 1995, and resigned his seat to lead the Environmental Protection Administration in 2001. Hau stepped down ...
who won the 2006 mayoral election on 9 December 2006. Both Chen Shui-bian and Ma Ying-Jeou went on to become President of the Republic of China
The president of the Republic of China, now often referred to as the president of Taiwan, is the head of state of the Republic of China (ROC), as well as the commander-in-chief of the Republic of China Armed Forces. The position once had ...
.
The incumbent mayor, Ko Wen-je
Ko Wen-je (; born 6 August 1959), also known by his nickname, Ko P (), is a Taiwanese politician and physician. Ko was mayor of Taipei from 2014 to 2022, and Chairman of the Taiwan People's Party since 2019. Before becoming mayor, he was a docto ...
, was elected on 29 November 2014 and took office on 25 December 2014.
Based on the outcomes of previous elections in the past decade, the vote of the overall constituency of Taipei City shows a slight inclination towards the pro-KMT camp (the Pan-Blue Coalition
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
); however, the pro-DPP camp (the Pan-Green Coalition
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
) also has considerable support.
Ketagalan Boulevard
Ketagalan Boulevard () is an arterial road in Zhongzheng District in Taipei, Taiwan, between the Presidential Office Building and the . It is long and has a total of ten lanes in each direction with no median.
History
The former name of this ...
, where the Presidential Office Building and other government structures are situated, is often the site of mass gatherings such as inauguration and national holiday parades, receptions for visiting dignitaries, political demonstrations, and public festivals.
Garbage recycling
Taipei City is also famous for its effort in garbage recycling, which has become such a good international precedent that other countries have sent teams to study the recycling system. After the Environmental Protection Administration
The Environmental Protection Administration, Executive Yuan (EPA, ) is a cabinet-level executive agency responsible for protecting and conserving the environment in the Republic of China (Taiwan). This also includes, air quality, noise control, m ...
(EPA) established a program in 1998 combining the efforts of communities, a financial resource named the Recycling Fund was made available to recycling companies and waste collectors. The EPA also introduced garbage recycling trucks, in effort to raise community recycling awareness, that broadcast classical music (specifically Beethoven's "Für Elise" and Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska's "A Maiden's Prayer") to announce its arrival to the community. Manufacturers, vendors and importers of recyclable waste pay fees to the Fund, which uses the money to set firm prices for recyclables and subsidize local recycling efforts. Between 1998 and 2008, the recycling rate increased from 6 percent to 32 percent. This improvement enabled the government of Taipei to demonstrate its recycling system to the world at the Shanghai World Expo 2010
Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the tr ...
.
Administrative divisions
Taipei City is divided up into 12 administrative districts
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
(). Each district is further divided up into urban villages (), which are further sub-divided up into neighborhoods (). Xinyi District is the seat of the municipality where the Taipei City Government
The Taipei City Government (TCG) is the municipal government of Taipei.
History
The Taihoku City Government was founded on 10 October 1920 in Taihoku Prefecture during Japanese colonial rule. The original city hall was located at the site of ...
headquarters is located.
City planning
The city is characterized by straight roads and public buildings of grand Western architectural styles. The city is built on a square grid configuration; however, these blocks are huge by international standards with sides. The area in between these blocks is infilled with lanes and alleys, which provide access to quieter residential or mixed-use development. Other than a citywide speed limit, there is little uniform planning within this "hidden" area; therefore, lanes (perpendicular to streets) and alleys (parallel with streets, or, conceptually, perpendicular to lanes) spill out from the main controlled-access highway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
s. These minor roads are not always perpendicular and sometimes cut through the block diagonally.
Although development began in the western districts of the city (still considered the cultural heart of Taipei) due to trade, the eastern districts have become the focus of recent development projects. Many of the western districts have become targets of urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
initiatives.
Transportation
Public transport
Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
accounts for a substantial portion of different modes of transport in Taiwan, with Taipei residents having the highest utilization rate at 34.1%. Private transport
Private transport (as opposed to public transport) is the personal or individual use of transportation which are not available for use by the general public, where in theory the user can decide freely on the time and route of transit ('choice ...
consists of motor scooters
A scooter (motor scooter) is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles ...
, private cars, taxi cabs, and bicycle
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
s. Motor-scooters often weave between cars and occasionally through oncoming traffic. Respect for traffic laws, once scant, has improved with deployment of traffic cameras and increasing numbers of police roadblocks checking riders for alcohol consumption and other offenses.
Taipei Main Station
Taipei Main Station () is a railway and metro station in Taipei, Taiwan. It is served by Taiwan High Speed Rail, the Taiwan Railways Administration, and the Taipei Metro. It is also connected through underground passageways to the terminal sta ...
serves as the comprehensive hub for the subway, bus, conventional rail, and high-speed rail. A contactless smartcard
A contactless smart card is a contactless credential whose dimensions are credit card, credit-card size. Its embedded integrated circuits can store (and sometimes process) data and communicate with a terminal via Near-field communication, NFC. C ...
, known as EasyCard
The EasyCard is a contactless smartcard system operated by the EasyCard Corporation, which was previously named the "Taipei Smart Card Corporation", for payment on the Taipei Metro (also known as "''Taipei MRT''", or "Taipei Rapid Transit Syst ...
