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Culture in Taiwan
Museums
Taiwan has more than 400 museums. The most famous of these is the National Palace Museum, which holds the world's largest collection of Chinese art treasures. The collection was transported in bulk to Taiwan by the Kuomintang on its retreat from China and is so immense that exhibits must be rotated regularly. The completion of an extensive three-year renovation project of the museum was marked with a "once in a lifetime" exhibition of Sung Dynasty artifacts from December 2006 to March 2007.
The National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (formerly the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall) is a raised marble edifice in the center of Taipei. The hall is fronted by a massive Ming-style arch and flanked by two identical and equally massive golden-tiled buildings—the National Theater and National Concert Hall.
Recent additions to Taiwan's museums include the Gold Ecological Park (opened 2004), an "eco-museum" at the site of former goldmines in Taipei County, which promotes sustainable development by preserving the park's natural surroundings and working with the local metal craft industry; the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology (opened 2003), an archaeological museum in Taipei County constructed on an excavation site inhabited by indigenous groups during Taiwan's Iron Age; and the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature (opened 2003), a museum located in the Japanese-era Tainan City Hall, which is dedicated to preserving Taiwan's multiethnic and multilingual literary heritage.
Temples
Taiwan's temples, of which there are more than 5,000, lie at the core of the island's religious life as active places of worship. Most temples are either of Taoist (Daoist), Buddhist, or the less ornate Confucian styles.
Tainan, the island's former capital and oldest city, and the old fishing town of Lugang are particularly well known for temples holding colorful ceremonies and parades. The Dalongdong Baoan Temple, a large, vibrant house of worship in Taipei and host of an annual two-month-long cultural festival, received Honorable Mention in the 2003 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.
Historic Sites
Historic sites in Taiwan are a testament to a checkered history of four centuries of colonial rule and several millennia of habitation by indigenous peoples.
The Japanese constructed numerous administrative and public buildings during their half-century occupation of Taiwan, often in grand colonial style. Many of these buildings are still in good condition, such as the Office of the President, which was originally built as the Office of the Taiwan Governor-General, and the Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan railway stations.
The Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Banciao is Taiwan's best example of Ching Dynasty architecture. Fort San Domingo (also known as the "Fort of the Red-haired") in Danshuei was built by the Spanish in 1629 and Tainan is home to Fort Zeelandia and Fort Provintia, both built under Dutch rule.
There are prehistoric sites and relics dotted all over Taiwan. The extensive Peinan excavation site, which now comprises part of the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung, has yielded a bounty of valuable archaeological finds dating back to Taiwan's Stone Age. Night markets are ubiquitous in towns throughout Taiwan and are a favorite destination among foreign tourists. Pictured is Liouhe Night Market in Kaohsiung. (Hsu Yu-tsai, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau).
Cuisine
Whatever visitors might wish to sample, Taiwan's melting pot of cultures and cuisines is a great place to find a wide selection of delicacies. Moreover, due to the variety of climates and short distances between mountains, plains, and sea, ingredients tend to come from local areas and be very fresh.
Tourists can find restaurants that serve Taiwanese and Hakka cuisines throughout Taiwan. Taiwanese cuisine, influenced by the Dutch, Japanese, and southern Chinese, is light, simple, and easy to prepare. Naturally, plenty of seafood is featured. Dishes of the Hakka people, Taiwan's second-largest ethnic group, tend to be oily, salty, and spicy, reflecting their hard lifestyles on marginal hill land in the old days.
For a change of pace from formal restaurant dinners, snacks in Taiwan's many night markets come highly recommended. Favorite dishes include oyster omelets and oysters with noodles, waguei (steamed rice flour with egg, pork, and mushrooms), bawan (meat balls in sweet potato flour dumpling), rice with chicken, lumbia (wrap filled with meat, vegetables, bean sprouts and peanut powder), and desserts like daohuei (blancmange-like soybean dessert) and pearl milk tea (milk tea with chewy tapioca balls).
It is only natural given Taiwan's historical connections with China that cuisines from all over China can be found in Taiwan. Taiwan is also an excellent place to find vegetarian food because of the predominance of Buddhism, Taoism, and I-Kuan Tao, all of which promote a vegetarian diet. A wide variety of Asian cuisines are available, including Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, Japanese, Korean, and Indian, while a good selection of North American and European cuisines can be found in big cities.
Ten Most Frequently Visited Destinations by Foreign Tourists in 2006
Taiwan has more than 400 museums. The most famous of these is the National Palace Museum, which holds the world's largest collection of Chinese art treasures. The collection was transported in bulk to Taiwan by the Kuomintang on its retreat from China and is so immense that exhibits must be rotated regularly. The completion of an extensive three-year renovation project of the museum was marked with a "once in a lifetime" exhibition of Sung Dynasty artifacts from December 2006 to March 2007.
