Taiwan - Route Wiki

Taiwan has reopened its borders to most foreign nationals for both visa and visa-free travel. Those entering Taiwan must follow epidemic prevention measures for seven days after arriving. See Get in for more information.

Taiwan (Traditional Chinese: 台灣 or 臺灣, Táiwān) is an island nation off the coast of southeastern mainland China. The island is officially known as and governed by the Republic of China (中華民國 Zhōnghuá Mínguó) or ROC. Shaped roughly like a sweet potato, the nation is home to more than 23 million people and is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Besides its crowded cities, Taiwan is also known for steep mountains and lush forests. Although the vast majority of the population is ethnically Han Chinese, the indigenous Austronesian inhabitants maintain their own cultures, and the legacy of Japanese colonial rule still pervades much of Taiwanese life.

While the political status of Taiwan is a controversial and sensitive issue, from a traveler's point of view, Taiwan is under the de facto control of a different government from mainland China, and in practice operates as a separate country. This page does not represent a political endorsement of the claims of either side of the dispute.

Regions

Northern Taiwan (Hsinchu, Hsinchu County, Keelung, New Taipei, Taipei, Taoyuan)

The capital city, main airport and technology hub of the island

Central Taiwan (Changhua County, Miaoli County, Nantou County and Taichung)

Scenic mountains and lakes and major national parks

Eastern Taiwan (Yilan County, Hualien, Hualien County, Taitung County, Taitung)

Hualien and Taitung are cut off from the rest of the island by the central mountains; this is a region of great natural beauty, and the main center of indigenous Austronesian culture

Southern Taiwan (Chiayi County, Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Tainan and Yunlin County)

The tropics of Taiwan with beaches and palm trees and the third largest city

Outlying Islands (Tiny islands also governed by the Republic of China: Kinmen and Matsu, just off the coast of mainland China's Fujian Province, Penghu in the straits, Green Island and Orchid Island, east of Taiwan)

Small islands that are popular getaway destinations with the locals.

Cities

Taipei (臺北 or 台北) – The seat of government of Taiwan ROC, as well as the center of commerce and culture. Taipei is also home to Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest skyscrapers.
Miaoli 📍 (苗栗) – The main center of Hakka culture in Taiwan.
Hualien (花蓮) – Near Taroko Gorge and considered one of the most pleasant of Taiwan's cities.
Jiufen (九份) – A former gold mining town on the northeast coast visited for its quaint streets and picturesque views.
Kaohsiung (高雄) – The third-largest city on the island. It has one of the busiest sea ports (the Port of Kaohsiung) in the world and it has the island's second-largest airport, Kaohsiung International Airport.
Taichung (臺中 or 台中) – The second-largest city on the island. In the center-western region of Taiwan, and famous among the Taiwanese for its pastries such as sun cakes and pineapple cakes.
Puli (埔里) – At the geographical center of the island, making it a good base for exploring the central mountains and Sun Moon Lake.
Tainan (臺南 or 台南) – The oldest city and former capital of Taiwan. It is famous for its historic buildings, and as the unofficial culinary capital of Taiwan.
Taitung 📍 (臺東 or 台東) – On the southeastern coast, a laid back city that is known for beautiful scenery and large indigenous population.

Other destinations

People tend to think of Taiwan as a small, crowded island filled mostly with electronic factories, and if you stay in Taipei or along the west coast you might indeed maintain that impression. However, the island is also home to high mountain ranges, great beaches and stunning national parks, many with hot springs.

Alishan (阿里山) – Misty forests of giant cypresses and amazing sunrises at the center of the island, reached by a scenic narrow-gauge train
Kenting National Park (墾丁國家公園) – At the extreme southern tip of the island, this park is famous for its beaches and lush vegetation.
Shei-pa National Park (雪霸國家公園) – A park spanning mountains and rivers in Hsinchu County—great hiking trails
Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) – Nestled at 762 m (2,500 ft) in lofty mountains in Nantou County, this lake is famous for its clear sparkling blue water and picturesque mountain backdrop.
Taipingshan (太平山) – A historic logging area and one of Taiwan's most scenic spots. Located in Yilan County.
Taroko Gorge (太魯閣峽谷 Tàilǔgé) – An impressive gorge off the east coast
Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園) – Spanning a mountain range overlooking Taipei
Yushan (Jade Mountain/玉山) – At 3,952 m the highest mountain in not just Taiwan, but in the entire eastern ⅔ of East Asia
Lalashan (拉拉山) – In Taoyuan County, "Lala" means "beauty" in the indigenous Atayal language. Mt. Lala is one of natural protection zones in Taiwan. There are some 500–2,800-year-old "divine" trees including the No. 5 divine tree, which is reputedly even older than Confucius. Lalashan is best known for its peach trees, and peach season (July–August) is the most beautiful time to visit Mt. Lala.

Understand

Taiwan is home to a large number of impressive scenic sites, and Taipei is a cultural center of entertainment and leisure activities. The island is also a center of Chinese-language pop culture with a substantial entertainment industry.

Japanese and and Southeast Asians enjoy taking short trips to Taiwan to enjoy its neighborly hospitality. Taiwan is home to some well-known international companies such as Acer, MSI, Asus, HTC, TSMC and Giant Bicycles, whose technologies are some of the most advanced in the world.

History

Government and politics

Taiwan is a presidential republic modelled after the American system of government. The President is popularly elected every four years for up to two terms, and is the head of state. The President has the sole authority to appoint members the executive branch, known as the Executive Yuan, whose leader, known as the Premier, serves as the head of government.

The legislative branch is known as the Legislative Yuan, often referred to as the "Parliament", which is elected by the people every four years in parallel with the presidential elections. Taiwan is a vibrant democracy known for its exceptionally dramatic parliamentary sessions, with physical fights between legislators on the floor being a regular occurrence.

The other branches of government are the Judicial Yuan, which tops the judiciary branch, the Examination Yuan, which administers civil service examinations, and the Control Yuan, which is responsible for auditing the government's finances.

The two main parties in Taiwanese politics are the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Generally speaking, the KMT is more socially conservative but economically left-leaning, and favors friendlier ties with China, while the DPP is more socially liberal but economically right-leaning, and favors closer ties with Japan and the United States, as well as taking a tougher stance against China. While the older generation is politically split, the younger generation is overwhelmingly pro-DPP.

People

Taiwan was originally populated by indigenous peoples (原住民 yuán zhù mín) that spoke various Austronesian languages, which are related to Malay, Tagalog, Indonesian and most languages of the Pacific island nations. Today the remaining indigenous peoples make up only about 2% of the population, while the other 98% are considered ethnically Han Chinese. The Han Chinese are further split into Taiwanese (本省人 běn shěng rén), who make up about 84% of the population and whose ancestors migrated to Taiwan during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and mainlanders (外省人 wài shěng rén), who make up about 14% of the population and whose families fled to Taiwan from the mainland after the communist takeover of China in 1949. Among the Taiwanese group, Hoklo (Minnan) speakers form the majority, which is about 70% of the population, while the remaining 14% are largely Hakka speakers.

In modern times, Taiwan is also home to immigrants from elsewhere, especially other Asian countries such as Malaysia (most of whom are ethnically Chinese), Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia. The post-1949 Chinese immigrants come from every province and include many non-Han residents.

Culture

Taiwanese culture is largely based on traditional Chinese culture, particularly that of Fujian province, because most Taiwanese are Han Chinese whose ancestors migrated to Taiwan from that region. However, in the 20th century, Taiwanese culture diverged from that of mainland China. Substantial Japanese influences can be seen in modern Taiwanese culture because of 50 years of Japanese rule, and this can be seen in its cuisine and in its pop culture. In addition, the Japanese introduced baseball and hot-spring bathing to Taiwan, and these remain popular pastimes for the Taiwanese to this day. As Taiwan was spared from the Cultural Revolution, the Taiwanese have also retained some elements of traditional Chinese culture that have been lost in mainland China.

Indigenous Austronesian or "Formosan" culture has greatly suffered under multiple different waves of colonial rule. It is having a resurgence today, efforts are being made to revive the culture through the introduction of the Formosan languages into the school curriculum. However, many aspects of it have been lost forever which is evident in how the majority of the Formosan languages are extinct or moribund. Numerous indigenous Taiwanese have had successful careers in the entertainment industry, perhaps the most famous example being the singer Kulilay Amit, better known by her Chinese name Chang Huei-mei, who is of Puyuma ethnicity. The indigenous people of Taiwan are separated into Lowland groups who lived on the plains and Highland groups who lived in the mountains. The Lowland groups were the first to come in contact with the Dutch while the Highland groups were only truly subjugated by the Japanese. The Lowland groups receive limited indigenous recognition today due to having largely culturally assimilated into the Han Chinese, and suspicion from Highland groups on whether they truly qualify as "indigenous".

Climate

Lowland Taiwan has a marine tropical climate during the summer, with sweltering, humid weather (above 30 °C, 86 °F) from Jun-Sep. In the winter the weather is influenced by the nearby continent, and in the northern areas the temperature can go as low as 8 °C at night. The best time of year to visit is from Oct-Dec, although even then occasional typhoons can spoil the fun. Spring is also nice, although it rains more than during autumn. During the typhoon season, the east coast bears the brunt of the damage as it is facing the Pacific Ocean.

In the mountainous regions you will encounter more temperate conditions. Rapid weather change can endanger unprepared visitors, so advice on proper preparation should be obtained before visiting those areas. In fact, it snows every year on Taiwan's highest mountains and occasionally even on mountains like Alishan.

Taiwanese calendar

The Minguo (民國, ROC) calendar, counting years from the establishment of the ROC (1911), is commonly used in Taiwan. To convert a Minguo date to A.D., just add 1911. is Minguo . Months and days are according to the standard Gregorian calendar for almost everything except traditional holidays and religious matters, which use the traditional Chinese lunar calendar.

Festivals

As Taiwan is majority Han Chinese, traditional Chinese festivals are celebrated in Taiwan. Among the most notable are:

Chinese New Year (春節). This is the most important festival for the Taiwanese and many shops and restaurants close on the first three days so it is not an ideal time to visit. However, the days leading up to the festival and the fourth to fifteenth days are ideal for soaking up the atmosphere and listening to Chinese New Year songs.
Tomb Sweeping Day (Ching Ming Festival, 清明節). This is when many Taiwanese pay respects at their ancestors' graves.
Dragon Boat Festival (端午節). This festival honors Qu Yuan, a patriotic official from the state of Chu during the Warring States period of Chinese history who committed suicide by jumping into a river when Chu was conquered by Qin. To prevent the fishes from eating his body, villagers threw rice dumplings into the river to feed the fishes and rowed dragon boats with drums being beaten on them to scare away the fishes. Since then, dragon boat racing has been carried out on this day and rice dumplings are also eaten.
Hungry Ghost Festival (Ghost Month, 中元節). This festival runs throughout the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. It is believed that the gates of hell open during this period and hungry ghosts are allowed to roam freely into our world. In order to appease the ghosts and prevent misfortune, many Taiwanese offer food and burn joss paper for them. In addition, traditional Chinese performances such as Chinese opera and puppet shows are held to appease these wandering spirits.
Mid-Autumn Festival (Moon Festival, 中秋節). Legend has it that on this day, a woman known as Chang E swallowed some divine pills to prevent her power hungry husband from becoming immortal. Afraid of being killed by her husband, she fled to the moon and it is believed that the moon shines brightest on this day. This is when many lanterns are put up for decoration in various parks and shops, which is quite a beautiful sight. Mooncakes are also eaten on this day so it would be an ideal time to try some. Many Taiwanese have barbecue with family or friends as part of the celebration.

Terrain

Taiwan is largely mountainous with a chain of mountains running from north to south at the center of the island. The west coast is largely plains and unsurprisingly is where most of the population is concentrated, and is where all the larger cities like Taichung and Kaohsiung are located. The east coast also has some plains but they are more sparsely populated due to the higher typhoon risk, but is also home to the cities of Hualien and Taitung with significant populations.

Sports

Baseball was brought to Taiwan by the Japanese during the colonial period. Its popularity rose greatly when the Taiwanese baseball team finished second in the Japanese national championships. Today, baseball retains a strong following and remains by far the most popular spectator sport in Taiwan. Several Taiwanese players have also gone on to successful careers in the U.S. Major League Baseball (MLB) and Japanese Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Taiwanese national team is considered to be one of the strongest in the world.

Besides baseball, basketball also has a sizeable following in Taiwan and is quite popular among teenagers. When classes are over, the basketball courts inside schools are not only open to students but also the public.

Billiards is another popular sport in Taiwan. 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.

Other sports which are popular include Taekwondo, table tennis and golf.

In international sporting competitions, such as the Olympic Games, Taiwan is called "Chinese Taipei" (中華臺北) for political reasons.

Talk

You say Zhongshan, I say Chungshan...

The romanization of Chinese used in Taiwan is not standardized. Most older place names and personal names are derived from a simplified version of Wade-Giles. The government established Hanyu Pinyin (the same system used in the mainland and the international standard) as the official system in 2009, but most local governments that did not already use the system have not switched over, and highway signs are only being gradually changed from the Tongyong Pinyin system, leading to much inconsistency. Some local governments, such as that of Taipei and Taichung, have already converted their street signs to Hanyu Pinyin and New Taipei is implementing the switch to Hanyu Pinyin. 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.

This article attempts to use the romanizations most commonly used in Taiwan (on street signs, buses, tourist maps, etc.) People know romanisation as 'Roma-Pinyin' (Luoma-Pinyin).

Taiwan's official languages are four varieties of Chinese — Mandarin, Taiwanese (a dialect of Minnan), Hakka, and Matsu dialect — as well as the indigenous Austronesian languages (all Formosan, with the exception of Tao) and Taiwan Sign Language.

Mandarin is the lingua franca, but Taiwanese is the mother tongue of about 70% of the population. In the North where there is a large concentration of so-called "mainlanders" (those whose families came to Taiwan from mainland China in the 1940s as refugees of the Chinese Civil War), most people speak Mandarin as their primary language (although Taiwanese is spoken in abundance), but in the South of the island, Taiwanese is far more common. Hakka is the main language at the middle elevations of the mountainous parts of Taoyuan, Hsinchu and Miaoli. Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka are all tonal languages, and are difficult for most foreigners to master. Aboriginal languages can mostly be heard on the East Coast and its offshore islands, as well as at higher elevations in the mountains. The Matsu dialect is a variant of the Fuzhou dialect (also known as Hokchiu or Foochow), and is almost exclusively concentrated in the Matsu islands located close to Fuzhou in mainland China.