, can be used for all modes of public transit as well as several retail outlets. It contains credits that are deducted each time a ride is taken. The EasyCard is read via MIFARE
MIFARE is the NXP Semiconductors-owned trademark of a series of integrated circuit (IC) chips used in contactless smart cards and proximity cards.
The brand name covers proprietary solutions based upon various levels of the ISO/IEC 14443 Type A ...
panels on buses and in MRT stations, and it does not need to be removed from one's wallet or purse.
Metro
Taipei's public transport system, the Taipei Metro
Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei City, New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the State-owned enterprise, government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation ...
(commonly referred to as the MRT), incorporates a metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
and light rail system based on advanced VAL
Val may refer to: Val-a
Film
* ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo
Military equipment
* Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies
* AS Val, a Sov ...
and Bombardier technology. There are currently six metro lines that are organized and labeled in three ways: by color, line number and depot station name. In addition to the rapid transit system itself, the Taipei Metro also includes several public facilities such as the Maokong Gondola
The Maokong Gondola () is a gondola lift transportation system in Taipei, Taiwan. Opened on 4 July 2007, the Maokong Gondola operates between Taipei Zoo and Maokong. The line has four passenger stations. The facilities of the gondola were contra ...
, underground shopping malls, parks, and public squares. Modifications to existing railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
lines to integrate them into the metro system are underway.
In 2017 a rapid transit line was opened to connect Taipei with Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is an international airport serving Taipei and northern Taiwan. Located about west of Taipei in Dayuan District, Taoyuan, the airport is Taiwan's largest. It was also the busiest airport in Taiwan before t ...
and Zhongli District
Zhongli District () is a District (Taiwan), district in Taoyuan City, Taiwan. Zhongli is spelled variously as ''Jungli'', ''Jongli'', ''Jhongli'' or ''Chungli'' on railway stations, bus stops and road signs. Historically, the city is the site of t ...
. The new line is part of the new Taoyuan Metro
The Taoyuan Metro (formerly Taoyuan Rail Transit and officially Taoyuan Mass Rapid Transit System) is a rapid transit system serving Taoyuan City in Taiwan. The most recently proposed network includes 11 lines and extensions, of which 2 are now ...
system.
On 31 January 2020, Hitachi Rail Corporation officially commissioned Phase 1 of the Circular Line which took place at Shisizhang Station. The Circular Line is a 15.4 km driverless rail system. The Circular line offered free rides beginning in February 2020 for passengers to test the route.
Rail
Beginning in 1983, surface rail lines in the city were moved underground as part of the Taipei Railway Underground Project Since the 1980s, ground level railway facilities in urban areas have been seen as obstacles to road traffic and local development. In 1983, the Executive Yuan tasked the Taipei Railway Underground Project Organisation (TRUPO) with the project to re ...
. The Taiwan High Speed Rail
Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a pri ...
system opened in 2007. The bullet trains connect Taipei with the west coast cities of New Taipei
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
, Taoyuan, Hsinchu
Hsinchu (, Chinese: 新竹, Pinyin: ''Xīnzhú'', Wade–Giles: ''Hsin¹-chu²'') is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan Province not among the special municipalities, with estimated 450,655 inhabi ...
, Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
, Chiayi
Chiayi (, Taigi POJ: ''Ka-gī''; ), officially known as Chiayi City, is a city located in the plains of southwestern Taiwan. Formerly called ''Kagee'' during the late Qing dynasty and ''Kagi'' during the Japanese era (), its historical name i ...
, and Tainan
Tainan (), officially Tainan City, is a Special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality in southern Taiwan facing the Taiwan Strait on its western coast. Tainan is the oldest city on the island and also commonly known as the "Capital City" ...
before terminating at Zuoying (Kaohsiung
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
) at speeds that cut travel times by 60% or more from what they normally are on a bus or conventional train. The Taiwan Railways Administration
Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...
also runs passenger and freight services throughout the entire island.
Bus
An extensive city bus system serves metropolitan areas not covered by the metro, with exclusive bus lanes to facilitate transportation. Riders of the city metro system are able to use the EasyCard for discounted fares on buses, and vice versa. A unique feature of the Taipei bus system is the joint venture of private transportation companies that operate the system's routes while sharing the fare system. This route is in sharp contrast to bus systems in the U.S. which are mostly public entities. Several major intercity bus terminals are located throughout the city, including the Taipei Bus Station
The Taipei Bus Station () is a multi-use complex located next to Taipei Station in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. The complex houses the Taipei bus terminal station provided a number of intercity express bus routes which was inaugurated on 19 ...
and Taipei City Hall Bus Station
The Taipei City Hall Bus Station () is a mixed-used skyscraper complex located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Taiwan. The architectural height of the building is and it comprises 30 floors above ground.
The lower floors of the building serves as a ...
.
Airports
Most scheduled international flights are served by Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is an international airport serving Taipei and northern Taiwan. Located about west of Taipei in Dayuan District, Taoyuan, the airport is Taiwan's largest. It was also the busiest airport in Taiwan before t ...
in nearby Taoyuan City
Taoyuan () is a special municipality (Taiwan), special municipality of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan) located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County to the south-e ...
