Taiwan

Barely 200 km off the southern coast of China, Taiwan’s political tensions with the mainland is only rivaled by its fierce beauty, warm spirit, and rapidly industrialized cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung.

In this country that is still fighting for international recognition, you’ll find a nation and a people fighting to hold on to its past while trying to forge a path to a bright future.

The capital city of Taiwan, Taipei, is also its largest and certainly at the heart of Taiwan’s economic, political, social, educational, and cultural heart. It’s an urbanized metropolis sprawling in the valley of the Danshui River and home to more than 3 million inhabitants.

From the lively night markets that last until the early hours of the morning and the motorbikes zipping in and out of traffic to the National Palace Museum containing some of the most amazing relics of ancient Chinese culture and the ultra-Westernized Warner Village, Taipei is throbbing with energy.

Nearby Taipei, Tienhsiang is a favorite tourist spot for its Taroko Gorge, arguably the country’s most beautiful area. The gorge is 12 miles of sheer cliff faces dropping away to a white, rushing river below and the Eternal Spring Shrine, situated above the entrance to the gorge near a waterfall, is a monument to 450 workers who died while building the Taroko Highway.

The eastern half of Taiwan is mountainous, including Northeast Asia’s highest peak, 4,000-meter tall Jade Mountain. One of the most popular spots is the mountain resort of Alishan.

You can catch a few breaths of clean, crisp air away from the congested cities and see one of the most stunning and famous sights in the country: the ‘Sea of Clouds View’

Towards the southern portion of Taiwan is Tainan, a beautiful temple town where you can see some of the finest Buddhist parades and festivals in the country. It used to be the provincial capital for over 2 centuries until the late 1800s and still has a very traditional feel to it.

There are, naturally, hundreds of temples in the town, including such notable ones like East Mountain Temple, where people come to make contact with dead relatives or to exorcise ghosts, Mito Temple, with its impressive 1000-armed goddess Kuanyin, and Chuhsi Temple, an aesthetically attractive temple set right in a sporting park.

Off the southeastern coast of Taiwan is Lanyu, a rocky, volcanic island that is home to many Yami aborigines. These people are ethnically closer to the Philippines than to China and this difference is inhabited in many ways, from their own dialect to building underground houses to wearing loincloths (with a few Levi jeans thrown in here and there).

Fishing and taro and sweet potation cultivation are the ways in which these people generate a living. It’s a different rhythm and pace than the rest of the country, but definitely worth a visit as the cultural benefits are immense.

An hour’s drive from Kaohsiung, Maolin has avoided the urban developments that have slowly encroached upon the country to remain refreshingly beautiful in its mountainous surroundings. It’s a place where visitor should plan on camping out more than staying at a hotel and the village is surrounded by a network of river walks, scenic hikes, suspension bridges, and waterfalls.

Nearby is the aboriginal village of Dona where some truly fantastic stonework is produces, everything from tables and chairs to dishware and decorative pieces.