The National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (formerly the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall) is a raised marble edifice in the center of Taipei. The hall is fronted by a massive Ming-style arch and flanked by two identical and equally massive golden-tiled buildings—the National Theater and National Concert Hall.
Recent additions to Taiwan's museums include the Gold Ecological Park (opened 2004), an "eco-museum" at the site of former goldmines in Taipei County, which promotes sustainable development by preserving the park's natural surroundings and working with the local metal craft industry; the Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology (opened 2003), an archaeological museum in Taipei County constructed on an excavation site inhabited by indigenous groups during Taiwan's Iron Age; and the National Museum of Taiwanese Literature (opened 2003), a museum located in the Japanese-era Tainan City Hall, which is dedicated to preserving Taiwan's multiethnic and multilingual literary heritage.
Temples
Taiwan's temples, of which there are more than 5,000, lie at the core of the island's religious life as active places of worship. Most temples are either of Taoist (Daoist), Buddhist, or the less ornate Confucian styles.
Tainan, the island's former capital and oldest city, and the old fishing town of Lugang are particularly well known for temples holding colorful ceremonies and parades. The Dalongdong Baoan Temple, a large, vibrant house of worship in Taipei and host of an annual two-month-long cultural festival, received Honorable Mention in the 2003 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation.
Historic Sites
Historic sites in Taiwan are a testament to a checkered history of four centuries of colonial rule and several millennia of habitation by indigenous peoples.
The Japanese constructed numerous administrative and public buildings during their half-century occupation of Taiwan, often in grand colonial style. Many of these buildings are still in good condition, such as the Office of the President, which was originally built as the Office of the Taiwan Governor-General, and the Hsinchu, Taichung, Chiayi, and Tainan railway stations.
The Lin Family Mansion and Garden in Banciao is Taiwan's best example of Ching Dynasty architecture. Fort San Domingo (also known as the "Fort of the Red-haired") in Danshuei was built by the Spanish in 1629 and Tainan is home to Fort Zeelandia and Fort Provintia, both built under Dutch rule.
There are prehistoric sites and relics dotted all over Taiwan. The extensive Peinan excavation site, which now comprises part of the National Museum of Prehistory in Taitung, has yielded a bounty of valuable archaeological finds dating back to Taiwan's Stone Age. Night markets are ubiquitous in towns throughout Taiwan and are a favorite destination among foreign tourists. Pictured is Liouhe Night Market in Kaohsiung. (Hsu Yu-tsai, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau).
Cuisine
Whatever visitors might wish to sample, Taiwan's melting pot of cultures and cuisines is a great place to find a wide selection of delicacies. Moreover, due to the variety of climates and short distances between mountains, plains, and sea, ingredients tend to come from local areas and be very fresh.
Tourists can find restaurants that serve Taiwanese and Hakka cuisines throughout Taiwan. Taiwanese cuisine, influenced by the Dutch, Japanese, and southern Chinese, is light, simple, and easy to prepare. Naturally, plenty of seafood is featured. Dishes of the Hakka people, Taiwan's second-largest ethnic group, tend to be oily, salty, and spicy, reflecting their hard lifestyles on marginal hill land in the old days.
For a change of pace from formal restaurant dinners, snacks in Taiwan's many night markets come highly recommended. Favorite dishes include oyster omelets and oysters with noodles, waguei (steamed rice flour with egg, pork, and mushrooms), bawan (meat balls in sweet potato flour dumpling), rice with chicken, lumbia (wrap filled with meat, vegetables, bean sprouts and peanut powder), and desserts like daohuei (blancmange-like soybean dessert) and pearl milk tea (milk tea with chewy tapioca balls).
It is only natural given Taiwan's historical connections with China that cuisines from all over China can be found in Taiwan. Taiwan is also an excellent place to find vegetarian food because of the predominance of Buddhism, Taoism, and I-Kuan Tao, all of which promote a vegetarian diet. A wide variety of Asian cuisines are available, including Thai, Vietnamese, Malay, Japanese, Korean, and Indian, while a good selection of North American and European cuisines can be found in big cities.
Ten Most Frequently Visited Destinations by Foreign Tourists in 2006
- Night markets
- National Palace Museum
- Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taiwan at 508 meters)
- National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall
- Jioufen (old gold mining town in Taipei County)
- Longshan Temple
- Martyrs' Shrine (vast war memorial in Taipei County)
- Simending (lively pedestrian shopping district in Taipei)
- Danshuei
- Taroko Gorge
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