. Taipei Songshan Airport
Taipei Songshan Airport is a regional airport and military airbase located in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. The airport covers an area of .
The civilian section of Songshan Airport has scheduled flights to domestic destinations in Taiwa ...
, at the heart of the city in the Songshan District, serves domestic flights and scheduled flights to Haneda Airport
, officially , and sometimes called as Tokyo Haneda Airport or Haneda International Airport , is one of two international airports serving the Greater Tokyo Area, the other one being Narita International Airport (NRT). It serves as the primary ...
in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Gimpo International Airport
Gimpo International Airport (), commonly known as Gimpo Airport , formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some west of the Central District of Seoul. Gimpo was the main interna ...
in Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, and about 15 destinations in the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Songshan Airport is accessible by the Taipei Metro Neihu Line
The Wenhu or Brown line (code BR) is a metro line in Taipei operated by Taipei Metro, named after the districts it connects: Wenshan and Neihu. It is an automated medium-capacity rubber-tyred metro line and is long, serving a total of 24 st ...
; Taoyuan International Airport is accessible by the Taoyuan Airport MRT
Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), commonly known as the Airport MRT, is a rapid transit line of Taoyuan Metro that connects the municipalities of Taipei, New Taipei, and Taoyuan with Taoyuan International Airport. T ...
.
Ticketing
In 1994, following the rapid development of Taipei, a white paper for transport policies expressed the strong objective of creating a transport system for the people of Taipei to accommodate the burgeoning city's needs. In 1999, they chose Mitac consortium, which Thales-Transportation Systems is part of. Thales
Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded him ...
was then selected again in 2005 to deploy an upgrade of Taipei's public transport network with an end-to-end and fully contactless automatic fare collection solution that integrates 116 metro stations, 5,000 buses and 92 car parks.
Education
Taipei is home to the campuses of 24 universities and Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...
, Taiwan's national academy which supports the Taiwan International Graduate Program:
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan.
The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...
(NTU or ''Tai-Da'') was established in 1928 during the period of Japanese colonial rule. NTU has produced many political and social leaders in Taiwan. Both pan-blue
The pan-Blue coalition, pan-Blue force or pan-Blue groups is a political coalition in the Republic of China (Taiwan) consisting of the Kuomintang (KMT), People First Party (PFP), New Party (CNP), Non-Partisan Solidarity Union (NPSU), and Young ...
and pan-green
The pan-Green coalition, pan-Green force or pan-Green groups is a nationalist political coalition in Taiwan (Republic of China), consisting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Taiwan Statebuilding Party (TSP), Taiwan Solidarity Union (T ...
movements in Taiwan are rooted on the NTU campus. The university has six campuses in the greater Taipei region (including New Taipei
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...
) and two additional campuses in Nantou County
Nantou County (; Hokkien POJ: ''Lâm-tâu-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Nàm-thèu-yen'') is the second largest county of Taiwan by area, located in the central part of the country. It is also the only non-coastal county in Taiwan. Its name derives fro ...
. The university governs farms, forests, and hospitals for educational and research purposes. The main campus is in Taipei's Da-An district, where most department buildings and all the administrative buildings are located. The College of Law and the College of Medicine are located near the Presidential Office Building. The National Taiwan University Hospital
The National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH; ) is a medical facility located in the Zhongzheng District of Taipei, Taiwan. It started operations under Japanese rule in Daitōtei (today's Dadaocheng) on 18 June 1895, and moved to its present ...
is a leading international center of medical research.
National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU; ), or ''Shīdà'' is an institution of higher education and normal school operating out of three campuses in Taipei, Taiwan. NTNU is the leading research institute in such disciplines as Education and Lin ...
(NTNU or ''Shi-Da'') likewise traces its origins to the Japanese colonial period. Founded as Taihoku College in 1922 and organized as a teacher training institution by the Kuomintang in 1946, NTNU has since developed into a comprehensive international university. The university boasts especially strong programs in the humanities and international education. Worldwide it is perhaps best known as home of the Mandarin Training Center
Mandarin Training Center (MTC; ) is one of the world's oldest and most distinguished programs for Chinese as a second language study. It is run by National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) in Taipei, Taiwan and located at NTNU Daan Campus.
...
, a program that offers Mandarin language
Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...
training each year to over a thousand students from scores of countries throughout the world. The main campus, in Taipei's Daan district near MRT Guting Station, is known for its historic architecture. The Shida market area surrounding this campus takes its name from the school's acronym.
Sports
Due to Taiwan being under American and Japanese influence over the years, the sports of baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
in particular and basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
have become popular in the city. Taipei, like the rest of the country, has featured most prominently in baseball and has often been the venue for the Asian Baseball Championship
The Asian Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Asia, governed by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA). It is held every other year in odd-numbered years and since 1983 it also functions a ...
since the 1960s. Latisha Chan
Latisha Chan (born 17 August 1989), formerly known by her Chinese name Chan Yung-jan (; ), is a Taiwanese tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She has won 33 career titles in doubles, including a Grand Slam title at the 2017 ...
, the successful doubles tennis
Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including;
* Beach volleyball
* Doubles badminton
* Doubles curling
* Footvolley
* Doubles pickleball
* Doubles squash
* Doubles table tennis
* Doubles te ...
player, is from Taipei too.
