Town Culture, Nature, Food and Hospitable People: Feel the Charm of Taiwan!
Taiwan is a long island covering 36,000 square kilometres of land. Situated between the southeast of the Asian Continent and the East and Southeast Asia Island Arcs of the West Pacific Ocean, it faces Japan and Ryukyu Islands in the North and the Philippines in the South, connecting all parts of Asia. Taiwan's aerial transport network is highly developed, making it a convenient tourist destination.
Taiwan has lots of natural and cultural resources to offer. In terms of nature, due to continuous plate tectonics, Taiwan's landscapes are quite diverse. The island thus has mountains, hills, plains, basins, islets, valleys, and shores all at once. Moreover, the Tropic of Cancer passes through the middle of Taiwan. This has enabled Taiwan to develop many native living beings across tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate areas, such as Formosan landlocked salmon, Formosan rock monkey, Formosan black bear, and Swinhoe's blue pheasant. Taiwan has in fact been a crucial preservation site in the world.
To preserve Taiwan's graceful nature and ecology, nine national parks and 13 national scenic areas have been established. Together they showcase Taiwan's most beautiful natural scenery and tourist spots. Visitors are encouraged to go into the magnificent high mountains and canyons of Taroko, take mini mountain trains to appreciate sunrise and seas of clouds in Alishan, or climb up Northeast Asia's highest peak - Yushan - to watch high-rising mountains and changing seasonal views. They might also want to take a relaxing oceanic vacation in Kenting - hailed as the Hawaii of Asia - in the southern tip of Taiwan. The Sun Moon Lake shines bright in deep mountains - the lake and its surrounding mountains seem to merge into one beautiful whole. What a breath-taking beautiful view! The East Rift Valley and the coasts of Hualien and Taitung are so pure and clean that they seem like heavens on Earth. Kinmen and Penghu, two offshore islets of Taiwan, are charming in a different way for their unique history and geology.
As to culture, because many different ethnic groups reside on this island, Taiwan is culturally diverse. All kinds of religion, architecture, languages, lifestyles and food thrive in harmony here, especially food. Taiwanese, Hakka, Hunan, Sichuan, Japanese, and Korean food can all be enjoyed in the forms of snacks, specialties, or restaurant dishes. As a "kingdom of delicious food," Taiwan is acknowledged by the world's gourmands for the diversity of culinary choices it offers.