Chinese is written using Chinese characters (漢字, hànzì, lit. "Han characters"). Unlike an alphabet that represents individual sounds without any inherent meaning, each Chinese character represents a meaningful syllable: a specific word or part of a word. Although they look impenetrable at first, there is some method to the madness: most characters are composed from base components combined with other characters (often giving clues to both pronunciation and general meaning). The same characters are used in Japan and Korea with usually similar meanings, albeit different pronunciations. Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and many overseas Chinese still use the traditional characters, whereas since the 1950s mainland China has used simplified characters, such as 龟 instead of 龜. Cursive forms of Chinese characters, often used for effect in logos, range from "looks familiar if you squint" to "impenetrable scribbles".

There are multiple ways of romanizing Mandarin Chinese, but pinyin (漢語拼音 hànyǔ pīnyīn) is the most useful for a visitor to learn. It's a fairly logical system, although it has a few idiosyncrasies, including using some letters in ways that are different from English (such as q which is similar to English "ch" and x which is like English "sh"). (However, people in Taiwan are more familiar with a phonetic alphabet called Zhuyin (注音 zhùyīn, written using Zhuyin as ㄓㄨˋ　ㄧㄣ), commonly known in English as bopomofo (named after the first four letters, ㄅㄆㄇㄈ), which is used for language education and typing.) All dialects of Chinese are also tonal, meaning each syllable has to be pronounced with the correct tone — high, rising, falling-rising, falling, or neutral — to be understood; Mandarin tones are marked in pinyin using diacritics that graphically mimic the tones patterns (as in mā, má, mǎ, mà, and ma). With just a few hours of practice, you can learn to pronounce Mandarin words accurately using pinyin. However, as Chinese has many homophones, pinyin is useful for pronunciation but not practical for communicating meaning; for something like a street address, you need to use Chinese characters.

Although Chinese is written nearly the same across the world, spoken Chinese has a huge array of dialects. Verbally, Chinese dialects are as different from each other as English and Dutch, or French and Italian — related, but not mutually intelligible. Two people who speak different Chinese dialects would read and write the same, but they would pronounce the written text differently, and couldn't carry on a spoken conversation with each other.

Although standard Mandarin in Taiwan is nearly identical to standard Mandarin in mainland China (with differences mostly in technical and translated terms invented post-1949), most people in practice speak a distinctly accented version known as Taiwanese Mandarin. For example, Taiwanese Mandarin tends to not differentiate between the "S" and "Sh" or the "f" and "h" sounds in Mandarin. All people schooled after 1945 are generally fluent in Mandarin, though older people from rural areas often have a very thick accent. Mandarin is fairly popular with young people. Some elderly people do not speak Mandarin as they were schooled in Japanese or not at all. Most Taiwanese are very accepting of foreigners and react with curiosity and admiration for trying the local tongue. Generally, most people in Taiwan converse using a combination of Mandarin and Taiwanese by code-switching.

The Taiwanese dialect is a variant of Minnan which is similar to the dialect spoken across the Taiwan Strait in South Fujian. Unlike in South Fujian, Taiwanese Minnan has some loan words from Japanese as a result of 50 years of Japanese colonization. Taiwanese Minnan and Xiamen Minnan are both mixtures of the Zhangzhou and Quanzhou accents, so as a result, Taiwanese Minnan sounds very similar to Xiamen Minnan. There is also dialectal variation in Taiwanese between different parts of the island; the Tainan dialect is generally considered to be the prestige dialect.

All public announcements in the transportation system are made in Mandarin, Taiwanese and Hakka, with the exception of the Matsu islands, where announcements are made in Mandarin and the local Matsu dialect.

Especially in Taipei, younger people generally speak a basic conversational level of English. The children often understand more English than their parents, especially with the emphasis on English language education today, and English being a compulsory subject in Taiwanese schools. However, attempts to speak Mandarin or Taiwanese will be met with beaming smiles and encouragement, by and large.

Quite a few people, especially in Taipei, are proficient in Japanese due to the high number of Japanese visitors. Staff for 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. In fact, if you are a visitor of East Asian descent who cannot understand Chinese, when a worker realizes this he or she may try speaking to you in Japanese before trying English.

There has been an increasing usage of Korean by tourism boards due to the large number of Korean people visiting Taiwan. Thus, there are many signs across Taiwan written in Korean. An enthusiasm for Korean-language education due to the influence of Korean pop culture is also gaining momentum.

Due to the increasing number of Southeast Asian tourists visiting Taiwan, Thai, Vietnamese and Indonesian are spoken by some tourist personnel.

Taiwan Sign Language is the language of the deaf community. It has partial mutual intelligibility with Japanese Sign Language and Korean Sign Language, but not with Chinese Sign Language or Hong Kong Sign Language.

Get in

Taiwan has eased COVID-related entry regulations, allowing most travelers to enter regardless of vaccination status.

Those who enter Taiwan will receive a self-test kit upon arrival that can be used to test for COVID-19 should symptoms appear within seven days of entry. You are also advised to follow epidemic prevention measures for seven days by limiting your stay in a room with an attached bathroom to one person.

Transiting passengers may stop in Taiwan for no more than 12 hours within one calendar day. Transiting to and from China is not permitted.

For more information, see the Taiwan Bureau of Consular Affairs website.

Entry requirements

Visa policy of Taiwan

Visas

Foreign nationals of the following countries can enter Taiwan visa-free as a visitor provided that their passports are valid for at least 6 months upon entry:

For up to 90 days: All 27 European Union member states, Australia, Canada, El Salvador, Eswatini, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iceland, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, North Macedonia (until 31 March 2025), Norway, Palau, Paraguay, San Marino, Switzerland, Tuvalu, the United Kingdom, the United States, Vatican City

For up to 30 days: Belize, Dominican Republic, Malaysia, Nauru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore

For up to 14 days: Brunei, Philippines, Thailand (until 31 July 2023 for all three). Note that visa-free entry for Russian citizens has been suspended.

If citizens of the above countries present an emergency or temporary passport, they will be required to apply for a landing visa on arrival by supplying a passport photo and paying a fee of NT$2,400.

Citizens of Japan need only present a passport with at least 3 months' validity (rather than 6 months' validity) upon entry. Citizens of the United States can enter Taiwan on a passport with less than 6 months' validity on the date of arrival by supplying a passport photo and paying a fee of NT$5,600.

Citizens of Canada and the United Kingdom can extend their stay for an extra 90 days (i.e. a total stay of up to 180 days) free of charge. More information is available on this Bureau of Consular Affairs information sheet (dead link: January 2023).

Holders of valid passports from Hong Kong (HKSAR or BN(O)) and Macau, born in either of these territories, may apply for a 30-day entry permit online (free) or on arrival (NT$300). Holders of these passports born outside these territories may also apply for these permits, if they have been to Taiwan previously as a Hong Kong/Macau resident. (If they last visited Taiwan before 1983 they need to supply the travel document used then or first apply for their travel records from the Immigration Agency.)

Hong Kong and Macau residents born outside of these territories and have not been to Taiwan before as a HK/Macau resident must apply for a permit online before traveling to Taiwan (NT$600). Hong Kong and Macau residents who also have another passport (except BN(O) or a Portuguese passport obtained before the handover) must use the other passport (and apply for the correct visa, if required) to enter Taiwan and not their Hong Kong/Macau passport. Macau residents using a Portuguese passport may enter visa-free like other Portuguese passport holders.

Residents of Mainland China (Chinese passport holders) may visit Taiwan for tourism if they join an approved guided tour. Independent mainland Chinese travelers require a Permit for Proceeding to Taiwan (往来台湾通行证/往來台灣通行證) with an endorsement issued by Chinese authorities, and an Exit and Entry Permit (中華民國臺灣地區入出境許可證) issued by Taiwanese authorities. However, endorsement for personal tourism has been suspended due to political tensions.

Citizens of India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam who have a valid entry visa or permanent resident card issued by a Schengen country, Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States can obtain a 30-day Visa on Arrival after making an online application.

All foreigners (except those on government business and certain permanent residents) age 14 and older are electronically fingerprinted and photographed as part of immigration entry procedures. Entry will be denied if these procedures are refused.

Detailed information about visas is available at the website of the Bureau of Consular Affairs (dead link: January 2023). Taiwan does not have formal embassies in most of the world's countries (due to the 'One China' policy of mainland China preventing formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan). Instead Taiwan operates a "Taipei Representative Office", "Taipei Economic and Trade Office", or something of a similar name in most major countries, and these act as de facto embassies and consulates that can issue Taiwanese visas.

Arrival card

Tourists are required to fill in an arrival card. You may do it online before you arrive to save time. Traditional paper versions are still available at ports of entry. Hong Kong and Macau residents who have an online entry permit are exempt.

Customs

Fresh fruit and meat may not be brought into Taiwan, and airport staff may check your bags. If you are carrying anything prohibited, though, they might let you eat it before you go through immigration.

By plane

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (Taipei) (台灣桃園國際機場, formerly Chiang Kai-Shek International Airport 中正國際機場) (IATA: TPE) is the primary international airport of Taiwan. Located 40 km to the southwest of Taipei, it has good connections to neighbouring countries and North America, and decent connections to Europe and Oceania. The airport has a MRT (metro/subway) connection to Taipei, and direct buses to Taipei, Taichung and other nearby cities. Alternatively, the MRT train and U-Bus company shuttles reach HSR Taoyuan station (台灣高鐵桃園站) for high-speed train connections to other cities; and to Zhongli (中壢) Station for mainline TRA (Taiwan Railways Administration 台灣鐵路管理局) train and southbound bus connections to Tainan, Hsinchu (新竹) etc.

Kaohsiung International Airport (dead link: January 2023) (高雄國際機場) (IATA: KHH) is the largest airport in southern Taiwan, with decent connections to neighbouring countries and domestic destinations.
Songshan Airport (松山機場) (IATA: TSA) is a smaller airport in downtown Taipei which serves mostly domestic flights with some flights to China, Tokyo Haneda Airport, and Seoul Gimpo Airport.
Taichung Airport (台中機場) (IATA: RMQ) serves domestic and international flights to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and China.
Tainan Airport (dead link: January 2023) (臺南機場) (IATA: TNN) serves domestic routes, as well as international routes to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Japan.
Hualien Airport (dead link: February 2023) (花蓮機場) (IATA: HUN) located on the eastern coast of Taiwan, the airport serves domestic routes, as well as international flights to South Korea as well as charter flights to Cambodia.

After a break of almost 60 years, regular cross-Strait flights between Taiwan and mainland China resumed in 2008, and travel times on some popular routes have been reduced significantly as flights no longer have to be routed through Hong Kong airspace.

The main Taiwanese carriers are EVA Air (長榮航空) and flag carrier China Airlines (中華航空). While China Airlines used to have a poor safety record, things have improved greatly since 2003, and today, it is just as safe as the major Western European airlines.

By boat

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all ferry services to China have been suspended.

All scheduled passenger ferry services between Taiwan and Japan have been suspended.

China to Taiwan via Matsu

From Fuzhou (福州), China, there are two daily ferries to the Taiwan-controlled Matsu (馬祖) islands. Take bus 69 from Fuzhou train station to Wuyilu, then bus 73 to the end station Mawei harbor (馬尾港). The ferry costs RMB350 from China and NT$1,300 from Matsu. The trip takes two hours. You can check the Matsu tourism website for updates on the schedule.

There is a cheaper (NT$650) ferry between Matsu's northern island and the nearest point of mainland China, on the Huangqi peninsula, but because of limitations to immigration facilities, it apparently only accepts Taiwan/ROC citizens as passengers at this time (schedules and fares).

From Matsu, there the Taima Star ferry runs daily to Keelung in Taiwan (Official website / English information). NT$1,050 includes a bed, as the trip takes 10 hours. Regular seats are available for NT$630 only when the sleeping cabins are full (official fare table). Schedules can be found at this link. Bookings can be made at +886 2 2424 6868 or online.

At Mawei harbor in Fuzhou there is an opportunity to buy an inclusive ticket all the way to Taipei (臺北) that includes the Fuzhou to Matsu ferry above and a domestic flight from Matsu to Taipei (or Taichung). The price (RMB780) includes transfer between port and airport on Matsu, and a coupon for lunch at the airport while you wait for your connection. The ferry leaves Fuzhou at 09:30. Get to Mawei at 08:00 to buy tickets.

China to Kinmen

There are also several ferry services between Xiamen and Quanzhou on the mainland and the Taiwan-controlled island of Kinmen (金門). While foreigners may use the former the latter is only open to Chinese and Taiwanese citizens. Now there also is one weekly ferry from Dongdu Harbor (東渡碼頭) in Xiamen to Keelung, that leaves on Thursdays at 18:00 starting at less than RMB500, and one to Taichung leaving on Tuesdays. Call 0592-2393128 for information or 0592-6011758 for bookings from China. You can also check here for news. There is apparently no ferry from Kinmen to the main island of Taiwan at this time, though flights may be reasonably priced.

China to Taiwan direct

The Cosco Star runs overnight between Keelung in northern Taiwan and Xiamen on the mainland, between Keelung and Daimaiyu Port near Taizhou on the mainland, and between Taichung in west-central Taiwan and Xiamen. Each leg of each route only runs on one day of the week (see here for departure times of each route and here (dead link: January 2023) for the latest calendar of operations). "Standard" one-way fares start at NT$3,500, but "basic" fares may be available for NT$2,490 (fare table). On top of the fare there is an additional NT$300-550 in fuel and port surcharges, which varies depending on the route. There are substantial discounts for seniors (65+) and children (12 and under). The service's Taiwan-facing website is here.

CSF operates fast ferries (about 3 hours) from Pingtan in mainland China to Taipei and Taichung in Taiwan. As of February 2019, the Taipei-Pingtan-Taipei route runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and the Pingtan-Taichung-Pingtan route runs on Mondays, Thursdays, and Sundays (full schedule). Adult fares for non-Taiwan citizens start at NT$3,500 one-way, $6,350 round-trip if purchased in advance (fare table), a couple hundred more if purchased at the pier (fare table). Fares are cheaper for Taiwan/ROC citizens (advance/pier.

