Formation

The island of Taiwan was formed approximately 4 to 5 million years ago from a geosyncline (via plate tectonics), and is part of an island arc. It was formed when the Eurasian Plate slid under an ancient chain of volcanic islands on the neighboring Philippine Sea Plate. At the northern end of Taiwan, the Philippine Sea Plate slides under the Eurasian Plate.

Physical boundaries

The main island of the archipelago is Taiwan Island, which comprises about 98%of the current jurisdiction of the Republic of China; the other 2% consists of the smaller islands of the archipelago – Orchid Island and the Penghu islands, along with the tiny islets – Green Island and Hsiao Liuchiu. The archipelago is separated from mainland China by the Taiwan Strait, which ranges from 220 km at its widest point to 130 km at its narrowest point^. Taiwan is bounded by the Bashi Channel in the south, the East China Sea in the north, and the Pacific Ocean in the east.

The islands of Kinmen, Matsu, Wuchiu, etc. across the Taiwan Strait, and Pratas and Taiping in the South China Sea, are also administered by the Republic of China. These islands are however not part of the Taiwanese archipelago. Taiwan’s area is 35,980 km² (13,892 mi²) of which 32,260 km² is land and 3,720 km² is territorial water claims, making it slightly smaller than the combined area of Maryland and Delaware, or slightly bigger than territory of Belgium. It is 394 km (244 miles) long and 144 km (89 miles) wide. It has a coastline of 1,566.3 km. The ROC claims an exclusive economic zone of 200 nautical miles (370 km) and a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (22 km).

Culture of Taiwan

The Taiwanese culture is a hybrid blend of Confucianist Han Chinese, Japanese, European, American, global, local and Taiwanese aborigines cultures, which are often perceived in both traditional and modern understandings (Harrell/Huang 1994:1-5). The common socio-political experience in Taiwan gradually developed into a sense of Taiwanese cultural identity and a feeling of Taiwanese cultural awareness, which has been widely debated domestically (Yip 2004:230-248; Makeham 2005:2-8; Chang 2005:224). Reflecting the continuing controversy surrounding the political status of Taiwan, politics continues to play a role in the conception and development of a Taiwanese cultural identity, especially in the prior dominant frame of a Taiwanese and Chinese dualism. In recent years, the concept of Taiwanese multiculturalism has been proposed as a relatively apolitical alternative view, which has allowed for the inclusion of mainlanders and other minority groups into the continuing re-definition of Taiwanese culture as collectively held systems of meaning and customary patterns of thought and behavior shared by the people of Taiwan(Hsiau 2005:125-129); (Winckler 1994:23-41).

Economy

Taiwan belongs to industrially developed countries. In a country that operates several dozen nuclear power plants and coal. The export of electronic products clearly dominate. There is the fact that almost all major global manufacturers of motherboards for computers have their headquarters in that country (Asus, MSI, Gigabyte, ASRock and others). A significant share of the imports is crude oil. In the agricultural sector is dominated by rearing pigs, it also grows bananas. GDP per capita in 2003 amounted to $ 12 537.The main airport is an airport, Taipei-Taiwan Taoyuan (23 million passengers in 2006), located in the north of Taiwan in the district of Taoyuan, 25 km west of Taipei. The main national airline carrier is China Airlines, with hubem in Taipei. Movement of international support also 3 other airports.

Safety

Taiwan, in comparison with other places in the region, is essentially a safe country, but we must maintain specific precautions in public places (bazaars, department stores, etc.). Any valuable items and documents to be kept in the hotel safe, and one should carry only the necessary amount of money and certified copies of documents. It is recommended that you use the services of urban taxis, which are not expensive. The island terrain is very intense seismic activity. The risk of earthquakes is high. Minor shocks (up to 5 degrees Celsius) are in different parts of the island almost on the agenda. Tajfunów during torrential rains that occur from April to October, causing landslides, the sharp rise of water in streams and rivers and floods. During tajfunu you should not leave the house or leave the hotel. It is necessary to obtain the flashlight, batteries, candles, spare water and food for 2, 3 days. As a rule, for the duration of the transition tajfunu announced days are holidays. With regard to the occurrence of natural disasters or other serious threats we recommend that you listen to commercial broadcasting in English local radio station Radio Taiwan International Community (ICRT) – FM 100.7 MHz (northern and southern parts of the island) and FM 100.1 MHz (middle part) .

