Taiwan's total land area is only about 36,000 square kilometers (14,400 square miles); it is shaped like a leaf that is narrow at both ends。

   It lies off the southeastern coast of mainland Asia, across the Taiwan Strait from Mainland China-- a solitary island on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean。

   To the north lies Japan; to the south is the Philippines。 Many airlines fly to Taiwan, helping make it the perfect travel destination。

The cultural aspects are also not to be missed。 The blending of Hakka, Taiwanese, indigenous people and mainland Chinese cultures has produced a rich plethora of cultural and social color。

   Whether it is religion, architecture, language, living habits, or food, it's just one big exciting melting pot! Food is the best representative of this cultural mixing and matching。

   Aside from cuisines from different parts of the mainland such as Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Shanghai, Beijing, Sichuan, and others, there is also the local Taiwanese cuisine as well as the local delicacies of each area。

Taiwan is highly diversified in terms of religious faith, with the practice of Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Mormonism, the Unification Church, Islam, and Hinduism, as well as native sects such as Yiguandao and others。

  The island not only respects traditional faiths but also opens its arms to other types of religious thought from the outside。

The friendly people of Taiwan

The friendly people of TaiwanTaiwan has a population of 23 million。 The larger part of the island's inhabitants are the descendants of immigrants from the various provinces of mainland China, but in particular from the southeastern coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong。

   Because the different ethnic groups have fairly well integrated, differences that originally existed between people from different provinces have gradually disappeared。

Some 360,000 indigenous people, the original inhabitants of Taiwan, still live here; they can be distinguished into 14 different tribes, namely the Amis, the Atayal, the Paiwan, the Bunun, the Puyuma, the Rukai, the Tsou, the Saisiyat, the Tao (or Yami), the Thao, the Kavalan, the Truku ,the Sakizaya and the Sediq。

Taiwan is known for its towering mountains, and is reputable as a "Mountainous Island"。 The island is spotted with numerous mountains over 3,000 meters。

   It is also home to the Northeast Asia's tallest mountain, Yushan, which is nearly 4,000 meter in height。 Besides mountains, beautiful coastal scenes are also part of Taiwan's great natural asset。

   Starting from the northern tip of the island is the North Coast & Guanyinshan National Scenic Area and Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area that features various sorts of coastal geography。

   Traveling all the way down from here, one will first arrive at the scenic East Coast National Scenic Area and East Rift Valley National Scenic Area, and then the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area blessed with sunshine and tropical touch。

   Alongside the mountainous areas is the Maolin National Scenic Area, where a lot of aborigines live and place one can check out the world of butterfly, Rukai stone-made houses and Natural scenes in Taiwan。

   Legendary tales depict subtle beauty of Alishan National Scenic Area , where you can enjoy the relaxing scene of sunrise & cloud sea。

   Natural setting of Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area, eagle-spotting at Bagua Mountain, home of fruit-Lishan can sacred Buddhist sanctuary- Lion’s Head Mountain, can bring to you the many faces of the island's beauty。

The culinary culture of the Chinese people goes back a very long time; and while Chinese food can be enjoyed in every large city in the world today, true gourmets know that only in Taiwan is it possible to enjoy fine authentic cuisine from all the different regions of China。

In Taiwan, where it seems the people live to eat, it is said that there is a snack shop every three steps and a restaurant every five。

   These establishments serve all kinds of Chinese food, from the roast duck, smoked chicken, lamb hotpot, fish in wine sauce, beef with green peppers, and scallop and turnip balls of the north to the camphor-tea duck, salty fried chicken with spices, honey ham, stir-fried shrimp, dry-fried eggplant, and spicy bean curd of the south。

   As the island's economy has developed rapidly in recent years, its culinary culture has expanded beyond the traditional Chinese foods to Chinese-style fast-food chains, thus bringing greater complexity than ever before to the art of Chinese dining。

   Foreign foods from all over the world have also made their appearance in Taiwan, and the island is now filled with eateries serving American hamburgers, Italian pizza, Japanese sashimi, German pig's knuckles, Swiss fondue, and just about everything else。

   All of this makes Taiwan a veritable paradise for gourmands。

   Taiwan's own native cuisine has also become known around the world, and if you try it just once you will remember it forever。