Get around

IC Cards

Taipei's EasyCard (悠遊卡 Yōuyóukǎ) and Kaohsiung's iPass (一卡通) are the main public transportation smart and electronic payment cards, and replace the need to buy separate tickets for most national, regional and city buses, metro (MRT), as well as train services (TRA) all over Taiwan, and they can be used at retail establishments that display the respective sign, like convenient stores (7eleven, Family Mart), parking lots and some restaurants and shops. Though originally accepted only in their respective cities, the two cards can now be used interchangeably at most (but not all) locations.

Besides saving you the hassle of having proper change ready for your ticket, it mostly always gives discount on the chosen journeys. For instance, the price for any train (TRA) is calculated based on the price of a local train and a 10% discount. Thus, you can even take the faster trains with it (but not THSR) like the Tzu-Chiang limited express. The only disadvantage is that you will not have a reserved seat, which however is not an issue except on Saturday morning/noon and Sunday afternoon. The EasyCard also provides discounts on Taipei's public transportation network, and likewise with the iPass on Kaohsiung's network.

The EasyCard can be bought at the airport, in any of stations of Taipei MRT and most convenient stores. As of Dec 2019 the price was NT$500, consisting of a non-refundable deposit of NT$100 and NT$400 in electronic cash. If you want to add money onto the card, you can do so in MRT stations (including Kaohsiung MRT), TRA stations, and the common convenient stores. The card can hold amounts up to NT$5,000. Student IC cards with even deeper discounts are also available for purchase, but only upon request at a desk and a recognised student ID like ISIC.

Whether the card needs to be tapped only once or twice on city buses (on entry or on exit, see below) depends on which city you are in and sometimes how far you travel. Do not forget to tap twice (on entry and exit) where it is necessary, especially on regional and national buses outside of cities (and some unstaffed railway stations). Otherwise, your card will be blocked with "incomplete journey" (for all bus companies), and you will have to settle this issue with the responsible bus company. This can be a problem, because bus companies only serve certain regions. When leaving that region, e.g. by train, which is still possible with a (bus) locked card, no-one will be willing to unlock your card, even though also other bus companies are able to do so. Be insistent and with the help of the tourist information center tell them that you cannot go back to fix the problem, or that you tried and they did not solve the issue even though they told you so. Make sure that it is really unlocked (with a different bus company) and do not just trust them – it seems some cannot operate their machines properly. If you forget to tap the second time, you will only be charged a small initial fee instead of the whole journey, but unless you are at the end of your vacation to Taiwan or possess a second card, you should avoid having your card blocked. That said, most bus drivers and railway staff pay close attention to the tapping, so it is hard to miss.

It costs NT$14 to get in and out of the same railway station within an hour, in case you instead decide to take the bus. At the end of your travel, do not put too much money onto your card, because it can only be given back and cashed-out at certain locations, like some THSR stations. In addition to the NT$100 purchase fee, there is a NT$20 fee for returning the card within 3 months.

By train

Taiwan's train system is excellent, with stops in all major cities. Train stations are often in the centers of most cities and towns and serve as a convenient hub for most types of transportation. In addition, the train system allows you to bypass the highways, which can become extremely crowded on weekends and national holidays. The main downside is the lack of cross-island routes between the East Coast and West Coast; for instance, there is no rail line from Taichung to Hualien, so you will have to either drive, fly, or take a major detour via Taipei or Kaohsiung.

THSR

The new train backbone is Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR, 高鐵 gāotiě) , a high speed train based on Japanese Shinkansen technology that covers the 345 km route on the West Coast from Taipei to Zuoying (Kaohsiung) in 90 min. Other stops on the route are Banqiao, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi and Tainan, but many THSR stations have been built a fair distance from the cities they serve (e.g. a taxi from downtown Tainan costs up to NT$400, but there's a free shuttle bus). Taipei, Banciao, Taoyuan, Taichung and Kaohsiung (Zuoying) stations are connected with metro. Taichung station is built next to a railway station, convenient to transfer to the city center. Hsinchu and Tainan stations are connected to the city center with branch railway lines. Other stations can only be reached by bus. A one way ticket from Taipei to Kaohsiung costs NT$1,630 in economy or NT$2,140 in business class, but economy seats have plush seats and ample legroom, so there's little reason to pay extra, though business class passengers are offered a complementary drink and snack. All signage and announcements are in English as well, making navigation a snap. Bookings are accepted online and via phone up to two weeks in advance at +886-2-6626-8000 (English spoken), with payment required only when you pick up the tickets. Credit cards are accepted.

Bookings can be easily made by internet, and you can pay online or pay and pick up your tickets at almost every FamilyMart and 7-Eleven. You can also avoid the queues for long distance tickets at major stations by buying your tickets from the automated ticket machines. The English prompts on the automated machines are hard to spot but they are present,usually in the top left corner of the screen. The stations and platforms are wheelchair-friendly and all trains include a wheelchair-accessible car (wider doors, ample space, accessible bathroom). The Official English guide for online reservations distinguishes between "senior or disabled tickets" and "handicap-friendly seats"; while it's possible to buy a ticket for the former online ("correct passenger ID" required), a ticket for the latter has to be reserved by calling the ticketing office on the phone. Early Bird tickets are sold from 28 days before the day, and the discount to is up to 35% off.

All high-speed trains consist of two seating classes; economy class and business class. Although economy class is already clean and comfortable by international standards, paying extra for business class snags you a slightly wider seat, as well as a complimentary drink and snack.

All train announcements are made in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka and English.

Passes

The Taiwan High Speed Rail issues a THSR Pass for use on the high speed rail trains. These cost NT$2,400 for a regular 3-day pass, or NT$3,200 for a flexible 3-day pass. While a regular 3-day pass must be used in 3 consecutive days, the 3 days in a flexible 3-day pass may be spread out over any 7-day period. The 5-day joint passes allow for unlimited rides on the high speed rail for 2 days within a 5 day period, and unlimited rides on TRA lines within the same 5-day period. These cost NT$2,800 for a standard pass, which does not allow you to ride on Tzu-Chiang trains, and NT$3,600 for an express pass, which allows you to ride on all TRA lines. The THSR passes may only be used by foreigners who are in Taiwan on tourist visas (or visa exemptions), and must be purchased from travel agents overseas before you arrive in Taiwan.

TRA

Mainline trains are run by the separate Taiwan Railway Administration (dead link: January 2023) (TRA, 台鐵) , whose services are generally efficient and reliable. Reserving tickets well in advance is recommended when traveling with the train on weekends, especially for long distance travel. Slower (but more frequent) commuter trains without reserved seating are also available. Train timetables and online booking (dead link: January 2023) (up to 2 weeks in advance) are available on the TRA website for 24 hours. Booking and payment can be made online. You can also pay for the tickets you reserved at your local train station or post office to actually receive it. You can also buy the tickets of TRA in convenient stores now (you can reserve first and take the tickets in convenient stores). The way to buy tickets is same to high speed rail's. Children under 115 cm (45 in) height go free, and taller kids shorter than 150 cm (59 in) and under 12 years of age get half-price tickets. If you get return tickets there is a small discount depending upon travel distance. There are also vending machines at the larger stations.

The fastest train is Tzu-Chiang (limited express), and the slowest is Local. There is often little to choose between prices and destination times for adjacent train classes, but the gap can be quite large between the fastest and the slowest.

Tze-Chiang (自強 zìqiáng): The fastest (and most expensive). Assigned seating. Non-reserved (standing) tickets are supposedly sold at full price, but the boarding is possible with an Easycard for local train prices. There are Taroko Express (太魯閣號 Tàilǔgé Hào) and Puyuma (普悠瑪號 Pǔyōumǎ Hào) runnning from Taipei to Hualien, which only sell reserved tickets.
Chu-Kuang (莒光 júguāng): Second fastest. Assigned seating. In western Taiwan, it is as slow as a local train; in eastern Taiwan, it is still a fast, convenient train.
Local Express (區間快 qūjiān): Short to medium distance commuter train which skip some stations. No assigned seating.
Local Train (區間 qūjiān) : Short to medium distance commuter train, stops at all stations. No assigned seating.

Only on Saturday morning/noon and Sunday afternoon faster trains are packed, and it might make sense to buy a more expensive reserve-seat ticket, if you do not want to stand for 3 hr, depending on your destination. Otherwise, you can freely use the EasyCard for fast connections without worrying (except for THSR).

For travel to nearby cities, you can travel on local commuter trains. These arrive very frequently (about once every ten to fifteen minutes). In addition, "standing tickets" may be purchased on trains with assigned seating that have no available seats. Standing tickets are 80% the original ticket price and may be useful for last-minute travelers. However, you will be required to stand for the duration of your trip if there are no free seats.

Station announcements are made in Mandarin, Taiwanese, Hakka, and English.

A popular holdover from the Japanese colonial era is the railway bento tradition, known in Taiwan as the Taiwan Railway Bento (臺鐵便當 tái tiě biàn dàng). These are sold at most major TRA stations, and on board most long distance TRA trains. Both meat and vegetarian options are available, with the pork chop bento being particularly famous and iconic. Some smaller towns that do not have TRA bento stalls at in their stations have privately-owned shops selling bentos near to the railway station, and these often feature some local specialties. The towns of Fulong and Chishang are particularly famous for their local versions of the railway bento.

Passes

Similar to Japan and South Korea, Taiwan also offers several rail passes to foreign tourists for unlimited train travel within a stipulated period. The TR Pass can be used by foreigners for unlimited travel on TRA lines for a stipulated period of time. The TR Pass can be bought at railway stations in Taiwan. The TR pass also allows you to reserve seats for free on trains that have assigned seating. The TR pass is not valid on the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) as those trains are not operated by the TRA.

The 4-person-group ticket must be used by four people simultaneously. Validity has to be for consecutive days. Reduced price applies to children (age 7-12), senior citizens (age 65+) and disabled people.

TR Pass Student: The student version of the TR Pass is significantly cheaper than the general version, though unlike the general version, it is not valid for use on Tzu-Chiang limited express trains, and also cannot be used to ride in train cars with reserved seating. In order to qualify for this pass, you will need to show your passport and a valid International Student Identity Card (ISIC)

Ticket types and prices:

5-day ticket: NT$599
7-day ticket: NT$799
10-day ticket: NT$1,098

By bus

Taiwan has an extensive bus network, run mostly by private bus companies. Traveling by bus is generally cheaper than by train, especially for long-distance trips. However, on holidays, travel time may be much longer and tickets are more likely to be sold out. There are two categories: intercity buses (客運) and local buses (公車).

Taiwan Tourist Shuttle is a set of distinctly branded bus routes (some intercity, some local) that serve tourist sites, and are generally easier to use than regular routes. The official website offers route maps, timetables and recommended itineraries, but is somewhat confusing to navigate. There is, however, a toll-free number for inquiries. There are also information desks at major transport hubs.

Many cities have local buses. They are managed by local governments, therefore information can generally be found on the websites of the respective transportation bureaus. Drivers are usually happy to help, but may not speak English. Route maps at bus stops are mostly in Chinese. For visitors, it may be helpful to have your hotel or accommodation host suggest some routes for you and circle your destination on a map, then show it to the bus driver to make sure you're on the right bus. Announcements are in English, but hopefully the driver will remember to tell you when to get off in case you miss it. Most buses accept either cash (no change) or IC cards (like the EasyCard). Minor cities and towns do not have local buses, but have intercity routes that make frequent stops. These can be found using the method in the previous paragraph.

Occasionally a bus driver might stop a bus away from the curb at a bus stop. Sometimes it is due to a vehicle illegally parked at a bus stop. (Taiwanese traffic law and regulation prohibit vehicles from stopping or parking within 10 m (33 ft) of a bus stop.) However, a bus driver might stop a bus away from the curb just because he or she does not want to wait for overtaking traffic while leaving a bus stop. Therefore, be much more careful when getting on or off a bus stopped away from a curb, as many motorcycles, motor scooters, and bicycles will definitely be tempted to overtake on the right side of the stopped bus where people get on and off! (As traffic drives on the right side of the road in Taiwan, buses have doors on the right side.) In Taiwan you need to hail the bus you are taking as you see it coming—much like hailing a taxi. The terminal stop of the route is listed on the front of the bus in Chinese and sometimes English, so it is important to make sure the bus you get on is going the right direction.

For city buses, sometimes you pay when boarding, sometimes when alighting, sometimes both (whether with cash or an IC card). As you get on the bus there will be an LED sign indicating that, opposite the entrance. Sometimes it's only in Chinese: 上 means on boarding, 下 means on alighting (or just watch other people). In some cities such as Kaohsiung and Taichung, failing to swipe your card correctly will result in a locked card.

Navigation

Google Maps is a quick way to find a route to your destination, but is not always reliable, especially for trips with changes and for longer distance (like in the south and southwest). Often it will highly overstate bus travel times, because it will consider each stop while the bus might only stop at every third or fourth. Hence, a trip from Kaohsiung or Pingtung to Kenting will be stated with 3-4 hr, even though it will just take 1 hr. Therefore, it will also often suggesting the wrong connections and transfers. However, it gives a very good indication on the possible route, vehicle number(s), frequency, availability and price of buses and trains.

Besides, the Bus+ app (Android/iOS) is quite reliable with schedules. You can find bus numbers on it, and it will list its (live) route. This is much easier than reading the Chinese bus stop signs. In combination with Google Maps route search it is quite handy.

Furthermore, http://taiwanbus.tw/ has a likewise good overview, in case the Bus+ app is not that helpful.

By metro

The following areas are served by metro, also known as MRT:

Taipei and New Taipei by Taipei Metro
Linkou Plateau, western Taipei and northeastern Taoyuan City by Taoyuan Metro
Taichung by Taichung MRT
Kaohsiung by Kaohsiung MRT

It is prohibited to eat, drink or smoke in all metro systems past the fare gates. If multiple journeys are to be made, one can purchase a rechargeable IC card. There are 4 cards: EasyCard (悠遊卡), iPASS (一卡通), icash and HappyCash. For basic MRT transport purposes there is little difference between them.

All metro systems are reliable, safe, clean and accessible. Disruptions are rare. The Taipei Metro in particular is widely lauded as one of the world's most reliable and efficient, and is often held up as a gold standard for other Metro systems around the world to emulate. Nearly all stations have toilets, elevators and info desks. There are also special waiting areas that is monitored by security camera for those who are concerned about security late at night.

