For example, Tainan, the city known for delicious foods, has no Michelin star restaurants there yet. As of January 2025, there are 3 three-starred Michelin star restaurants in Taiwan. Taiwan is a food lover’s paradise, and a popular culinary tourism destination for East and Southeast Asian tourists.
Low-paying jobs are also available, common fields are production and elder care. Usually, labour-exporting countries’ agents – mostly in Southeast Asia – will arrange the business, but direct hiring provided by the Taiwanese government is also available. It is illegal to work without a work permit and an ARC (or Alien Residency Permit), and legal work requires a university degree and usually a long (over two month) application process.
- Taiwan, island in the western Pacific Ocean that lies roughly 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of southeastern China.
- The eastern coast and southern regions are often the hardest hit, but the entire island can experience the effects of these storms, which can disrupt daily life and cause extensive damage.
- In fact, if you are a visitor of East Asian descent who cannot understand Chinese, a worker may try speaking to you in Japanese before trying English.
- All announcements in public transportation on the main island are announced in Mandarin, English, Taiwanese and Hakka.
- For many years, Taiwan was under martial law, with political opposition suppressed.
- When departing Taiwan, bring the form to the tax refund counter or automated kiosk and follow the relevant instructions.
Taiwan National Flag
- The population is highly urbanized, with around 70% of the population living in urban areas.
- Taxis from TPE to destinations in Tao Yuan, parts of Taipei county and some other destinations are ‘allowed’ to add an additional 50% to the meter fare.
- In crowded areas such as night markets or festivals, for example, pickpockets are a known problem, but violent crime and muggings are very rare.
- The Taiwanese are generally a warm and polite people, having been strongly influenced by Confucianism.
- They are managed by local governments, therefore information can generally be found on the websites of the respective transportation bureaus.
Citizens of mainland China residing anywhere may transit through Taiwan from either Nanchang, Chongqing, Kunming or anywhere outside the mainland with only Mainland Chinese passport required. Quite a few people, especially in Taipei, are proficient in Japanese due to the high number of Japanese visitors and the history of colonial rule. Staff at tourist attractions such as the Taipei 101, museums, hotels, popular restaurants and airport shops speak Japanese in addition to English, Mandarin and other local languages.
Political parties
However, there are still street signs posted by city governments next to signs installed by the national government having different romanization conventions, as is the case for Kaohsiung, where Tongyong Pinyin, not Hanyu Pinyin, is the local standard. For example, Zhongshan, Chungshan, Jungshan and Jhongshan can easily refer to the same Chinese name. Lowland Taiwan has a marine tropical climate during the summer, with sweltering, humid weather (above 30 °C, 86 °F) from Jun-Sep.
National symbol(s)
The nation’s proximity to mainland China has significant historical, cultural, and political implications, with Taiwan’s status as a self-governing entity a central point of contention in East Asian geopolitics. More than anything, appearance is probably the major factor in finding employment with most schools— Do you ‘look Western’? — and reliability and turning up on time for work are the major factors for keeping your job.
Japanese rule (1895–
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong also summoned the Japanese ambassador to China that same day to express their unhappiness. While the intent of Xue’s remarks «may not be clear», they were «highly inappropriate», Japan’s chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters on Monday. Since then, foreign ministries on both sides have lodged serious protests with the other, with Beijing summoning the Japanese ambassador.
Traditional Chinese art, including painting, calligraphy, and ceramics, is highly respected, and many Taiwanese artists draw inspiration from these traditions while incorporating modern techniques. In recent years, Taiwan has faced increasing pressure from China, which seeks reunification with the island. While Taiwan’s economy has been highly successful, it faces several challenges, particularly its dependence on global supply chains and geopolitical tensions with China. Taiwan’s political status is contentious, as China claims the island as part of its territory, leading to trade and diplomatic challenges.
Qing rule (1683–
Many restaurants and most small stores do not accept cards, and cash is the main form of payment. Because street crime is rare, it is common for people in Taiwan to carry large amounts of cash with them. Its popularity rose greatly when the Taiwanese baseball team finished second in the Japanese national championships.
American Express and UnionPay are between Visa and Diners Club, but they are close to the Diners Club situation. It’s easy to find billiard rooms throughout the country and there are also many championship-winning players in Taiwan, most of whom started training when they were still teens. Taiwan is an island of huge mountains (more than two hundred peaks over 3,000m) and there are many hiking opportunities. Taroko Gorge is popular for its incredible scenery, and serious hikers can trek Yushan or Wuling Sixiu, among many others. Even in Taipei and New Taipei there are a variety of trails to suit hikers of any level.
For many years, Taiwan was under martial law, with political opposition suppressed. It is possible (even normal) to obtain a driving queenwin casino license in Taiwan without ever having driven on the roads, and this may be a reason (along with the overcrowded roads) why courteous or defensive driving is definitely not the norm. The guiding principles seem to be that the right of way belongs to the larger vehicle, i.e. trucks have the right-of-way over cars, cars over motorcycles, motorcycles over people, etc. Despite traffic’s chaotic appearance, it is viscerally intuitive to yield the right-of-way to a much larger vehicle barreling towards you. Local drivers regularly cut in front of moving traffic into spaces that seem too small, try to change lanes regardless of the fact their destination is already full, etc. Drivers routinely enter a junction when their exit is blocked, and are therefore frequently still there long after the lights change, blocking traffic traveling in other directions.
If you are planning on staying in Taiwan for a longer time, you should consider opening a Taiwanese bank account. While many of the large foreign banks such as Citibank and HSBC have branches in Taiwan, they often require huge deposits in order for you to open an account, so you might wish to consider one of the major local banks such as the Bank of Taiwan instead. You will need to bring your passport and UI number in order to open an account.
The island’s entertainment and pop culture was and still is heavily influenced by that of Japan. Much of the infrastructure built by the Japanese can still be seen on the island, and has been in continuous use up to the present day (e.g. railway crossing gates, administrative buildings, and the old port at Kaohsiung). During World War II, many Taiwanese, both indigenous and Han Chinese, served in the Imperial Japanese Army, many of whom have been enshrined in the controversial Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo. Like their counterparts in Korea and other occupied territories, many Taiwanese women were forced to serve as «comfort women» (i.e. sex slaves) in Japanese military brothels. Han Chinese immigrants arrived in significant numbers with the onset of European trade.
Usually, they are open-aired on a street or alleyway, with vendors selling all sorts of wares on every side. In larger cities, you will have a night market every night and in the same place. In smaller cities, they are only open certain nights of the week and may move to different streets depending on the day of the week.
As Taiwanese culture places a strong emphasis on respect for elders, elderly visitors will find most Taiwanese to be very helpful and accommodating. You may also find common drugs requiring a prescription in the west (like asthma inhalers and birth control pills) cheaply available from drug stores without a prescription. However, there is little evidence that this is necessary today as the quality has improved drastically.