Major sporting events
Below is a selected list of recent sporting events hosted by the city:
*2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship
The 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship was the fifth FIFA Futsal World Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was held between 21 November and ...
*2006 Women's Baseball World Cup
The 2006 IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup was held from July 31 to August 6 in Taipei, Taiwan and won by the United States.
Final results
All-Stars Team
See also
* List of sporting events in Taiwan
This is a list of international sporting e ...
*2007 Baseball World Cup
The 2007 Baseball World Cup (BWC) was the 37th international Men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, which titled it the Amateur World Series from the 1938 tournament through the ...
*2009 Asian Judo Championships
The 2009 Asian Judo Championships were held at Taipei Arena in Taipei, Taiwan from 23 May to 24 May 2009.
Medal summary Men
Women
Medal table
See also
* List of sporting events in Taiwan
External linksResults
{{2009 in IJF World Tour
Asia ...
*2009 Summer Deaflympics
The 2009 Summer Deaflympics (), officially known as the XXI Summer Deaflympic Games and commonly known as Taipei 2009, is an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 5 to 15 September 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China). I ...
*2013 Badminton Asia Championships
The 2013 Badminton Asia Championships was the 32nd edition of the Badminton Asia Championships. It was held in Taipei, Taiwan, from April 16 to April 21.
Venue
*Taipei Arena.
Medalists
Results
Men's singles Seeds
# Chen Long ''(final)''
# ...
*2015 WBSC Premier12
The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean ...
*2016 IIHF Women's Challenge Cup of Asia Division I
The 2016 IIHF Women's Challenge Cup of Asia Division I was an international women's ice hockey tournament run by the International Ice Hockey Federation. The tournament took place between 22 March and 26 March 2016 in Taipei, Taiwan and was the th ...
*2017 Summer Universiade
The 2017 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade ( zh, t=第二十九屆夏季世界大學運動會, p=Dì èrshíjiǔ jiè xiàjì shìjiè dàxué yùndònghuì) and commonly called Taipei 2017 ( zh, t=台北2 ...
*2019 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship
The 2019 Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship was the tenth edition of the Asian Men's Club Volleyball Championship, an annual international volleyball club tournament organised by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) with Chinese Taipei ...
*2022 U-23 Baseball World Cup
The 2022 U-23 Baseball World Cup, officially IV U-23 Baseball World Cup, is the fourth edition of the U-23 Baseball World Cup tournament. It will be held in Taipei, Taiwan, with venues and dates to be announced. Players born between 1999 and 200 ...
(co-hosted with Taichung and Yunlin
Yunlin County ( Mandarin pinyin: ''Yúnlín Xiàn''; Taigi POJ: ''Hûn-lîm-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Yùn-lìm-yen'') is a county in western Taiwan. Yunlin County borders the Taiwan Strait to the west, Nantou County to the east, Changhua County t ...
)
* 2025 Summer World Masters Games (co-host with New Taipei City)
* Taipei Marathon (annual): The marathon is one of the two World Athletics Label Road Races
World Athletics Label Road Races are races that the World Athletics (until 2019: ''IAAF'') designates as one of the "leading road races around the world." The classification was first introduced for the 2008 running season, upon the suggestion of ...
in Taiwan, being categorized as a Bronze Label Road Race. The other race is the New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon
The New Taipei City Wan Jin Shi Marathon () is the first and only one IAAF Silver Label Road Race in Taiwan.
New Taipei City government started to work with Chinese Taipei Athletics Association in 2014 and applied for IAAF Bronze label. The race ...
, categorized as a Silver Label Road Race.
The Taipei Arena
The Taipei Arena () is a multi-purpose stadium located in Songshan, Taipei, Taiwan, and it is operated by the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (TRTC). Built in 2005, the large multi-purpose stadium can accommodate major international sport ev ...
is located at the site of the former Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium
The Taipei Municipal Baseball Stadium () was a baseball park located in the Songshan District of Taipei, Taiwan. It was opened in 1959, and hosted numerous major baseball games over the years, including the CPBL's first game in 1990 between Uni ...
(demolished in 2000), with a capacity of over 15,000. It was opened on 1 December 2005 and has since held more art and cultural activities (such as live concerts) than sporting events, which it was originally designed for. The Chinese Taipei
"Chinese Taipei" is the term used in various international organizations and tournaments for groups or delegations representing the Republic of China (ROC), a country commonly known as Taiwan.
Due to the One-China principle stipulated by the ...
Ice Hockey League (CIHL) plays out of the auxiliary arena.
Tianmu Baseball Stadium
The Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium () is a baseball stadium located in Tianmu Sport Park in Shilin District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was built in 1999, and mostly hosts baseball games. Originally designed as a community ballpark, Tianmu Stadium is loc ...
is the major baseball venue in Taipei.