By taxi

Betel nut beauties (檳榔西施)

The highways of Taiwan are lined with brightly lit booths staffed by attractive, skimpily dressed young women, but they're not plying the world's oldest trade; instead, they're betel nut beauties, who compete for the attention of customers to sell the mildly addictive stimulant betel (檳榔 bīnláng), consisting of areca nuts and slaked lime wrapped in a betel leaf, not themselves. Betel itself is worth a try and there is a chance you will be offered it in the company of farmers or working-class Taiwanese. Be warned, it stains your teeth blood red. To consume it, bite and spit off the cap at the top of the nut, then chew the rest of the bundle. Only the first mouthful of saliva must be spit and afterwards one can either choose to spit or swallow and enjoy the buzz. One sampling on your trip shouldn't be a problem, but do keep in mind that this little treat is habit-forming and cancer-causing for long-term users. Due to the known health risks, consumption of betel nuts is declining, and betel but beauties are becoming increasingly few and far between.

Taxis are very common in major Taiwanese cities. You do not need to look for a taxi, they'll be looking for you. The standard yellow taxis scour roads looking for potential riders such as lost foreigners. It is possible but generally unnecessary to phone for a taxi. To hail one, simply place your hand in front of you parallel to the ground. But they'll often stop for you even if you're just waiting to cross the street or for a bus. In less heavily trafficked areas further out from the transit hubs, taxis are always available by calling taxi dispatch centers or using mobile apps.

Drivers generally cannot converse in English or read Westernized addresses (except for special Taoyuan airport taxis). Get the hotel staff or a Taiwanese friend write out your destination in Chinese, and also take a business card from the hotel. Show the driver the Chinese writing of where you are going.

Taxis are visibly metered (starting point priced at NT$70), and taxi drivers are strictly forbidden from taking tips. A maximum of four people can ride in one cab, and for the price of one. Compared to European or American taxis, those in Taiwan are inexpensive.

Although taxi drivers in Taiwan tend to be more honest than in many other countries, not all are trustworthy. An indirect trip might cost you half again as much. A cab driver using night-time rates during the daytime will cost you 30% more (make sure he presses the large button on the left on his meter before 23:00). Avoid the especially overzealous drivers who congregate at the exits of train stations. Also, stand your ground and insist on paying meter price only if any driving on mountain roads is involved. Some drivers like to tack on surcharges or use night-time rates if driving to places like Wenshan (文山) or Wulai (烏來). Such attempts to cheat are against the law.

From Taoyuan Airport (TPE), buses are a much more economical option but if you want a direct route Taoyuan airport drivers are the best choice. They're quite comfortable and get you to your destination as quick as possible. All the TPE taxi drivers are interlinked by radio so they could be forewarned if there are police. Sometimes, if there are traffic jams and no police around, the driver will drive in the emergency lane. 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.

The badge and taxi driver identification are displayed inside and the license number marked on the outside. You must also be wary that the driver turns on his meter, otherwise he might rip you off. In such a case, you aren't obliged to pay; but make sure you can find a police officer to settle the matter. If there are stories of passengers boarding fake taxis and being attacked by the driver, it is best not to be paranoid about it. Drivers may be more worried about passengers attacking them!

If you do call a taxi dispatch center, you will be given a taxi number to identify the vehicle when it arrives. Generally, dispatch is extremely rapid and efficient, as the taxis are constantly monitoring dispatch calls from the headquarters using radio while they are on the move. This is also the safest way to take a taxi, especially for women.

Taxis are also a flexible although relatively expensive way to travel to nearby cities. They have the advantage over the electric trains in that they run very late at night. Drivers are required to provide a receipt if asked, though you might find them unwilling to do so.

Taxi drivers, as elsewhere in Asia, are not keen on exchanging large notes. Try to keep some smaller denomination notes on hand to avoid the hassle of fighting with the driver for change.

Taxi drivers are known for their strong political opinions. Many are supporters of the pan-green coalition and Taiwanese independence, spending all day listening to Taiwanese political talk radio. Drivers also have negative connotations as being former prisoners. Be careful about your opinions on sensitive political subjects (including, but not necessarily limited to cross-strait relations); also be careful of describing your destination which may be perceived politically (such as the President's Office or Chiang-Kai-Shek Memorial Hall). Also watch out for drivers who discriminate against other cultures such as taping "No Korean passengers" on their cars. This is sometimes unavoidable as some drivers provoke such discussion. In addition, if you see what looks like blood spewing from the driver's mouth, or him spitting blood onto the street—not to fret–it's merely him chewing betel nut (see box). Keep in mind, however, that betel nuts are a stimulant.

Taxi drivers are generally friendly towards foreigners, and a few of them take the opportunity to try their limited English skills. They are most likely to ask you about yourself, and are a patient audience to your attempts at speaking Mandarin. If you are traveling with small children, don't be surprised if they are given candy when you disembark.

Women are sometimes warned not to take taxis alone at night. This is not an extreme risk, although there have been incidents where women have been attacked. To be more safe, women can have the hotel or restaurant phone a cab for them (ensuring a licensed driver), have a companion write down the license number of the driver (clearly displayed on the dashboard), or keep a cell phone handy. Do not get in if the driver doesn't have a license with picture clearly displayed in the cab.

By scooter or motorcycle

Scooters with an engine size of 50cc require a license to drive, and should be insured and registered in the owner's name. Foreign nationals with stay less than 30 days do not have an easy way to get a scooter license. Until 2003 it wasn't possible to get a scooter above 150cc. Many of the scooters within cities are only 50cc and incapable of going faster than 80 km/h (50 mph). The more powerful versions known as zhongxing (重型, heavy format) scooters are now quite common and can be rented for short-term use, or found for sale used at English In Taiwan if you're going to need it for a while. They are not allowed on freeways even if they are capable of going faster than 100 km/h (62 mph) unless used for certain police purposes, but that just means you have to take the scenic route.

If you're just learning to drive a scooter on the streets of Taiwan, it would be a good idea to practice a bit on a back road or alley until you have a feel for the scooter. Attempting to do so in the busier cities could easily be fatal. Certainly, things can get pretty hairy on Taiwanese roads and Taipei in particular has narrower more congested roads than many other cities. However if you know what you're doing, it's the perfect way to get around in a city.

It should be possible to rent a scooter by the day, week or month, depending on the city in which you're staying. One Taipei motorcycle and scooter rental service with English language service is Bikefarm, which is run by a very friendly and helpful English guy called Jeremy. In Taichung, Foreigner Assistance Services In Taiwan F.A.S.T offers a rental service for foreign visitors. Otherwise, scooters are generally easy to rent in most major cities, with many such places being near railway or bus stations. Most usually require some form of identification even if, in some cases, it consists of your expired Blockbuster video card! The average price you may expect is NT$400 for 24 hours, this includes one or two helmets.

Another option is to rent a motorcycle. Many foreigners swear by their 125cc Wild Wolf (野狼) motorcycles, and a trip around the island on a motorcycle can be a great way to see the island up close.

It is to be mentioned that since 2007, scooters and motorcycle over 550cc are allowed to go on expressway providing that they have a red license plate. They are however to be considered as cars, and as such cannot be parked in scooter parking spaces.

By car

An international driving license is required for driving in Taiwan and may be used for up to 30 days, after which you'll need to apply for a local permit. Some municipalities may impose additional restrictions, so check ahead with the rental shop. VIP Rentals in Taipei is quite happy to rent cars to foreigners, and will even deliver the car to a given destination. A deposit is often required, and the last day of rental is not pro-rated, but calculated on a per-hour basis at a separate (higher) rate.

The numbered highway system is very good in Taiwan. Most traffic signs are in international symbols, but many signs show names of places and streets in Chinese only. All road directional signs are written in both Chinese and English, though the non-standardized Romanization means that English names can vary between road signs, making it rather confusing. The highways are in excellent shape with toll stations around every 30 km (19 mi). Toll is charged electronically and you pay the rental company when you return the car. Traffic moves on the right in Taiwan.

Parking in cities is generally charged. A attendant will put a payment slip under your windscreen wiper, you can pay at convenience stores.

While driving may be the best way to get around the countryside, in larger cities like Taipei and Kaohsiung, traffic jams are a problem as is the difficulty of finding a good parking space, especially during the rush hour and traffic tends to get chaotic so you might be better off relying on public transport instead.

By thumb

While Taiwanese themselves don't generally hitchhike, foreigners will have it very easy to find a hitch. However, in rural areas people may not recognize the thumb in the air symbol, and you may try pointing your hand to the ground and waving towards you. It is very easy to flag down a car in rural and mountain regions. So, instead of waiting for that one bus a day that goes by, just hitch a ride.

Flagging down a car might work on a country lane with little or no public transportation, but doing so on a major road might lead to confusion, with the driver assuming that you are in trouble. A sign, especially one in Chinese, would therefore be of great help. The East coast around Hualien and Taitung enjoys a reputation for being especially good for getting rides. Taiwanese people are very friendly and helpful, so striking up a conversation with someone at a transport café or freeway service station may well see you on your way.

By bicycle

Although Taiwan is known for being a major player in the bicycle industry (through companies such as Giant and Merida), bicycles used to be considered an unwanted reminder of less prosperous times. This has changed, and bicycling is again on the rise, both as a tool for commuting and recreation, and support infrastructure is slowly being put into place. Several bike paths have been built, and recreational cycling has become quite popular amongst locals, especially on weekends. However, you should also be aware that local drivers have a well deserved reputation for recklessness. As such, you should exercise extreme caution when cycling outside of designated bicycle lanes and trails.

The government has been promoting bicycling as a method of clean recreation. Several designated bicycle paths have been built throughout Taiwan (especially along riverside parks). Additionally, long distance rides, including through the Central Mountain Range, and along the coastline around the main island have become popular. For long distance trips, bicycles can be shipped as is using standard freight service from the Taiwan Railway Administration between larger stations. Non-folding bicycles may also be transported aboard the Taipei and Kaohsiung rapid transit systems if loaded at specific stations, during off peak hours (usually 10:00-16:00 on weekdays, check with your local station personnel to confirm).

Taipei MRT Route Map, bicycles may be loaded at designated stations
Kaohsiung MRT Bicycle Information (passengers traveling with non-folding bicycles are assessed a flat rate NT$60 fare irrespective of distance)

Giant Bicycles Corporation operates a large network of bicycle retail stores that offer rentals for as little as NT$100 per day, if requested one week in advance. Generally, the day rate is around NT$300 for a modern bicycle. Also, rented bicycles can be picked up at one station and given back another station. This can be convenient if you want to go down the quiet east coast with a bicycle and back up the busy west coast with the train/bus. A one week finesse bike including bags costs as little as €100.

Public shared bicycles are also available for rent at automated kiosks in most Taiwanese cities. Rental fees are usually paid using the rapid transit EasyCard or iPass system. There is YouBike in Taipei, which are available all over the city and even 30 km out – see Taipei for more details.

Additionally, many local police stations provide basic support services for cyclists, such as air pumps, and as a rest stop.

By plane

Domestic air travel in Taiwan is primarily for outlying islands, as Taiwan is fairly compact with a modern and efficient rail network. There are also routes that connect the east and west coasts, since there is a geographical barrier between the two. There are no longer any west coast only routes as high speed rail has made them redundant.

The main carriers are Mandarin Airlines, a subsidiary of China Airlines; and UNI Air, owned by EVA. There is also Daily Air and Far Eastern Air Transport. Flights are frequent, and it is usually unnecessary to book flights in advance, except during holidays.

Fares for domestic flights are not too expensive, and local planes are very good. The domestic airport in Taipei is Songshan Airport, which is in the north of the Taipei and easily reached by MRT or taxi. Other domestic airports include those in Taitung, Hualien, Makung (Penghu/Pescadores), Kinmen, Taichung, Nangan and Beigan. Travelers heading to Kenting can use the direct and frequent bus service from Kaohsiung airport that connect with flights arriving from Taipei.

If you want to visit Taiwan's smaller islands, the plane is still the best option, and is the only practical option for traveling to Kinmen and the easiest method of reaching Penghu and Matsu. For travel to Green Island and Orchid Island, the plane from Taitung saves several hours over taking the ferry which is notorious among Taiwanese for its rough ride.

Taiwan is an excellent place for hiking and trekking, providing many interesting and picturesque trails in its mountainous center, or just northeast of Taipei. For reliable maps and comprehensive trails and map information, consult OpenStreetMap, which is also used by this travel guide, and by many mobile Apps like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz. Or just download the according GPX or KML files through Waymarked Trails for such trails on OpenStreetMap. (Note, you just need to change the OpenStreetMap relation ID to download additional GPX or KML files through the same link.)

See

Perhaps due to its political ambiguity and lack of global presence, Taiwan has never been a significant destination for Westerners. Nevertheless tourists from Japan and Hong Kong have been visiting Taiwan in droves for a long time, and they are being joined by an increasing number of Koreans, Southeast Asians and Westerners. The island is home to many cultural attractions, with an excellent selection right in the capital. Taipei is a bustling and modern metropolis, with ancient yet lively streets, and world-famous landmarks like Taipei 101. However, it's also home to the National Palace Museum, Zhongshan Hall, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and the beautifully restored Bao'an Temple. Bao'an is just one of many striking temple complexes worth a visit. For more, try the Zushi Temple in Sanxia or the Mazu temple in Makung. The large Longshan Temple in Lukang and the Confucian Temples of Changhua and Tainan are fine choices too. Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and therefore full of historic sites, especially colonial buildings, and including the Anping "Tree House" that's being slowly reclaimed by banyan trees. If you're looking for some deeper insights in Taiwan's history and culture, there's a wide range of museums to be explored, pretty much wherever your go.

Taiwan retains its place as a major center of Chinese pop culture. In addition, this state is home to bustling cities with modern, high-tech infrastructure, and good transportation infrastructure means that getting around is easy. For those who have grown weary of the hustle and bustle of cities, Taiwan also offers some very impressive scenery and charming historical villages in its rural areas.

Nature

Some people think of Taiwan as a grimy, densely populated industrial island full of hard disk factories, and you may well maintain this perception if you only stick to the densely populated West Coast. However, for those who take time to venture to the more sparsely populated East Coast will quickly find that Taiwan is actually home to some stunning landscapes. The Taroko Gorge (太魯閣) near Hualien in particular is very impressive, and should not be missed, with a side trip to the rugged shores at Shihtiping (石梯坪) as a worthwhile detour. Hehuan Mountain and Sun Moon Lake are beautiful natural attractions near Nantou, while the huge and ancient trees in Lalashan make for great hikes near Taoyuan. In fact, most of Taiwan is covered with mountains which offer breathtaking views, so hiking opportunities are very diverse.

