Taipei, officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of Taiwan. Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.
Taichung, officially Taichung City, is a special municipality in central Taiwan. Taichung is Taiwan's second-largest city, with more than 2.85 million residents, making it the largest city in Central Taiwan. It serves as the core of the Taichung–Changhua metropolitan area, Taiwan's second-largest metropolitan area.
New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 4,004,367 as of January 2023, making it the most populous city in Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, behind Kaohsiung. The top-level administrative divisions bordering New Taipei City are Keelung to the northeast, Yilan County to the southeast, and Taoyuan to the southwest, and it completely encloses the city of Taipei. Banqiao District is its municipal seat and biggest commercial area.
Datong District or Tatung is a district of Taipei City, Taiwan. It is located between the Taipei Metro Red Line and eastern shore of the Tamsui River, and between Civic Boulevard and the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The southern part of this area used to be the site of Twatutia, one of the first settlements in what is now Taipei and for a time the area's commercial center. Taipei's commercial center has since shifted south east to Zhongzheng, Da'an and Xinyi, and Datong is far less important economically. One of the last vestiges of Twatutia's commercial importance disappeared with the closing of the Chien-Cheng Circle in 2006. The north was the site of the village of Daronpon.
Taoyuan is a special municipality located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County to the south-east, and Hsinchu County to the south-west. Taoyuan District is the seat of the municipal government and which, along with Zhongli District, forms a large metropolitan area. Taoyuan developed from a satellite city of Taipei metropolitan area to become the fourth-largest metropolitan area, and fifth-largest populated city in Taiwan. "Taoyuan" literally means "peach garden" in Chinese, since the area used to have many peach trees. Formerly a county, Taoyuan became the latest new founding special municipality in 2014.
Yilan County, alternately spelled I-lan, is a county in northeastern Taiwan. Yilan is the northernmost county on the island of Taiwan, with a population 450,031. Its seat is located in Yilan City.
Zhongli District is a 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 the Zhongli Incident of 1977, the most significant event of the democratization movement prior to the 1980s. Ethnically, it is considered a capital city for Hakka Taiwanese, who live in great numbers here and in surrounding areas; many elderly persons can speak Hakka in addition to Mandarin and Taiwanese Hokkien. In recent years many foreign workers have also settled in and around the city due to the heavy industry in the suburbs of the city, making it a center for foreign laborers. The district of Zhongli has three large parks and over 70 green reserves.
Highways in Taiwan are classified into five types:
Night markets in Taiwan operate in urban or suburban areas between sunset and sunrise. A few, such as Huaxi Street Tourist Night Market, use purpose-built marketplaces, but most occupy either sidewalks or even entire streets that carry vehicle and pedestrian traffic by day. Some night markets in smaller side streets and alleys feature retractable roofs. Most night markets operate daily and feature a mixture of individual stalls selling clothing, consumer goods, xiaochi, and specialty drinks. The atmosphere is usually crowded and noisy with hawkers shouting and fast-paced music playing over loudspeakers. Taiwanese night markets have evolved over the years from small, local gatherings to noisy streets lined with vendors, who must adhere to regulations placed on their activities by the Taiwanese government.
Islam is a minor religion in Taiwan and it represents about 0.25% of the population. There are around 60,000 Muslims in Taiwan, in which about 90% belong to the Hui ethnic group. There are also more than 250,000 foreign Muslims working in Taiwan from Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the Philippines, as well as other nationalities from more than 30 countries. As of 2018, there are eleven mosques in Taiwan, with the most notable being the Taipei Grand Mosque, the oldest and largest one.
Taipei, Taiwan is known for its large number and variety of shopping streets, markets and malls and has been known to tourists as one of the main "shopping city" in Eastern Asia along with Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Shopping venues in the city include department stores, malls, underground transit malls, night markets, and shopping districts.
Articles related to Taiwan include:
The Taipei Metro Daqiaotou station is a station on the Xinzhuang Line located in Datong District, Taipei, Taiwan. It is the last station before the Luzhou Line diverges from the Xinzhuang Line. It is a planned terminus for the Shezi Light Rail Line.
The Zhonghe–Xinlu or Orange line is a metro line in Taipei operated by the Taipei Metro, named after the districts it connects: Zhonghe, Xinzhuang and Luzhou. The line starts at Nanshijiao in Zhonghe, passes through central Taipei, then splits into two branches: one to Huilong via Xinzhuang and one to Luzhou.
Taipei Bridge is a motor-vehicle bridge across the Tamsui River connecting Taipei with Sanchong District, New Taipei City in Taiwan. A central span carries automobile and some motorcycle traffic while narrower spans on either side carry most motorcycle traffic along with bicycle pedestrian traffic. The central bridge is 481.6 meters in length.
The Zhonghua Street Night Market is a night market in Fengshan District, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
The architecture of Taiwan can be traced back to stilt housing of the aborigines in prehistoric times; to the building of fortresses and churches in the north and south used to colonize and convert the inhabitants during the Dutch and Spanish period; the Tungning period when Taiwan was a base of anti-Qing sentiment and Minnan-style architecture was introduced; in Qing dynasty period, a mix of Chinese and Western architecture appeared and artillery battery flourished during Qing's Self-Strengthening Movement; During the Japanese rule of Taiwan, the Minnan, Japanese and Western culture were main influencers in architectural designs and saw the introduction and use of reinforced concrete. Due to excessive Westernization as a colony, after the retrocession of Taiwan to the Republic of China in 1945 from Japan at the end of World War II, Chinese classical style became popular and entered into international mainstream as a postmodern design style. Today, Taiwanese architecture has undergone much diversification, every style of architecture can be seen.
The Yuanshan Bus Station is a key bus terminal in Taipei, located at the boundary between the districts of Datong and Zhongshan, adjacent to the Yuanshan metro station. It opened on 9 October 2010, as part of the transportation plan for the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exposition. Initially named Yuanshan Transport Plaza, it serves commuters using the Tamsui-Xinyi Line of the Taipei Metro and connects to city and intercity buses.