Taipei Municipal Stadium
The Taipei Municipal Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Taipei, Taiwan. The original stadium, built in 1956, was used mostly for track and field events. Entertainer Michael Jackson performed two concerts there during his ''Dangerous World ...
is a multipurpose stadium
A multi-purpose stadium is a type of stadium designed to be easily used by multiple types of events. While any stadium could potentially host more than one type of sport or event, this concept usually refers to a specific design philosophy th ...
that hosts football and track and field events, as well as concerts, both live and prerecorded. Originally built in 1956, it was demolished and reconstructed in 2009. The Taipei Dome
The Taipei Dome () also known as the Farglory Dome (), is a multi-purpose stadium, multi-purpose domed stadium under construction located in Xinyi District, Taipei, Xinyi, Taipei, Taiwan, that was originally scheduled to start construction in 2 ...
, which has the capacity to house
40,071 seats, is estimated to finish construction by the end of 2021.
Youth baseball
In 2010, a Taipei baseball team—Chung-Ching Junior Little League—won the Junior League World Series
The Junior League World Series is a baseball tournament for children aged 12, 13, and 14 years old. The tournament is held annually at Heritage Park in Taylor, Michigan. It is patterned after the Little League World Series, which was named fo ...
. The achievement came after winning the Asia-Pacific Region, then defeating the Mexico Region and Latin America Region champions to become the International champion, and finally defeating the U.S. champion (Southwest Region), Rose Capital East LL (Tyler, Texas), 9–1. Taiwan's Little League World Series
The Little League World Series is an annual baseball tournament for children—typically boys—aged 10 to 12 years old, held in the Eastern United States. Originally called the National Little League Tournament, it was later renamed for the Wor ...
international team has won 17 championships, the most wins in the league.
Media
As the capital, Taipei City is the headquarters for many television and radio stations in Taiwan and the center of some of the country's largest newspapers.
Television
Television stations located in Taipei include the CTS Education and Culture
CTS Education, Sports and Culture () is a free-to-air television station in Taiwan, operated by Chinese Television System (CTS). The channel mainly broadcasts documentaries, arts and cultural programming, archival programming from the CTS library, ...
, CTS Recreation
CTS News and Info () is a digital television 24-hour news channel operated by Chinese Television System (CTS) in Taiwan. It used to be CTS Recreation () until September 10, 2012.
On April 19, 2021, CTS News and Info Channel took over Taiwan's Cab ...
, CTV MyLife
CTV Classic (), formerly known as CTV MyLife (), is a digital television channel operated by China Television (CTV) in Taiwan.
See also
* Media of Taiwan The mass media in Taiwan is considered to be one of the freest and most competitive in Asia. ...
, CTV News Channel, China Television
China Television Company, Ltd. (CTV; ) (Formerly called Taiwan Daytime TV (TDT) in 1969-1975) is a television broadcasting company based in Taipei, Taiwan. It was established on September 3, 1968, by the then-ruling Nationalist Party (KMT) of ...
, Chinese Television System
The Chinese Television System Inc. () is a terrestrial television station in Taiwan and was founded in 1971. Recent milestones of the network are in sports events, including having the distinction to offer exclusive coverage of the 2017 Un ...
, Chung T'ien Television
Chung T'ien Television (CTi TV; ), is a nationwide cable TV network based in Taiwan. It belongs to Want Want China Times group, which also owns China Television (CTV).
History
Founded in 1994, CTi TV was originally called the Chinese Televisio ...
, Dimo TV, Eastern Television
Eastern Broadcasting Company (EBC; ), originally called Eastern Television (ETTV), is a nationwide cable television network in Taiwan that is operated by the Eastern Broadcasting Group, which also operates the online news site ''ETtoday''. ETTV ...
, Era Television
Era Television () is a nationwide cable TV network in Taiwan that is operated by ERA Communications Inc., established in October 1996.
Era TV Channels
Era TV currently operates three commercial cable television channels:
*Era News ()
*Much TV ( ...
, FTV News
FTV News (, Pinyin: Mín shì xīnwén tái) is a digital television news channel operated by Formosa Television (FTV) in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and ...
, Follow Me TV, Formosa TV
Formosa Television () is a television station based in New Taipei, Taiwan. Established on March 27, 1996, FTV began broadcasting on June 11, 1997.
Formosa Television is also the first free-to-air television station which was established witho ...
, Gala Television
Gala Television Corporation () is a nationwide cable TV network in Taiwan that is operated by the Gala Television Corporation, established on June 13, 1997.
GTV channels
GTV currently operates four commercial cable and satellite television ch ...
, Public Television Service
Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (PTS Foundation/Public Television Service Foundation, ), also called Public Television Service (PTS, ), is the first independent public broadcasting institution in Taiwan, which broadcasts the Public Te ...
, SET Metro
SET Metro () is a television channel of the Sanlih E-Television in Taiwan, launched in September 1995. It mainly broadcasts Taiwanese drama and cartoons.
Productions Drama
Daily
8PM
*Inborn Pair
*Ti Amo Chocolate
*Sweet Sweet Bodyguard
*L ...
, SET News
SET News (SETN; ) is a 24-hour news channel of the Sanlih E-Television in Taiwan, launched in March 1998.
SET News and sister channel SET iNews are considered media outlets leaning towards the Pan-Green coalition.
SET News is available on YouT ...
, SET Taiwan
SET Taiwan () is a television channel of the Sanlih E-Television in Taiwan, launched in September 1993. It mainly broadcasts Taiwanese drama.