Do

Hot Springs (溫泉) – Taiwan's geographical location between an oceanic trench and volcanic system makes it an ideal hot springs vacation spot. There are several hot springs destinations throughout the country, including Beitou (北投), Wulai (烏來) and Yangmingshan (陽明山). The culture of bathing in hot springs was introduced by the Japanese during the colonial period, and remains firmly entrenched in the local culture to this day. At traditional establishments segregated by sex, you may be expected to bathe nude. However, many other places, particular those geared for foreigners, are unisex and require a bathing suit.

Hiking

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.

Serious trekking is rather complicated due to an advance booking requirement (usually 7 days) and lodging lottery—see http://np.cpami.gov.tw/. Permits are required for many trails, especially remote or multi-day hikes and some (though not all!) in national parks. Nevertheless, there are also many trails available that do not need an application. They are mostly day hikes, but you can always put together your trip sections as preferred—consult apps that use OpenStreetMap, like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz. They have comprehensive and reliable tracks available.

Shrimping

Popular locally, and gaining traction with foreign tourists due to YouTube and travel bloggers, is the pastime of indoor shrimp fishing. For an hourly rate (around NT$300/hr), you will be provided with a fishing rod and a seat at an indoor shrimp pool that is regularly stocked with large live Thai prawns. While drinking beer and enjoying the laid back environment, you will be afforded an opportunity to catch dinner with locals. Almost all locales have a few indoor shrimp fishing pools to seek out. Almost all double as restaurants with tables and ovens available for use, allowing you to cook your catch on-site and order additional dishes as needed.

Events

Spring Scream (春天吶喊) – A three day outdoor rock concert in Kenting, held every year. In 2011, it will take place on 1–4 April. Tickets are NT$1,400 for all days, all venues; NT$650 for one day, one venue. Kenting's entire area gets swarmed by young people coming to party for 3 days, and Taiwanese TV heavily reports on the latest bikini fashions seen on the spot. Be aware, though, that police presence will be strong, as the festival has a reputation for being rife with illegal drugs.
Buddha's Birthday (佛祖誕辰) – Colorful but simple ceremonies are held at Buddhist monasteries that generally consist of washing a statue of the Buddha and a vegetarian feast. It is appropriate to make offerings to the monks and nuns at this time, though it is not mandatory. Lunar Calendar 8th day of 4th month.
Dragon Boat Festival (龍舟賽) – A festival to commemorate the death of the Chinese patriotic poet Qu Yuan (born 340 BC), who drowned himself in a river out of despair that his beloved country, Chu, was being plundered by a neighboring country as a result of betrayal by his own people. The festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month (25 June 2020), and is marked by races of colorful dragon boats at various locations throughout the island.
Cherry Blossom Season (櫻花季) – Every spring, in Yangmingshan (陽明山).
Mazu Festival (媽祖生) – Festival commemorating the traditional birthday of Mazu, a traditional Chinese goddess who is popularly worshipped in Taiwan. The biggest celebration is an eight-day long "inspection tour" of a Mazu statue from the Zhenlan Temple in Taichung to the Chaotian Temple in Beigang and back, though many other temples throughout Taiwan's main island and the outlying islands also conduct their own festivities. Lunar Calendar 23rd day of 3rd month.

Traditional pastimes

Generally speaking, traditional Chinese games such as Go (圍棋 wéiqí) and Chinese chess (象棋 xiàngqí) are popular in Taiwan too. Both games are played at the professional level in Taiwan, and there are numerous tournaments that visitors may watch.

While gambling is illegal in Taiwan, mahjong (Mandarin: 麻將 májiàng; Taiwanese: 麻雀 moâ-chhiok) remains popular. The Taiwanese version of the game derives from the Fujianese form, which differs significantly from the better known Cantonese and Japanese versions, most notably because a hand consists of 17 tiles instead of the 14 used in other versions. Mahjong in Taiwan is mostly a family and friends affair, and is usually played at social gatherings in people's houses. Mahjong clubs generally cater to groups of friends or family members looking to play together, though they can often assist in helping you find other players if you show up alone. While playing for money is not allowed at mahjong clubs due to Taiwan's anti-gambling laws, they will often allow you to exchange the points you win for various prizes.

Performing Arts

Glove puppet shows (布袋戲) originated in Fujian province on mainland China, and were brought to Taiwan by the first Han Chinese immigrants. Nevertheless, they have since been somewhat modernised and taken on some uniquely Taiwanese characteristics.

Another traditional Taiwanese type of performance is Taiwanese opera (歌仔戲), which originated in Yilan based on traditional Chinese opera styles.

Buy

Money

The currency of Taiwan is the New Taiwan dollar, denoted by the symbol "NT$" (新臺幣 or 臺幣, ISO code: NTD, but also referred to as TWD). The NT dollar is known locally as yuán (元 or more formally 圓) when written in Chinese or colloquially in Mandarin as the kuài (塊). One unit is known colloquially as the kho͘ (箍) in the Taiwanese dialect. One dollar is divided into 100 cents, known as a 分 (fēn) in Chinese. 10 cents is formally known as a 角 (jiǎo), and colloquially as a 毛 (máo) in Chinese. Any $ sign you see in Taiwan or this travel guide for Taiwan generally refers to NTD unless it includes other initials (e.g. US$ for U.S. dollars).

Banknotes come in denominations of NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000, while coins come in denominations of NT$½, NT$1, NT$5, NT$10, NT$20 and NT$50. The NT$½ coin is rarely seen or accepted because of its low value, and the price of raw materials used to make the coin is more than the face value of the coin.

Taiwanese currency is fully convertible and there are no restrictions on taking currency into or out of the island. Currency exchange is possible internationally, although you will get a much better rate if you wait until you arrive at the airport to exchange currency at the 24-hour window. Most banks in Taipei and Kaohsiung will also exchange money or offer cash advances on credit or debit cards. Should you bring American currency, bring newer bills as the banks and exchange-centers (such as in department stores) will only accept the newer notes (notes from 1996 and 2003 are not accepted at most places, due to a high proportion of forgeries bearing these years). Notes which are torn or damaged will probably not be changed, and old-style small-bust notes are not accepted, including the US$2 bill no matter when it was printed. Taiwan National Bank will take older bank notes and bank notes that are wrinkled or torn for exchange. Department stores will not exchange notes older than 1997. Don't forget to show your passport!

ATMs

Taiwan has abundant ATMs to withdraw cash from using the Plus or Cirrus systems. Certain banks' ATMs will even tell you your available balance in your own currency or in NT$. There is a per transaction limit of NT$20,000 for ATM cash withdrawals (HSBC Global Access customers may withdraw NT$30,000 from HSBC ATMs). Post office ATMs will not accept cards without an EMV chip.

However, ATMs are sometimes out of cash, especially in remote (mountain) regions. So, make sure you stock up on cash early enough. 7-Eleven ATMs charge NT$100 per transaction, whilst those in Family Marts do not charge a fee.

Credit cards

Most hotels and department stores accept credit cards, generally Visa, MasterCard, and JCB. Diners Club, Discover and American Express cards are usually not accepted. Most restaurants and 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.

Mobile Wallets

Unlike mainland China, QR code based mobile wallet payments are not quite ubiquitous or essential to the point that a visitor would have a hard time without one. In addition, Taiwan's mobile wallet apps generally require foreigners to register with an ARC, limiting the ability of visitors to use it. However, LINE Pay, one of the most popular, is cross-compatible with its counterparts in Thailand, Japan, and South Korea, meaning that if you already have a LINE Pay account from one of those countries, it can be used with any linked credit or debit card to make payments at stores in Taiwan that take LINE Pay. Your card will be directly charged in NT$; LINE Pay does not automatically convert to your account currency. This can reduce the amount of cash you need to carry around as some shops that otherwise do not take card payments will take LINE Pay and other mobile wallets.

Banks

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 UI number is the number on the Alien Residence Card for those on long-term visas. For short-term tourists, they can obtain an "UI No. Basic Information Form" for free from the local Immigration Agency office, but this is not accepted by all banks. The larger banks will often have English-speaking staff available to assist foreigners.

Costs

Costs in Taiwan are generally lower than in Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, but higher than in Southeast Asia and mainland China. For a budget traveler on a bare-bones budget, NT$1,000 will get you by for a day, but you'll probably want to double that for comfort. A meal at a street stall may cost NT$50 or less, a meal at a Western fast food restaurant will run you about NT$150 and at the fanciest restaurants, you can expect a bill in excess of NT$1,000. On the high end of the spectrum, hotel rooms at a swanky hotel might cost NT$5,000 or more. Costs diminish significantly the further you go out of the big cities. Taxis are quite reasonable and often have a set fare for common destinations, so ask in advance and haggle if you disagree.

Tipping

Tipping is generally not practiced in Taiwan. Bellhops in high end hotels and porters at airports are an exception and should be given NT$50 per bag. Also, tipping to show appreciation for exceptional service is not uncommon. Tipping is also not expected in taxis and drivers would usually return your change to the last dollar.

In place of tips is a 10% service charge when dining at most full-service restaurants which is automatically added to the bill.

Shopping

As in many Asian countries, night markets are a staple of Taiwanese entertainment, shopping and eating. Night markets are open-air markets, usually on a street or alleyway, with vendors selling all sorts of wares on every side. In the 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.

Every city has at least one night market; larger cities like Taipei may have a dozen or more. Night markets are crowded, so remember to watch out for your wallet! Shops selling the same items tend to congregate in the same part of the city. If you want to buy something, ask someone to take you to one shop and there will probably be shops selling similar things nearby.

There are many shopping centers in Taipei where prices are usually fixed and goods are genuine. Otherwise, shopping streets in larger cities like Kaohsiung and Taichung can also easily get you what you want. And of course, there is the trendy Ximending (西門町) in Taipei, where you can pretty much find anything associated with the youths, also at fixed prices. Computer chain shops and department stores normally have fixed prices, but at least in department stores you may get a "registered member discount" if you're shopping a lot.

Prices at smaller stores and even some hostels are normally cash prices. If you like to use a credit card, the seller normally wants to add anything up to 8% to the price as a "card fee" etc. The fee consists actually of the credit company's commission and also the local sales tax/VAT. If you pay cash, you might not get an official receipt, as then the seller would have to report and pay their taxes in full. If you ask for a receipt or "fa piao" (發票), you will get it but you may need to pay 3-5% more.

Bargaining

Whilst bargaining was OK in the past and expected in night markets as well as smaller stores, nowadays most prices are fixed. Taiwan has become a sophisticated and wealthy country where most Taiwanese, especially from the cities, generally do not request discounts and any such are likely to receive a friendly No. Nevertheless, you will encounter different prices, e.g. cut fruits will cost NT$30 at the Night Market, but NT$80 in tourist areas.

However, it is possible to get a discount of NT$20-100 when renting a motorbike/bicycle, searching for accommodation or such, depending on the circumstances and time of day. While you might miss a general bargaining culture and be bewildered by the general bargain inflexibility of Taiwanese, it can on the other hand be calming to know that no one will try to rip you off as it is common in other less-developed Southeast Asian countries.

What to buy

Popular things to buy include:

Jade. Although it can be hard to know for sure if the item you're buying is real jade or not, some beautiful objects are sold. Most cities have a specific jade market dealing in jade and other precious stones.
Computers. Taiwan designs and produces a lot of desktops, laptops, and PC peripherals. Travelers might be interested in visiting the large Information Technology Market at Taiwan for the best prices. Desktop computers and components tend to be the same price in Taiwan as in other areas of the world, though peripherals such as cables and adapters tend to be noticeably cheaper. If you're buying domestic, it's best to go to tourist hangouts to buy your stuff as you might be saddled with Chinese documentation otherwise. Also, notebooks are typically only available with a Chinese Bopomofo and English keyboard.
Lingzhi (靈芝). A type of bracket fungus that is often used as a Chinese herb. It supposedly has many health benefits with an apparent absence of side effects, earning it a high reputation in East Asian countries and making it rather expensive. Taiwanese lingzhi is particularly famous for being of the highest quality.
Tea. Taiwan is particularly famous for its oolong tea (烏龍茶) due to the island's predominant Fujianese culture; it is available at many tea shops. Tea tasting in Chinese culture is akin to wine tasting in Western culture and you will find many grades of this same type of tea, with different methods of treating the tea leaves.
Iron eggs (鐵蛋) irresistible delicacy

In order to protect the environment, a government policy rules that plastic bags cannot be given freely at stores in Taiwan, but have to be bought (at a flat rate of NT$1)—bakeries being an exception as the items need to be hygienically wrapped. Re-usable canvas and nylon bags are sold at most supermarkets.

Eat

Places to eat

If you're on a budget, the cheapest food can be found in back-alley noodle shops and night market stalls, where you can get a filling bowl of noodles for around NT$35-70.

The Taiwanese love to snack and even many restaurants advertise xiaochi (小吃), literally "small eats", the Taiwanese equivalent of Cantonese dim sum. There are also the standard fast food places such as McDonalds (a standard Big Mac Meal costs NT$115), KFC and MOS Burger. In addition there are large numbers of convenience stores (such as 7-Eleven and Family Mart) that sell things like tea eggs, sandwiches, bento boxes (便當盒) and drinks.

Night markets are also a good place to try some delicious local Taiwanese fare at attractive prices. Examples would be the Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) in Taipei and the Ruifeng Night Market (瑞豐夜市) in Kaohsiung, each of which has its own special dishes not to be missed.

Etiquette

As with Chinese cuisine elsewhere, food in Taiwan is generally eaten with chopsticks and served on large plates placed at the center of the table and shared among multiple people. Oftentimes, a serving spoon or pair of chopsticks (公筷 gōngkuài) accompanies the dishes and guests do not use their own chopsticks to transfer food to their plates.

The usual traditional Chinese taboos when eating with chopsticks apply in Taiwan as well. For instance, do not stick your chopsticks straight up or into your bowl of rice. This is reminiscent of incense sticks at a temple, and has connotations of wishing death upon those around you. When putting down chopsticks, either place them on the provided porcelain chopstick rest (at fancier restaurants) or rest the chopsticks across the top of your bowl. Also, do not use your chopsticks to spear your food or move bowls and plates.

See Chinese table etiquette for more details. Although there are minor differences between Taiwanese and mainland Chinese etiquette, much of traditional Chinese table manners apply to Taiwan too.

