What makes taiwan special

At the other extreme, you can get a cutesy overdose at a Hello Kitty namesake cafe, where everything from burger buns to soup bowls is shaped like the mouthless cartoon cat. For more on the kitty obsession, read point 9 below. What's that? Can't get enough pink and glitter? That's OK, because Taiwan is home to the world's first Barbie-themed restaurant , with Mattel-approved smotherings of pink plastic and frilly tutus.

Previous themed restaurants in Taiwan have included a cafe based on an Airbus A, complete with trolly dollies serving food and drinks from a cart, as well as restaurants with jail, hospital and school-inspired themes.

Free Wi-Fi. Since , Taiwanese citizens have been able to log onto iTaiwan , the island's free Wi-Fi network. Taiwan is one of the first places in the world to offer free Wi-Fi on a mass scale. In June , the service was rolled out to tourists in four of the five largest cities, using more than 4, hotspots.

Visitors can sign up for an iTaiwan account with their passport at Taiwan Tourism Bureau centers and offices in transportation stations, then receive complimentary Wi-Fi in Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.

Chinese artifacts. You might think it'd be in Beijing or Shanghai, but the National Palace Museum in Taipei houses the largest collection of Chinese artifacts and artwork in the world. The impressive permanent collection comprises more than , items. Chinese history is told through bronze statues, jade carvings, calligraphy, lacquerware and other historical pieces -- many of which belonged to Chinese imperial families -- including an intriguingly life-like, meat-shaped stone and a jadeite cabbage.

Despite several rounds of building expansion, only a fraction of the collection is on display no more than 10, items at any one time , making the museum worth returning to several times a year. Animated news. With an army of about animators, Next Media Animation NMA , a Taiwan-based animation studio, can turn any news story into a cartoon in as fast as 90 minutes 'making-of' video here. Each of the 40 or so Amis settlements in Hualien and Taitung holds its own celebrations just after the rice crop has been taken in, and each event lasts three to seven days.

On the final evening, romance is in the air as this is one of the few situations when girls are allowed to show their interest in boys. Originally, the core of the event was offering sacrifices to their ancestors, but in the past decade the festival has evolved into a general celebration of tribal culture.

For the indigenous people who live on Orchid Island , flying fish is a traditional foodstuff of great cultural as well as nutritional importance. Fishing is done in beautiful hand-built wooden boats, the construction and use of which is surrounded by customs and taboos.

Men sing; woman clap. The catch is shared out by type in accordance with custom. Black flying fish, for instance, are a particular favourite and so saved for esteemed visitors. All of our tours are curated to your specific requirements by our itinerary builders, so you and your loved ones have the best possible time while travelling.

Family Tour. Families and ancestors Taiwanese families are close-knit and extended. Indigenous festivities The Austronesian tribes who live in the western part of the island have long been exposed to Chinese culture.

Visit the beautiful island of Taiwan Life of Taiwan specializes in tailoring private tours for international travellers. One Day Accessible Tour in Matsu. One Day Accessible Tour in Qingshuiyan. One-day Tour of Yunlin County. One Day Accessible Tour in Yilan. Accessible Tours Family Tours. Two-Day Accessible Tour in Guguan. Two-Day Accessible Tour in Matsu.

Two-day Tour of Kaohsiung's Night Markets. Two-day Historic Tour of Penghu. Two-day Culinary and Cultural Tour of Taichung.

Fine Art Museums Night Markets. Two-day Historic Tour of Kaohsiung. Two-day Culinary Tour of Lukang. Two-day Tour of Taipei City.

Museums Historic Sites. Two-day Folk-history Tour of Jiji. Railway Tours Family Tours. Two-day Historic Heritage Tour of Tainan. Two-day Culinary Tour of Hsinchu. Good food and quality local ingredients are readily available and accessibly priced, so everybody here holds vehement opinions about the best recipe for or rendition of this kind of noodle soup or that street food specialty—and locals will argue in the most friendly way, of course with you about it until the cows come home.

Case in point: If you go to a fabric market, between every stall for fabrics, there will be a stall selling a particular snack. So, the Taiwanese are fiercely fond of their home recipes and the food stall owners, proud of their businesses. These are cooks that have more often than not having been serving the same one specialty, say, oyster omelets, for their whole small business careers.

Taiwanese food is world-class. And the Taiwanese people are obsessed with good food. Taiwan is decidedly not the mainland. Let me back up a moment. See, I was born in Mainland China. My father was born in and lived through the Great Leap Forward. They fled to Taiwan, following the ousted Nationalists who established rule there. During our recent trip to Taiwan with Andrew Zimmern and Journy, I met seven of my cousins for the very first time.

At the end of the Cultural Revolution when universities reopened, my mother and father met in Hangzhou and started dating. Their mothers, my grandmothers, happened to teach at the same school. This sunflower seed, your son. Does it look like they match? You can imagine how my own notions of Taiwan were shaped, or rather, confused by this.

Having grown up between Shanghai and the United States, one of my biggest gripes has always been the lack of manners, especially when people push past me with no regard for personal space. Get Started. Journy's Ultimate Taiwan Travel Guide.