Productions Drama
Daily
* Ah Bian and Ah Jane
* Accompany Me Through Life
* Nine Refers to the Brid ...
, Sanlih E-Television
Sanlih Entertainment Television or Sanlih E-Television (SET; ) is a nationwide cable TV network operated in Taiwan which was founded in May 1993. It also produces Taiwanese drama that are broadcast on free-to-air channels e.g. Taiwan Television ...
, Shuang Xing
Astro Shuang Xing () is a 24-hour Mandarin youth entertainment TV channel owned and run by pay TV provider, Astro. The channel provides variety entertainment that target for younger generation.
History and programming
Astro Shuang Xing offici ...
, TTV Family
TTV Family () is a digital television channel operated by Taiwan Television (TTV) in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern ...
, TTV Finance
TTV Finance () is a digital television channel operated by Taiwan Television (TTV) in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern ...
, TTV World
TTV World () was a television channel operated by Taiwan Television (TTV) in Taiwan, launched on 22 July 2005, but was only broadcast abroad.
Broadcast platform
*North America--Cloud Tech Media
*Australia-----FetchTV (Australia)
*Malaysia------AB ...
, TVBS
TVBS Media Inc. (), formerly Liann Yee Production Co., Ltd. (), is a Taiwanese commercial television broadcasting company. It was originally established as a joint venture between TVB in Hong Kong and Era Group in Taiwan, but TVB took over Er ...
, TVBS-G
TVBS Entertainment Channel (formerly TVBS-G) is a satellite television channel in Taiwan, launched on 12 September 1994.
TVBS Entertainment Channel rebroadcasts Hong Kong dramas from TVB, yet also produces its own dramas since 2003.
Programs
...
, TVBS-NEWS
TVBS News or (TVBS-N) is a Taiwanese pay television channel. Launched in 1995, it is the first 24-hour nationwide news channel in the country.
Newscasts
Current news sections are named as follows. (All time HKT)
* Morning News (Weekdays: 09:00 ...
, Taiwan Broadcasting System
Taiwan Broadcasting System (TBS; ), founded 1 July 2006, is a public broadcasting group that operates 8 television channels in Taiwan. It also owns 2 (CTS and PTS) of the five major Taiwan television networks (the other are TTV, CTV and FTV).
...
, Videoland Television Network
Videoland Television Network () is a cable television network program provider in Taiwan, founded in 1983 by Koos Group. Videoland is one of Taiwan's major satellite television providers, offering seven channels of programming. Videoland is also s ...
and Taiwan Television
Taiwan Television Enterprise, Ltd. (), commonly known as TTV and formerly known as Central Television and Voice of Taiwan, is the first terrestrial television station in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was established on April 28, 1962, and ...
.
Newspapers
Newspapers include ''Apple Daily
''Apple Daily'' ( zh, link=no, 蘋果日報) was a popular tabloid published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021. Founded by Jimmy Lai, it was one of the best-selling Chinese language newspapers in Hong Kong. '', ''Central Daily News
The ''Central Daily News'' was the official newspaper of the Kuomintang and is one of the world's oldest Chinese-language newspapers, having been in circulation since 1928. The Kuomintang made the decision to temporarily cease publication of th ...
'', ''The China Post
''The China Post'' () was an English-language newspapers published in Taiwan (officially the Republic of China), alongside the ''Taipei Times'' and the ''Taiwan News''. ''The China Post'' was established by Mr. and Mrs. Y. P. Huang in 1952.
In ...
'', ''China Times
The ''China Times'' (, abbr. ) is a daily Chinese-language newspaper published in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pa ...
'', ''DigiTimes
DigiTimes () is a daily newspaper for semiconductor, electronics, computer and communications industries in Taiwan and the Greater China region. It was established in 1998. The company is based in Taipei, Taiwan and currently has a daily newsp ...
'', ''Kinmen Daily News
''Kinmen Daily News'' (KMDN; ) is a newspaper owned by Kinmen County Government in Kinmen County (Quemoy), Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan).
History
The predecessor of the Kinmen Daily News was ''Chunghwa Cheng Chi Pao'' (, Zhōnghuá- ...
'', ''Liberty Times
The ''Liberty Times'' is a national newspaper published in Taiwan. Founded by Lin Rong-San, it is published by the Liberty Times Group, which also publishes ''Taipei Times'', an English language newspaper . The newspaper was first published on 1 ...
'', ''Mandarin Daily News
The ''Mandarin Daily News'' (; Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Gwoyeu Ryhbaw; Zhuyin ㄍㄨㄛˊ ㄩˇ ㄖˋ ㄅㄠˋ) is a traditional Chinese children's newspaper published daily in Taiwan. The main text of the articles is accompanied by Zhuyin
...
'', ''Matsu Daily
''Matsu Daily'' () is a newspaper owned by the government of the Lienchiang County, Fujian Province, Republic of China (Taiwan).
It was founded as ''Tengpu Daily'' (), a newspaper published to the military on Tengpu Island, to commemorate the vi ...
'', '' Min Sheng Bao'', ''Sharp Daily
''Sharp Daily'' is a Chinese-language free daily tabloid newspaper, published in Taipei, Taiwan, and previously in Hong Kong, by Next Digital.