Dietary restrictions

Vegetarians

All Mahayana Buddhists, which account for the majority of adherents in Taiwan, aspire to be pure vegetarian in deference to the Buddha's teaching of non-violence and compassion. So, vegetarian restaurants (called su-shi 素食 tsan-ting 餐廳 in Mandarin, and often identified with the 卍 symbol, in this context a Buddhist symbol) can be found in abundance all over the island, and they run from cheap buffet style to gourmet and organic. Buffet styled restaurants (called 自助餐, which means "Serve Yourself Restaurant") are common in almost every neighborhood in large cities, and unlike the 'all-you-can-eat' buffets (which charge a set price, usually ranging from NT$250-350 including dessert and coffee/tea), the cost is estimated by the weight of the food on your plate. Rice (there is usually a choice of brown or white) is charged separately, but soup or cold tea is free and you can refill as many times as you like. NT$90-120 will buy you a good sized, nutritious meal.

However, if you cannot find a veggie restaurant, don't fret. Taiwanese people are very flexible and most restaurants will be happy to cook you up something to suit your requirements. The following sentences in Mandarin might be helpful: 我吃素 (Wǒ chī sù) - I'm vegetarian, 我不吃肉 (Wǒ bù chī ròu) - I don't eat meat. However, as Mandarin is a tonal language, you might need to say both, plus practice your acting skills to get yourself understood. Good luck! NB: If a restaurant refuses your order, don't push the issue. The reason will not be an unwillingness to accommodate your request, but because the basic ingredients of their dishes may include chicken broth or pork fat.

Taiwanese vegetarianism (素食) isn't simply vegetarianism, for there is a notion of "plainness" to it. In most cases it excludes items such onion, ginger, and garlic. Buddhists and Taoists consider these items "un-plain" because they potentially cause physical excitement, which could hinder the meditative process. Thus, when offering food to a strict vegetarian, be aware that they may not eat food containing onion, ginger, and garlic.

Although vegetarian restaurants in Taiwan do not aspire to vegan principles, almost all non-dessert dishes at Chinese style veggie restaurants will actually be vegan because Taiwanese do not have a tradition of eating dairy products. Ensure that your dish does not contain eggs, however.

Allergies

Awareness of food allergies is limited in Taiwan. If you can speak Chinese, you can ask restaurant staff about whether the food contains common allergens like peanuts or shellfish, and depending on the chef, they may be able to make some adjustments to accommodate you. Don't expect that level of accommodation from night markets stalls though. A serious soy allergy is basically incompatible with Taiwanese cuisine due to the prevalence of soy sauce as an ingredient, and gluten-free diets are very difficult to come by due to the very low incidence of celiac disease in Taiwan. Dairy is not commonly used in traditional Taiwanese cuisine, so avoiding it should be straightforward for lactose-intolerant people.

Religious diets

People on religious diets will have a hard time in Taiwan, and you will need to do some planning in advance. Muslims should contact the Chinese Muslim Association for advice on where to find halal food, while Jews should contact the Jewish Taiwan Cultural Association for information on where to find kosher food.

Drink

As Taiwan is a subtropical island with the south part in the tropics, it cannot hurt to drink a lot, especially during summertime. Drink vending machines can be found virtually everywhere and are filled with all kinds of juices, tea and coffee drinks, soy milk and mineral water.

Alcohol

Taiwan's legal age to consume alcohol is 18 years of age. Minors caught drinking can face fines ranging from NT$10,000-50,000. Traditional alcoholic drinks in Taiwan are very strong, although the Taiwanese themselves are fairly light drinkers compared to the rest of East Asia.

Kaoliang (高粱酒) from Kinmen is the most famous alcoholic drink. A distilled grain liquor, it is extremely strong, usually 140 proof or more, and often drunk straight.

Taiwan also produces many types of Shaoxing (紹興酒), rice wine, which are considered by many as being some of the best in the world.

While a relatively newcomer to the scene, Taiwanese whisky (威士忌) has been making waves in the 21st century, with local whiskey brand Kavalan having emerged from obscurity to win numerous prestigious international awards.

Taiwanese people enjoy beer on ice. A wide variety of imported beers are available, but the standard is Taiwan Beer (台灣啤酒), produced by a former government monopoly. It is brewed with fragrant penglai rice in addition to barley giving it a distinctive flavor. The beer is served cold and recognized as an especially suitable complement to Taiwanese and Japanese cuisine, especially seafood dishes such as sushi and sashimi.

Taiwan Beer has won international awards, including the International Monde Selection in 1977 and the Brewing Industry International Awards in 2002.

Beer on tap is uncommon in Taiwan, and most places serve beer in bottles. For a special and rare treat, ask for the Taiwan Draft Beer (台灣生啤酒), which comes in a plain green bottle. This has a 2-week expiration, so it can only be found at the breweries (there are a few scattered around Taiwan) or at select stores and restaurants in the vicinity.

A typical place for Taiwanese people to have drinks with friends is known as rè chǎo (熱炒), literally "hot stir fry", an informal restaurant serving mostly wok-fried Taiwanese dishes along with beer to go with the dishes.

Tea and coffee

Taiwan's specialty teas are High Mountain Oolong (高山烏龍, Gao-shan wulong), a fragrant light tea, and Tie Guan-yin (鐵觀音), a dark, rich brew. Enjoying this tea, served in the traditional way using a very small teapot and tiny cups, is an experience you should not miss. This way of taking tea is called lao ren cha (老人茶), 'old people's tea', and the name is derived from the fact that only the elderly traditionally had the luxury of time to relax and enjoy tea in this way. Check the small print when visiting a traditional tea house though: in addition to the tea itself, you may be charged a cover (茶水費, literally "tea-water fee") for the elaborate process of preparing it and for any nibbles served on the side. Taiwan is an excellent place to experience the elaborate Gongfu tea ceremony (工夫茶), a tradition it shares with the South Fujian and Chaoshan regions across the strait in mainland China.

One should also try Lei cha (擂茶; léi chá) a tasty and nourishing Hakka Chinese tea-based dish consisting of a mix ground tea leaves and rice. Some stores specialize in this product and allows one to grind their own lei cha.

As with Chinese teas elsewhere, Chinese teas in Taiwan are always drunk neat, with the use of milk or sugar unknown. However, Taiwan is also the birthplace of pearl milk tea, which uses sugar and milk.

Pearl milk tea (珍珠奶茶 zhēnzhū nǎichá), aka "bubble tea" or "boba tea", is milky tea with chewy balls of tapioca added, drunk through an over-sized straw. Invented in Taiwan in the early 1980s and a huge Asia-wide craze in the 1990s, it's not quite as popular as it once was but can still be found at nearly every coffee or tea shop. Look for a shop where it is freshly made. There are two cafes that maintain rival claims to having invented the drink: Chun Shui Tang (春水堂) in Taichung and Hanlin Tea Room (翰林茶館) in Tainan.

The cafe culture has hit Taiwan in a big way, and in addition to an abundance of privately owned cafes, all the major chains, such as Starbucks, have a multitude of branches throughout major towns and cities.

Soft drinks

Taiwan is a great place for fruit drinks. Small fruit-juice bars make them fresh on the spot and are experts at creating fruit-juice cocktails (non-alcoholic, of course). zong-he (mixed) is usually a sweet and sour combination and mu-gwa niou-nai (木瓜牛奶) is iced papaya milk. If you don't want ice (though it is safe in Taiwan, even at road side vendors) say, chu bing (去冰) and no sugar (wu tang (無糖)). Winter melon punch (冬瓜茶) is a popular unique local drink in Taiwan.

Soy milk, or doujiang (豆漿), is a great treat. Try it hot or cold. Savory soy milk is a traditional Taiwanese breakfast dish. It is somewhat of an acquired taste as vinegar is added to curdle the milk. Both sweet and savory soy milk are often ordered with you-tiao (油條), or deep fried dough crullers.

There are a lot of pseudo health drinks in Taiwanese supermarkets and convenience stores. Look out for asparagus juice and lavender milk tea for example.

Sleep

Types

For the budget-minded, there are hostels in Taipei and most other sizable cities. Some hostels are under table which mean they don't have valid license.
Motels (汽車旅館) can be easily found in suburbs of major cities. Despite the name, these have little if anything to do with the cheap functional hotels that use the name elsewhere; in Taiwan, motels are intended for romantic trysts and can be quite extravagant in decor and facilities. Many feature enormous baths with massage jets, separate massage showers, marble tiles, and so forth. Suites come with flat screen TVs and centrally controlled sound systems. During the daytime, most offer "rests" (休息) of a few hours, and indeed check-in times for overnight stays (住宿) can be as late at 22:00. Taichung is considered the motel-capital of Taiwan.
Taiwanese hotels range in quality from seedy to very luxurious. Despite the complexities of doing business with both mainland China and Taiwan, most Western hotel chains operate in Taiwan such as Sheraton, Westin and Hyatt. Also, there are plenty of five-star hotels around. Keep in mind, however, that many of the international hotels tend to be outrageously expensive, while comparable and much cheaper accommodation is usually available in the same vicinity. For example, the airport hotel at CKS International charges about three or four times as much as a hotel in Taoyuan which is a half hour cab ride away. Taxi drivers and tourist offices are invaluable resources for finding cheaper hotels.
A uniquely Taiwanese form of accommodation is known as the minsu (民宿), which is similar to Bed and Breakfast accommodation that you usually find in the UK. Although typically cheaper than hotels, the facilities can often be as good as those of some higher end hotels, and many are designed around a specific theme (like fairy tale castle, nature lodge) Accommodation at a minsu typically includes breakfast the next morning, and higher end ones sometimes also give you the option of having a home-cooked style dinner. The downside is that most minsu are either in residential suburbs or in the countryside, meaning that transportation is typically less convenient that at centrally located hotels, and the availability of wi-fi can be a hit or miss. In addition, most minsu advertise in Chinese only.
Camping does not seem to be an issue in Taiwan and is available in many areas, even in national parks like Kenting National Park. Although, in Taroko Gorge (National Park) you will have to pay for the camp ground. In general, a small fees may apply at official camp grounds. Inquire with the local tourist information center where it is possible to camp and where not. Also, be aware there are "poisonous snakes and wasps" signs all over the country. So, make sure you know where you are camping, and how to keep out "unwanted guests". Consult a map like OpenStreetMap, which many mobile Apps like OsmAnd or Mapy.cz, use, to find existing camp grounds or good locations.

Remarks

Nowadays, walk-ins are often more expensive than online bookings, especially with bigger hotels. It often seems, they cannot even beat their own online prices and you might need to book online instead of paying in cash on-sight—they will even courteously offer their WiFi for you to do that. Either way, it is advisable that you know what is the actual price online, which gives you a good bargaining ground. Sometimes they will quote a higher price, sometimes they will give you NT$50 less, but often it is just the online price. If you are still in need of a discount, send the ho(s)tel an email or WeChat/Line message quoting the online price. Some will give you 10 % discount on the online price this way, especially for same day short notice bookings. Generally, short notice bookings will give you a better price, since hotels are trying to sell their stock at a bargain price last-minute. However, do not try this for Saturday/Sunday or Holiday/Holiday bookings, this will leave you with bad or no options.

Many hotels in Taiwan have both Chinese and Western names, which can differ radically. Find out and bring along the Chinese name (in Chinese characters), as locals will usually not be able to identify the English ones.

Hotel beds in Taiwan are generally much harder than in the West because of the old Asian tradition to sleep on a wood board. Modern mattresses can be found in most hotels, but only in the most upscale Western style hotels will you find beds in a real western style.

Many accommodations are not staffed 24/7, but they will leave a contact at their door. Often this will be a WeChat or Line contact, which are like WhatsApp. Thus, it makes sense to get these apps while traveling in Taiwan.

Agoda seems to list more accommodation options than Booking for Taiwan. However, Agoda's way of claiming additional fees and stating dorm bed availability is a little dodgy. It often says "1 person in a dorm" but then "Occupancy: 2 adults". So, better to book each person separately just in case. Also, never choose the option to get charged in you credit card's home currency (€, US$, or so). This will give you a very bad exchange rate. Always select "TWD" as charged currency—in this case your home bank is indeed your friend. Or just get the displayed address/GPS, which is always fully displayed, and walk into the hotel.

Learn

Taiwan is home to several good universities, many of which have exchange agreements with various foreign universities, and these are a good way to experience life in Taiwan. The most prestigious university in Taiwan is the National Taiwan University (國立臺灣大學).

Mandarin Chinese

Some universities in Taiwan have Chinese Promoting Programs (華語文推廣中心) that offers Chinese lessons to foreigners who wish to live in Taiwan or to learn Mandarin Chinese as their second or foreign language. The romanisation system taught here nowadays is Hanyu Pinyin (漢語拼音), whereas in the past they taught Zhuyin (注音), or BoPoMoFo (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ). The writing system taught is Traditional Chinese and the form of Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect but the Taiwanese accent is quite noticeable.

Martial arts

There are many styles of kung fu (功夫) taught in Taiwan, largely by masters who came here with the Kuomintang in the late 1940s.

Styles include Ba Gua (八卦), Tai Chi (太極), Wing Chun (詠春), Praying Mantis (螳螂), Shway (水) Shiao and various weapons systems. Many of the students are westerners in these classes, which has led to the rise of several NHB Allegra (dead link: January 2023) schools, and Brazilian Ju Jitsu, Russian Sambo, Japanese Aikido.

Some of the more famous teachers will provide you with the paperwork needed to extend a student visa twice.

Taekwondo is also extremely popular and is often a mandatory part of school children's physical education.

Work

The majority of travelers who work in Taiwan pick up temporary jobs teaching English. Jobs teaching other languages (mainly European or Japanese) do exist but have a much smaller proportion of the market.

Job requirements: In finding employment with a language school, experience, teaching qualifications and references are not required but obviously help. On paper, a big issue is also made about accents, with the North American English accent being heavily favored over British, Australian and South African accents in many language schools' sales marketing. However, in practice, many schools that advertise 'American English' and claim that their teachers are all from Canada or the USA, actually employ teachers from anywhere. Age is a factor, with applicants in their 20s seemingly being preferred. 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 is then the major factor for keeping your job. Therefore, if you look the part, it is very easy to find a school willing to take you on for at least a few days.