Background

Taiwan calls itself a ROC / Taiwan – so as Republic of China. The unsuccessful civil war between the Communist Party of Mao and the Kuomintang withdrew in 1949 on the island back. The island lies in front of the Chinese mainland in the Pacific. Until 1987 was in Taiwan martial law and only then began a slow democratization of the country. Protective power is the United States. There are regular diplomatic tensions between the PRC and Taiwan since the PRC Taiwan as a renegade province sees. Only 23 countries recognize Taiwan diplomatically to. The Federal Republic of Germany has no embassy in Taiwan, but only a German cultural center.

The culture in Taiwan is Chinese dominated. The visual contrasts between the Western and glass facades of the old houses, street markets, the friendliness of the people and excellent infrastructure make the trips worthwhile and easy. Asia-especially for beginners is very Taiwan. To the size of the island (area 35,801 km ²) fits a journey from 14 to 21 days good. The round trip can be done in a clockwise direction. The bus and rail network is very well developed. Culinary there is much to discover and Friends of Asian temples are certainly not too short. On the east coast is the Taroko National Park with unspoiled nature, in the west is lined with interesting towns and contiguous to the north of the island metropolis of Taipei. The current tallest building in the world is the Taipei 101

European settlement

In 1544, a Portuguese ship sighted the main island of Taiwan and dubbed it “Ilha Formosa”, which means “Beautiful Island.” The Portuguese made no attempt to colonize Taiwan.

In 1624, the Dutch established a commercial base on Taiwan and began to import workers from Fujian and Penghu as laborers, many of whom settled. The Dutch made Taiwan a colony with its colonial capital at Tayoan City (present day Anping, Tainan). Both Tayoan and the island name Taiwan derive from a word in Sirayan, one of the Formosan languages.

The Dutch military presence was concentrated at a stronghold called Castle Zeelandia.^[4] The Dutch colonists also started to hunt the native Formosan Sika deer (Cervus nippon taioanus) that inhabited Taiwan, contributing to the eventual extinction of the subspecies on the island.

Prehistory

Evidence of human settlement in Taiwan dates back thirty thousand years, although the first inhabitants of Taiwan may have been genetically distinct from any groups currently on the island. About four thousand years ago, ancestors of current Taiwanese aborigines settled in Taiwan. These aborigines are genetically related to Malay and Polynesians, and linguists classify their languages as Austronesian. Polynesians are suspected to have ancestry traceable back to Taiwan.

When to Go

People often remark that Taiwan has no seasons, but in reality you must take the time of year into account when travelling. In general, autumn (September to November) is best, as conditions tend to be warm and dry, air pollution is at a minimum, and prices lower. Spring can be clear and dry, or wet and grey, or even blighted by a sandstorm from China. Sometimes you get all three conditions in one day.

Summer (June to August) is a great time to visit the east coast, especially for outdoor activities, but be aware of typhoons, which can hit the island from June to October. Summer is not a good time for travel to the outer islands as they are crowded with tourists, and flights and hotels are difficult to secure. Try October to November when rates have dropped but the weather is still great. The cities are always hot and sticky in summer.

Beach lovers can swim comfortably anywhere from May to October. But if you want to swim in winter, head south, not southeast.

Avoid travelling during the Chinese New Year holiday as the entire country pretty much shuts down. Some good holidays not to avoid, however, include Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, and the Matsu Pilgrimage.

In general, July and August, Chinese New Year, and Saturday nights are considered high season and accommodation prices are often double the off-season rates. Outside touristy areas, however, there is little change in price from month to month (only perhaps weekday and weekend).

Languages

About 80% of the people in Taiwan belong to the Hoklo (Chinese: 福佬; pinyin: fúlǎo; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Hok-ló) ethnic group and speak both Standard Mandarin (officially recognized by the ROC as the National Dialect) and Taiwanese (a variant of the Min Nan dialect spoken in Fujian province). Mandarin is the primary language of instruction in schools; however, most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. The Hakka (Chinese: 客家; pinyin: Kèjiā), about 15% of the population, have a distinct Hakka dialect. Aboriginal minority groups still speak their native languages, although most also speak Mandarin. English is a common second language, with many large private schools providing English instruction. English is also featured on several of Taiwan’s education exams.

Although Mandarin is still the language of instruction in schools and dominates television and radio, non-Mandarin dialects have undergone a revival in public life in Taiwan. A large fraction of the populace speak the Taiwanese dialect, a variant of Min Nan spoken in Fujian, China, and a majority understand it. Many also speak Hakka. People educated during the Japanese period of 1900 to 1945 used Japanese as the medium of instruction. Some in the older generations only speak the Japanese they learned at school and the Taiwanese they spoke at home and are unable to communicate with many in the modern generations who only speak Mandarin.

Most aboriginal groups in Taiwan have their own languages which, unlike Taiwanese or Hakka, do not belong to the Chinese language family, but rather to the Austronesian language family.