Taiwan edition
Launched on 24 October 2006 as a rival to ''Cola News'' (可樂新聞 Pinyin:Kělèxi ...
'', ''Taipei Times
The ''Taipei Times'' is the only printed daily English-language newspaper in Taiwan, and the third established there. Online competitors include the state-owned ''Focus Taiwan'' and ''Taiwan News''; ''The China Post'' was formerly a competit ...
'', ''Taiwan Daily
''Taiwan Daily'' () was a daily newspaper based in Taiwan that began circulation on 25 October 1964 and ended on 6 June 2006. It now exists as an online publication.
Features
The ''Taiwan Daily'' was usually published as broadsheet in full col ...
'', ''Taiwan News
''Taiwan News'' (formerly ''China News'') is an English-language online newspaper in Taiwan. It is owned by foods company I-Mei Foods, which also publishes the Chinese-language news weekly of the same name.
History
''China News'' was founded on ...
'', ''Taiwan Times
The ''Taiwan Times'' () is a newspaper based in Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's R ...
'' and ''United Daily News
''United Daily News'' (UDN; ) is a newspaper published in Taiwan. It is considered to support the pan-Blue Coalition in its editorials.
History
UDN was founded in 1951 by Wang Tiwu as a merger of three newspapers, ''Popular Daily'' (全民 ...
''.
International relations
Taipei is a member of the Asian Network of Major Cities 21
Asian Network of Major Cities 21 was a body representing the interests of several of Asia's largest capital cities around common themes of importance, including urban planning, sustainability and crisis management. The organization was advocated b ...
.
Twin towns and sister cities
Taipei is twinned with:[Taipei Sister city list](_blank)
Taipei City Council
United States
* Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, TX, United States (1961)
* San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, CA, United States (1970)
* Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, United States (1973)
* Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
, OH, United States (1975)
* Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, IN, United States (1978)
* Marshall
Marshall may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria
Canada
* Marshall, Saskatchewan
* The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia
Liberia
* Marshall, Liberia
Marshall Islands
* Marshall Islands, an i ...
, TX, United States (1978)
* Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, GA, United States (1979)
* Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, CA, United States (1979)
* Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
, AZ, United States (1979)
* Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...
, OK, United States (1981)
* Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, MA, United States (1996)
* Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, TX, United States (1996)
Outside United States
* Lomé
Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437 , Togo (1966)
* Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
, Philippines (1966)
* Cotonou
Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area.
The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...
, Benin (1967)
* Quezon City
Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...
, Philippines (1968)
* Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea (1968)
* Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional)
, websi ...
, Dominican Republic (1970)
* Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
, Saudi Arabia (1978)
* Gold Coast
Gold Coast may refer to:
Places Africa
* Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana:
** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642)
** Dutch G ...
, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia (1982)
* Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
, South Africa (1982)
* Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
, South Africa (1983)
* Lilongwe
Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...
, Malawi (1984)
* San José, Costa Rica (1984)
* Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...
, France (1986)
* Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
, Paraguay (1987)
* Panama City
Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is locat ...
, Panama (1989)
* Managua
)
, settlement_type = Capital city
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, pushpin_map = Nicara ...
, Nicaragua (1992)
* San Salvador
San Salvador (; ) is the capital and the largest city of El Salvador and its eponymous department. It is the country's political, cultural, educational and financial center. The Metropolitan Area of San Salvador, which comprises the capital i ...
, El Salvador (1993)
* Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Masovian Voivodeship
The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, with its capital located in the city of Warsaw, which also serves as the capital of the country. The ...
, Poland (1995)
* Ulan-Ude
Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...
, Buryatia, Russia (1996)
* Dakar
Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
, Senegal (1997)
* , Gambia (1997)
* Bissau
Bissau () is the capital, and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. Bissau had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, and its administrative and m ...
, Guinea-Bissau (1997)
* Mbabane
Mbabane (; ss, ÉMbábáne, ) is a city in Eswatini (previously called Swaziland), and is one of the two capitals (along with Lobamba), serving as the executive capital.
With an estimated population of 94,874 (2010), it is located on the Mbaba ...
, Eswatini (1997)
* Ulaanbaatar
Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
, Mongolia (1997)
* San Nicolás, Nuevo León
Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...
, Mexico (1997)
* La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
, Bolivia (1997)
* Guatemala City
Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...
, Guatemala (1998)
* Monrovia
Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...
, Liberia (1998)
* Vilnius
Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional urb ...
, Lithuania (1998)
* Majuro
Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...
, Marshall Islands (1999)
* Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia (2001)
* Ouagadougou
Ouagadougou ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Burkina Faso and the administrative, communications, cultural, and economic centre of the nation. It is also the country's largest city, with a population of 2,415,266 in 2019. The city's n ...
, Burkina Faso (2008)
* Daegu
Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea.
It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
, South Korea (2010)
* Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
, Ecuador (2015/2016)
* Castries
Castries is the capital and largest city of Saint Lucia, an island country in the Caribbean. The urban area has a population of approximately 20,000, while the eponymous district has a population of 70,000, as at May 2013. The city stretches o ...
, St. Lucia (2015/2016)
* Belmopan
Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...
, Belize (2019)
* Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
, Czech Republic (2020)
* Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
, Peru (2020)
Partner cities
* Anchorage
Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...