This 'look Western' point has quite a bearing. Unfortunately, Taiwan is hardly a great promoter of equal opportunities. In many schools there is a prejudice against teachers applying for jobs who are not of white appearance, seen as the typical Western appearance in Asian countries. This is independent of whether or not the teacher has relevant teaching ability and citizenship of one of the permitted ARC countries. Many parents who send their children to schools to be taught English expect the teacher to look like they are from the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, and so on, and so the decision on the part of the school managers is mainly about economics. For those affected by this, it's a sad fact of Taiwan that is unlikely to change in the near future. Good employers without such prejudiced requirements do exist, but greater perseverance is needed when looking for them.

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. Alternatively, if you have a lot of money, you can obtain an investor visa by investing a large sum of money in a local business, which allows you to work for that company in a management capacity. However, illegal employment is easy to find with many school managers being willing to pay under the table for short durations. If caught or reported, you risk criminal charges and could be deported. The government tends to waver from being very lax on this issue under one administration to suddenly taking action under the next; but it only takes one disgruntled student to report you and have you fined and deported. Consider your options carefully!

The rules for getting an ARC do change often and each administrative part of Taiwan has its own ways of handling them, so it is best to check the pages of the website Forumosa and find out what the experiences of others are in your area. Keep in mind, that you can only get an ARC for English teaching if you are a 'citizen of a native English speaking country'. Taiwan's government defines these countries to be only the U.S., Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa. Almost all teachers apply for an ARC through their employers only after starting work and it is tied to their ongoing employment with that school. Therefore, if the teacher wishes to leave their employment, they will have to quickly find an alternative employer or lose their ARC and hence be required to leave Taiwan. Also, very few schools will arrange an ARC without at least a year-long contract being signed. Frankly, with all this inflexibility, it's no wonder so many teachers opt for the non-legal route. That and tax evasion.

Citizens of Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Ireland and Canada aged 18–30 can apply for a working holiday visa. For more information, visit the Bureau of Consular Affairs website (dead link: January 2023).

After living in Taiwan continuously for 5 years, you may apply for permanent residency. If granted, it allows you to live and work in Taiwan indefinitely without restrictions.

A lot of the illegal teaching work that the majority of English teachers partake in is simply through private student tuition with payment being cash-in-hand. You can find a lot of private students around universities that have a Chinese-teaching department—look for the areas where all the foreign students are and check the noticeboards. Because the majority of adult private students want to practice English conversation, you won't need to have any Chinese ability. However, it is definitely a selling point and, if you do have Chinese-speaking ability, it's worthwhile mentioning that in any advertising of your services. Also, once you have some regular students, remember that in Taiwan, as in most Asian countries, 'connections' or 'guanxi' are very important. If your students like you, they will in all likelihood recommend you to their family and friends.

Teaching English in Taiwan can be lucrative, as the salaries are very high compared to the cost of living, typically ranging NT$500-650 per hour before deductions in most language schools, with anything between NT$500-1,000 per hour being negotiable for private students. In the past few years, the flow of would-be teachers into Taiwan has increased dramatically, resulting in stiffer competition for jobs and a general drop in wages, and this trend may continue. Employers of English teachers are notorious for racial discrimination. White people are much more likely to get better offers than those of other races, regardless of ability.

Aside from English-teaching, other common kinds of employment available for mainly native English-speaking travelers include such tid-bits as small acting parts for TV and film, voice talent (video games, dubbing tracks, etc.), editing and even writing educational materials. Many of these jobs are advertised on billboards in Chinese language-teaching institutes and universities, where there are likely to be many foreign students.

If after traveling and living there, you find you are serious about working in Taiwan, the most lucrative employment to be had is if you are employed by a multinational company, perhaps in a high-paying country like the UK, U.S. or Australia, and you are sent across to their office in Taiwan. Many foreigners end up doing the same job as their colleagues who were employed in the Taiwan office, but for perhaps 3 or 4 times their pay.

Stay safe

Taiwan treats drug offenses extremely severely. The death penalty or life imprisonment is mandatory for those convicted of trafficking, manufacturing, importing or exporting more than 15 g of heroin, 30 g of morphine, 30 g of cocaine, 500 g of cannabis, 200 g of cannabis resin and 1.2 kg of opium, and possession of these quantities is all that is needed for you to be convicted.

Unauthorized consumption can result in up to 5 years' jail. You can be charged for unauthorized consumption as long as traces of illicit drugs are found in your system, even if you can prove that they were consumed outside the country and you can be charged for trafficking as long as drugs are found in bags that are in your possession or in your room, even if they aren't yours and regardless of whether you're aware of them. Therefore, be vigilant of your possessions.

Crime

Taiwan is very safe for tourists, even for women walking down the street alone at night. This is not to say, however, that there is no crime, and you should always exercise caution. In crowded areas such as night markets or festivals, for example, pickpockets are a known problem. However, it is fair to say that the streets of Taiwan are generally very safe and that violent crime and muggings are very rare.

In addition, it is also very unusual to see drunks on the street, day or night.

Like anywhere else in the world, women should be cautious when taking taxis alone late at night. Although they are generally safe, it's a good idea to arrange to have a friend call you when you get home and to be seen making the arrangements for this by the cab driver. It also helps if a friend sees you being picked up as taxis have visible license numbers. As an additional safety precaution, tell taxi drivers just the street name and section instead of your exact address.

Police departments in most jurisdictions have a Foreign Affairs Police unit staffed by English-speaking officers. When reporting a major crime, it is advisable to contact the Foreign Affairs unit in addition to officers at the local precinct. Police stations are marked with a red light above the door and display a sign with the word "Police" clearly printed in English. For more information see the National Police Agency website.

Foreign victims of a major crime in Taiwan are also advised to report the matter to their government's representative office in Taipei.

Also, remember that you call 110 for police in Taiwan, and 119 for fire department or medical help. Most of the public telephone booths allow you to call 110 or 119 for free. See "Emergency Phone Numbers" section below.

Taiwan is home to many triads (Chinese organized crime syndicates that derive from secret societies), although they almost never target the average person in the street, and most tourists will not encounter them. Many operate human trafficking rings involving the sale of poor women from Southeast Asia into sex slavery that the government has struggled to tackle. They are also often involved in illegal betting and loansharking, so it is best to be prudent and avoid these.

Military exercises

The Taiwanese military organizes regular civil-defense exercise, known as Wan-an Exercise (萬安演習). Air raid sirens are activated for 30 minutes during the exercise, and you are required to follow any evacuation orders made by the military and police.

If you are in a building, you should close all windows and doors and turn off lights.
If you are driving, you must pull over your vehicle and make a complete stop. Vehicles must not enter any motorways, but must leave the motorway and pull over your vehicle in exits. Traffic police will give proper instructions to drivers and regulate traffic flow.
If you are taking a train/metro, you must not enter the train or leave the station, and should follow evacuation orders given by railway staff, the military and the police.

Failure to comply with instructions can result in a heavy fine.

Emergency phone numbers

Police: 110
Fire/Ambulance: 119

The police and fire/ambulance offer service in English.

For those who need Taiwanese governmental assistance in English, this website has a 24-hour toll-free foreigner service hotline at 0800-024-111, which you may call for assistance.

Natural hazards

Taiwan often experiences typhoons (颱風) during the summer months and early fall, especially on the East Coast. Heavy monsoon rainfall also occurs during the summer. Hikers and mountaineers should be sure to consult weather reports before heading into the mountains. A major hazard following heavy rainfall in the mountains is falling rocks (土石流) caused by the softening of the earth and there are occasional reports of people being killed or injured by these.

Taiwan is also on the Pacific Ring of Fire, which means that earthquakes are a common occurrence. Most earthquakes are barely noticeable, though the effect may be slightly amplified for those in higher buildings. While the local building codes are extremely strict, general precautions should still be observed during an earthquake, including opening the door to prevent it from being jammed, taking cover and checking for gas leaks afterwards. While most newer buildings have been built according to strict codes that enable them to withstand major earthquakes, some of the older buildings were not constructed to such high standards and therefore are vulnerable to serious damage or collapse in the case of a strong tremor.

Taiwan's wild areas are home to a variety of poisonous snakes, including the bamboo viper, Russel's viper, banded krait, coral snake, Chinese cobra, Taiwan habu, and the so-called "hundred pacer" (百步蛇). Precautions against snake bites include making plenty of noise as you hike, wearing long trousers and avoiding overgrown trails. Most snakes are scared of humans, so if you make noise you will give them time to get away. Walking quietly means that you may suddenly startle them around a corner when you appear, and trigger an attack. The Russel's viper, one of the most dangerous snakes in Taiwan, is an exception: it generally prefers to take a stand against threats.

Traffic

Local drivers have a well-deserved reputation for seeming reckless and downright immoral. It is possible (even normal) to obtain a driving 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. It is advisable to use slow and smooth movements over quick or sudden ones. 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. Be aware that during busy traffic (i.e., nearly always) two-lane roads will spontaneously become three-lane, an orange light will be interpreted as 'speed up', and the smallest moment's pause in oncoming traffic will result in everybody that's waiting trying to turn across it. 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. Many motorcycle riders also have a tendency to zip through any space, no matter how tiny. Also be aware that motorcycles often travel through areas typically considered pedestrian-only spaces, like the night-markets.

If you drive a car or a motorcycle, the obvious rule is that if someone turns in front of you, you should be the one to adapt. To avoid collisions, drivers need to be extremely vigilant for other vehicles creating hazards and always be willing to adjust speed or direction to accommodate. Do not expect drivers to yield way, or respect traffic lights in many areas, especially in central and southern Taiwan. Sounding the horn is the usual way a Taiwanese driver indicates that they do not intend to accommodate a driver trying to encroach on their lane, etc., and does not necessarily imply the anger or criticism, as it does in other countries. One bright side of Taiwan's chaotic traffic is that drivers tend to have an exceptional awareness of the spatial extents of their vehicle and maneuver well, so that even though it continuously looks like somebody is about to drive straight into you, it's relatively rare that they actually do so.

Be extra careful when crossing the road, even to the extent of looking both ways on a one-way street. When crossing at a pedestrian crossing at a T-junction or crossroads, be aware that when the little green man lights up and you start crossing, motorists will still try to turn right, with or without a green feeder light. Even on roads where traffic is infrequent and the green light is in your favor, bike riders are still strongly advised to check the opposite lane.

Homosexuality

Taiwan is generally a safe destination for gay and lesbian travelers. There are no laws against homosexuality in Taiwan and unprovoked violence against gays and lesbians is almost unheard of. Same-sex marriage was legalised in Taiwan on 24 May 2019, making it the first Asian country to do so. Taiwan is also the first East Asian country to have enacted anti-discrimination laws on the basis of sexual orientation in the areas of education and employment. There is an annual gay pride event called Taiwan Pride. Taipei is home to a vibrant gay scene, and there are also gay bars in some of Taiwan's other cities like Taichung and Kaohsiung.

Acceptance among the Taiwanese public tends to be measured, and homosexuality is still considered to be somewhat of a social taboo, particularly by the older generation. Openly displaying your sexual orientation in public is likely to draw stares and whispers from some people. Nevertheless, attitudes are changing and homosexuality tends to be more accepted by the younger people.

Dogs

They can be a problem in remote and rural regions, although they are far less numerous than in Thailand and Myanmar. If they get too close to you, picking up a stone or having a big stick is usually a sufficient deterrent. Taiwanese Aboriginals hold dogs in higher regard than Han Chinese do. Many Aboriginal communities have dogs freely running around their communities.b

Stay healthy

Pollution

Air pollution can be significant with the highest ratio of scooters per person in the world and a high west coast urban density. You can check air quality real time monitoring on this page. For reference the USA standard for fine particles (PM2.5) over 24 hours should be below 35 µg/m³. It is a good idea to use a mask that can filter fine particles (how to choose a mask), especially when traveling with the elderly or children.

Water

Water quality in Taiwan varies depending on location and time. According to the sole water company of Taiwan, tap water is in general safe to drink. However, it is advised that drinking water be boiled in order to eliminate residual chlorine and bacteria.

Taiwan is prone to typhoons and earthquakes, which adversely affects water quality. Some buildings, particularly older ones, may have poorly maintained water towers and/or pipes, resulting in poor quality that is beyond the control of the water company. Depending on the severity, one might either filter the water in addition to boiling or avoid the taps altogether. Alternative options include buying bottled water or going to a "water station" where water is sold through a metered tap. Water from these sources is licensed to be safe for drinking. Bottled water can be bought in 24 hour convenience stores.

Water quality in Kaohsiung used to be very poor. As a result, most people today use alternative sources. However, there is little evidence that this is necessary today as the quality has improved drastically. In addition, the mentioned alternative sources today are mostly filtered tap water and do not circumvent the historical source of contamination.

Healthcare

Medicines are available for minor ailments at drug stores. 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.

Taiwan has both Chinese physicians and Western doctors, both of which are taken equally seriously. However, as a foreigner, the assumption would generally be to direct you to a Western doctor. The quality of the hospitals in Taiwan is excellent and on par with, if not better than those found in the West. Taiwan's healthcare system is considered to be one of the best in the world. Legal residents with a National Health Card can avail themselves of the very convenient and efficient national health service, which covers treatment and medication using both Western and traditional Chinese medicine. However, this service is not available to short term visitors on tourist visas; nor does it cover major hospitalization expenses. Still, hospital visits and medicine in Taiwan tends to be far less expensive than in Western countries. Most Taiwanese doctors are able to communicate in at least basic English, and in fact, many of the top ones have obtained their medical qualifications in the US and are able to speak English fluently. However, you may find the nurses to be more of a challenge.

Hiking

Watch out for mosquito bites when hiking in the mountains. Especially in the summer, the humid and hot weather makes mosquitos very active. Most mosquito bites only cause skin irritation and itching, but in some areas of Taiwan it's possible to contract dengue fever or Japanese Encephalitis (though they are both rare in Taiwan). Mosquito/insect repellent spray can be found at convenience stores (such as 7-Eleven and FamilyMart) and local pharmacies. If you are bitten by mosquitos, apply a small amount of ointment for irritation relief.

Respect

The Taiwanese are generally a warm and polite people, having been strongly influenced by Confucianism. As Taiwanese culture places a strong emphasis on respect for elders, elderly visitors will find most Taiwanese to be very helpful and accommodating.

Naming customs and modes of address are generally the same as in mainland China. See the Respect section of that article for details.

Culture

Taiwan shares several cultural taboos/guidelines with other East Asian nations:

When giving and receiving business cards, always do it using both hands and with a slight bow of the head. Giving or receiving a business card with only one hand is very disrespectful.
Some Taiwanese are superstitious about anything connected with dying – unlucky things should never be mentioned. The number 4 (four, pronounced 'si') sounds like the word for death in Mandarin.
Do not write people's names in red. This again has connotations of death. When writing someone's English name, this is not a problem, but avoid writing Chinese names in red.
Do not whistle or ring a bell at night. This is an "invitation to ghosts".
Do not point at cemeteries or graves. This is disrespectful to the dead.
Unlike in some other parts of East Asia, bowing to greet people has fallen out of custom as handshakes and waves have become more common.
There are numerous taboos dictating that certain objects shouldn't be given to others, often because the word for that object sounds like another unfortunate word:
- Clocks. The phrase "to give a clock" ("song zhong"), in Mandarin, has the same sound as the word "to perform last rites." If you do give someone a clock, the recipient may give you a coin in return to dispel the curse.
- Shoes. Never ever offer shoes as a gift to old people, as it signifies sending them on their way to heaven. This is acceptable only if by mutual arrangement it is nominally sold, where the receiving party gives a small payment of about NT$10.
- Knives or sharp objects, as they are made for or could be used to hurt the person.
- Umbrellas, which in Mandarin sound the same as the word for "break up". Friends should therefore never give friends umbrellas. Instead, friends will euphemistically "rent" each other umbrellas for a tiny amount (NT$1, for example).
The Taiwanese are certainly not puritanical and enjoy a drink, especially the locally brewed Taiwan Beer and Kaoliang. However, Taiwan does not have a culture of heavy drinking like in Northern China and it is rare to see anyone drunk on the streets. While over indulging in alcohol is not a social taboo as such (and some people do so at weddings), it is considered a sign of lack of self-confidence and immaturity, and doing so certainly won't gain you any respect among Taiwanese friends.
You are expected to remove your shoes before entering a house. You will find some slippers to be worn by visitors next to the entrance door. It is likely to be the same ritual for bathrooms and balconies where you will be expected to remove your slippers to wear a pair of plastic sandals (though it is less shocking not to use the sandals by then).
As you will get along with Taiwanese people, you are very likely to receive small presents of any sort, such as drinks, food or little objects. These are a very convenient way to lubricate social relations for Taiwanese people, and are especially common between friends in their 20s. You should reciprocate any such presents with something similar, but it does not need to be immediate or specially tailored to that person (i.e., keep it simple). As a teacher you are not expected to offer anything in return, as long as the relationship stays formal. However, beware of the sometimes overly generous parents who can go as far as offering presents running in the thousands of NT$ and who will then expect you to take special care of their child (understand that their expectations will be considered fair in Taiwanese culture).
You are not expected to tip in hotels, restaurants and taxis, though bellhops may still expect NT$50 or so for carrying your luggage.
Much like the mainland Chinese, "saving face" is also a major value in Taiwanese culture. In general, you should avoid pointing out other people's mistakes in order to avoid causing major embarrassment and if you really have to, call the person to one side and do it in private, and try to do it in a polished manner.
If you should need to use a temple's washroom, bow to any statues of deities you see on the way whether or not you believe in them. While most people will not mind you using the temple's washroom, they expect you to treat their place of worship with respect. If you plan to offer gifts (such as simple fruits) to the statues of deities in the temple, it is expected that you wash the fruits and your hands prior to offering. In addition, upon entering and leaving a temple, do take and avoid stepping directly on the raised threshold: always try to step over it. You should also never point to the status of deities with your index finger; use your thumb or an up-facing open palm instead.
You will often see priority seats (博愛座) on public transportation in Taiwan. These are reserved for the elderly, disabled people, pregnant women and women carrying young children; do not sit in them unless one of those situations applies to you.
Cultural identity is a complex and sensitive issue in Taiwan. While most Taiwanese people are ethnically Chinese, many people, especially the youth, seek to distance themselves from China with a distinct Taiwanese identity, and will often emphasize their Japanese colonial heritage instead. Some Taiwanese Han may also emphasis that the indigenous population of Taiwan is what sets them apart from China, although many indigenous Taiwanese themselves object to being used as political tools by the Taiwanese Han majority.

Religion

Most Taiwanese people follow a mix of traditional Chinese folk religions and Buddhism, and it is common to visit temples to offer prayers during important festivals or life events. That said, contemporary Taiwanese society is largely secular in daily life, and religion in general does not play a significant role in people's work or political affiliations. Nevertheless, you are still expected to dress and behave respectfully when visiting temples.

As in other Asian countries, swastikas are commonly seen in Buddhist temples as a religious symbol. They emphatically do not represent Nazism or anti-Semitism.

When visiting temples, be sure to enter using the right gate and exit using the left gate (facing inwards). The larger middle gate is traditionally reserved for deities and the Emperor of China. Also be sure to avoid pointing at the statues of deities with your index figure, as it is considered to be very disrespectful. Use your thumb or an up-facing open palm instead.

The most popular traditional Chinese deity in Taiwan is Mazu, a Fujianese shamaness who is believed to have ascended to godhood and now protects sailors, as the Fujianese were largely a seafaring people.

Christianity is the dominant religion among the indigenous Taiwanese, with Presbyterianism and Roman Catholicism being the main denominations. There is also a small Christian minority among the Han Chinese.

Taiwanese people are generally tolerant of different religions, and people of all faiths can usually practice their religion without any major problems. The Falun Gong religion which is banned in mainland China is allowed in Taiwan, though attitudes towards them from the local Taiwanese people tend to be very mixed.

Politics

Taiwanese society is rather polarized by allegiance between supporters of the two major political blocs informally known as "Pan-Blue Coalition" and "Pan-Green Coalition", although there are large numbers of people who are either centrist or who don't care. To simplify a very complex situation, pan-blue supporters tend to be more favorable toward the idea of reunification or maintaining the status quo with China and pan-green supporters tend to be more favorable toward the idea of establishing a formally independent Taiwan state, among other differences.

Although there are some correlations, it is highly unwise to assume anything about a particular person's political beliefs based on what you think you know about their background. Also, this very brief sketch of Taiwanese politics obscures a large amount of complexity. Traditionally, mainlanders, indigenous people, Hakka people and people from Kinmen and Matsu tended to be strongly pan-blue, while Taiwanese speakers from Central and Southern Taiwan tended to be strongly pan-green, though this distinction has largely disappeared among the younger generation, who are now overwhelmingly pro-independence.

Unless you know your listener well, it is unwise to say anything (either positive or negative) about the current government, about historical figures in Taiwanese history, about Taiwan's international relations, or about relations with mainland China. Some political figures such as Sun Yat-sen (who is also popular in the PRC and with the Chinese government) and Chiang Ching-kuo are generally seen positively, but others (Chiang Kai-shek, Lee Teng-hui, Chen Shui-bian, and Ma Ying-jeou) arouse very polarized feelings.

Some Taiwanese will get very offended if you imply that Taiwan is part of China. Others will get very offended if you imply that Taiwan is not part of China. Referring to the PRC as "mainland China" (中國大陸 zhōngguó dàlù) rather than simply China will tend not to offend anyone, as the term is generally used to exclude Hong Kong and Macau as well, making it less subjective. Referring to the Republic of China as a whole as "Taiwan Province" will draw a negative reaction from most Taiwanese. Although this is highly acceptable in Kinmen and Matsu as they consider themselves separate from the Taiwanese. "Greater China" may be used in certain business contexts. Keep in mind, however, that there are so many subtleties and complexities here that if you are talking about these things, you've already wandered into a minefield.

However, simply referring to the island as "Taiwan" is fine, as that is the name used by the locals, regardless of their political persuasion. Titles such as "Republic of China" are reserved for official matters only. People from Kinmen and Matsu do not identify as Taiwanese and instead identify as Kinmenese/Matsunese or simply Chinese.

Relations with mainland China, as well as the Hong Kong protests, are sensitive issues; tread carefully on these topics.

Despite the deep mistrust many Taiwanese have of the communist Chinese government, most locals bear little to no animosity towards individual mainland Chinese visitors. As long as you avoid political discussions and behave yourself properly, you should not run into any problems.

Japanese occupation

In contrast to other Asian countries, Taiwanese feelings towards the Japanese occupation (1895-1945) are generally positive, though there are exceptions. Some of the older people who lived through the period of Japanese rule often bear a certain degree of nostalgia for that time, although there was strong resistance, and massacres of both Chinese and Aboriginal people were carried out throughout the occupation. Nevertheless, many Taiwanese bear a sense of gratitude towards the Japanese for modernizing Taiwan, and many people who lived through both periods regard Japanese rule more favorably than the subsequent Kuomintang rule under Chiang Kai-shek.

Japanese visitors can expect a particularly warm welcome as most Taiwanese admire Japanese culture, and modern Taiwanese culture continues to be heavily influenced by that of Japan. In particular, many shops and tourist attractions are based on a theme of colonial nostalgia.

Connect

Internet

iTaiwan

Introduced in the mid-2010s, this is Taiwan's free, convenient and widespread WiFi, and answer to today's mobile-dependent population. iTaiwan is available all over Taiwan, (according to marketing) in all the 7 biggest cities, but at least all over Taipei, Tainan and Taitung, at all railway/MRT stations (even at the smallest) and most bus stations all over the country, as well as in most tourist information centers. Where it is not available, there exist related WiFis that offer an iTaiwan login option, or there are other independent but free options like .1.Free Wi-Fi that require clicking an advertisement to get online. As a foreigner, you have to apply for access at a tourist information center using your passport. The login is the passport number and the password is your birthday in YYYYMMDD form. At some free WiFi spots, like in railway stations, there is a power and USB plug to charge your electronic devices.

SIM cards

If you want an Internet connection to your smartphone, you can purchase a prepaid 4G unlimited data sim card from Chunghwa Telecom at a cost of NT$300 for 3 days, or NT$500 for 7 days (other periods are available as well). Just walk into any official Chunghwa Telecom shop to apply (also at all international airports). They need your passport and identification documents of your country of origin, driving license or identification card. Other providers in the market are Taiwan Mobile, FarEasTone, T-Star, and GT. Their pricing is largely the same for visitor plans as Chunghwa Telecom, however they do offer special promotions on their standard prepaid plans from time to time, and for travelers continuing elsewhere after Taiwan, FarEasTone and GT offer a lineup of reasonably priced "travel SIMs" for travel around Asia, Europe, and North America, while Taiwan Mobile offers flat-rate international data roaming on its standard prepaid SIMs. Importantly, if continuing on to mainland China later, these travel SIMs or Taiwan Mobile's roaming plans do not censor data there as a local SIM would.

Restaurants, cafés, etc.

Most in-house eateries, shopping centers, libraries and such have free Wi-Fi for their customers available.

Gaming cafés

Not that relevant and widespread anymore, Internet cafés aka gaming cafés. These are often found on the first or second floor of buildings and equipped with very comfortable chairs and large screens. Although people do surf the Internet, most people primarily go there for a smooth experience of online gaming. Each hour of Internet access/game play is cheap, coming in at around NT$20. Some machines in the Internet cafés are coin operated.

Telephone

The standard prefix for international calls from Taiwan is 002, though some other companies may use alternative prefixes at lower rates. Check with your telecom operator for more details. Calls to mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau require international dialling. The country code for calls to Taiwan is +886. Most payphones work with telephone cards (電話卡) which are available at all convenience stores.

Numbers Starting With 0800 are commercial toll-free numbers, just like the 1-800 numbers in North America.

Mobile phone coverage is generally excellent in Taiwan, with the exception of some remote mountainous areas. Among the major providers are Chunghwa Telecom (中華電信), Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大), Far EasTone (遠傳電信) and Taiwan Star Telecom (台灣之星). Taiwan has both 3G (UMTS/W-CDMA 2100) and 4G (LTE) networks and inbound roaming agreements are in place between most international providers and at least one of these four (but check with your operator before departure). The last 2G networks were shut down in July 2017.

The internationally popular messaging app Whatsapp is not popular in Taiwan. Most Taiwanese use the Japanese messaging app LINE instead.

Media

Taiwan has a very free and liberal press. Taiwan's main newspapers are the Chinese-language Liberty Times (自由時報), Apple Daily (蘋果日報), China Times (中國時報) and United Daily News (聯合報). The Economic Daily News (經濟日報) and Commercial Times (工商時報) focus on financial and business news.

The main English-language newspaper is the Taipei Times. Two other newspapers in English, The China Post (dead link: January 2023) and Taiwan News are no longer available in print but continue to exist online.

Other news sources:

Free magazines:

Lifestyle – Info on Taiwan relating to what's on and current trends (bilingual).
Taiphoon (dead link: March 2023) – A magazine dedicated to promoting peace and environmental awareness in Taiwan (bilingual).
Journey East – A travel and lifestyle magazine for northern Taiwan (bilingual).

Radio:

ICRT (short for "International Community Radio Taipei") is an English-language radio station available island-wide on FM 100. The programming consists mostly of popular music. There are news bulletins every hour on the hour 07:00–20:00 M–F and 10:00–18:00 on Sa.

Printing

Every 7-Eleven and Familymart has cloud printers available for printing documents and even pictures. But for the latter you might be better off with a professional shop. The instructions are in Chinese or English. Costs: NT$1 per document page, plus NT$1 processing fee.

Cope

Electricity

For electrical sockets, Taiwan uses the same Type A two-pin and Type B three-pin electrical sockets as the United States. Electricity is supplied at 110 V at 60 Hz.

Embassies and foreign missions

See Cope section in Taipei guide

Taiwan - country in East Asia

Regions

Cities

Other destinations

Understand

History

Government and politics

People

Culture

Climate

Taiwanese calendar

Festivals

Terrain

Sports

Talk

Get in

Entry requirements

Visas

Arrival card

Customs

By plane

By boat

China to Taiwan via Matsu

China to Kinmen

China to Taiwan direct

Get around

IC Cards

By train

THSR

Passes

TRA

Passes

By bus

Navigation

By metro

By taxi

By scooter or motorcycle

By car

By thumb

By bicycle

By plane

On foot and navigation

See

Nature

Do

Hiking

Shrimping

Events

Traditional pastimes

Performing Arts

Buy

Money

ATMs

Credit cards

Mobile Wallets

Banks

Costs

Tipping

Shopping

Bargaining

What to buy

Eat

Places to eat

Etiquette

Dietary restrictions

Vegetarians

Allergies

Religious diets

Drink

Alcohol

Tea and coffee

Soft drinks

Sleep

Types

Remarks

Learn

Mandarin Chinese

Martial arts

Work

Stay safe