, AK, United States (1997)
* Yokohama
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
, Kanagawa
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the List of Japanese prefectures by population, second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-dens ...
, Japan (2006)
* Wellington
Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...
, New Zealand (2015)
Friendship cities
* Perth
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...
, Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, Australia (1999)
* Gyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
, South Korea (2000)
* Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
, CA, United States (2000)
* George Town, Penang
Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...
, Malaysia (2009)
* Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
, Finland (2012)
In popular culture
*Taipei's name is used in a professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...
match named the "Taipei Deathmatch" in which the wrestlers' fists are taped and dipped into glue and in broken and crushed glass, allowing shards to stick to their fists. This match can be won by pinfall, submission or escape.
*Writer Tao Lin
Tao Lin (; born July 2, 1983) is an American novelist, poet, essayist, short-story writer, and artist. He has published four novels, a novella, two books of poetry, a collection of short stories, and a memoir, as well as an extensive assortment of ...
's 2013 novel is titled ''Taipei'' and takes place in both New York City and Taipei, where the protagonist Paul's parents were born and live. In the novel, the character named Paul gets married and then visits Taipei with his new wife. They take MDMA and LSD and film a mock documentary on "Taiwan's first McDonald's." The novel was made into a movie titled ''High Resolution'', starring Justin Chon
Justin Jitae Chon (born May 29, 1981) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has directed three films, ''Gook'' (2017), '' Ms. Purple'' (2019), & ''Blue Bayou'' (2021). He is also known for portraying Eric Yorkie in '' The Twilight Saga'' film ...
and Ellie Bamber
Eleanor Elizabeth Bamber (born 2 February 1997) is an English actress. She won third prize at the Ian Charleson Awards for her 2017 performance in ''The Lady from the Sea'' at the Donmar Warehouse. On television, she is known for her roles in th ...
.
Gallery
File:Minquan_Bridge2017_TAIWAN.jpg, Taipei panoramic view
File:A03-28.jpg, Twatutia
Dadaocheng is an area in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It was also known as Twatutia (a transliteration of the Taiwanese Hokkien ''Tōa-tiū-tiâⁿ''), Daitōtei during Japanese rule, and Tataocheng ( Mandarin) during the Kuomintang era. ...
File:EntranceChiangKaiShek.JPG, the main entrance of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
File:Taipei_101_2008_NewYear_Firework.jpg, New year fireworks at Taipei 101
Taipei 101 (; stylized as TAIPEI 101), formerly known as the Taipei World Financial Center, is a supertall skyscraper in Taipei, Taiwan. This building was officially classified as the world's tallest from its opening in 2004 until the 2009 ...
File:Taiwan 2009 Taipei Presidential Palace FRD 7172.jpg, Presidential Office Building from Ketagalan Boulevard
File:西門紅樓01.jpg, Red House Theater
File:北投文物館(原佳山旅館).jpg, Beitou Museum
The Beitou Museum () or sometimes called Taiwan Folk Arts Museum is a museum in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan.
History
Empire of Japan
The museum building was originally built in 1921 as Kazan Hotel, the best hot spring hotel during the Taiwa ...
File:Grand Hotel Taipei View from Minsheng Community Center 20140930.jpg, Grand Hotel Taipei
File:DaZhiBridge2_byJaojao.JPG, Dazhi Bridge
File:dansui.jpg, Dadaocheng Wharf, Taipei
File:Taipei_Baoan_Temple.jpg, Bao-an Temple
File:指南宮凌霄寶殿.jpg, Zhinan Temple
File:101.typhoon.altonthompson.jpg, A typhoon makes landfall in Taipei City
File:ZhiShanGardenTaipei.jpg, Zhishan Garden at the National Palace Museum
File:Ximending Side Alley at Night.jpg, Ximending at night
File:Taipei_Story_House_20100718a.jpg, Taipei Story House
The Taipei Story House (), formerly known as the Yuanshan Mansion (), is a historic house in Zhongshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is currently open as a museum in the Taipei Expo Park.
Overview
The house was built in 1913–14 during Japanes ...
(Yuanshan Mansion)
File:2010 07 21240 6773 Da'an District, Taipei, Daan Park, Washingtonia filifera, Taiwan.JPG, Daan Park
File:2010 07 20770 6691 Da'an District, Taipei, Daan Park, Taiwan.jpg, Daan Park
See also
* Taipei-Keelung Metropolitan Area
*List of districts of Taipei by area
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the nor ...
*List of districts of Taipei by population
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the nor ...
*List of districts of Taipei by population density
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
*List of schools in Taipei
{{Expand list, date=February 2011
This is a list of schools in Taipei, Taiwan.
Domestic high schools
*Affiliated Senior High School Of National Taiwan Normal University
* Taipei First Girls' High School
* Sacred Heart Girls High School (Taiwan)
...
*Taipei Community Services Center
Taipei Community Services Center (), also called ''The Community Services Center'', is a Taipei-based non-profit organization.
Publications
The center publishes several items, including: "Taipei Living" a large information book on living in Tai ...
(offers support services to the international community)
Notes
Words in native languages
Other
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
Taipei City Council
*
{{Authority control
Capitals in Asia
Populated places established in 1884
Municipalities of Taiwan
1884 establishments in China