What is Taiwan known for?

So, what is Taiwan known for?

Taiwan is known for its rich & versatile culture, national scenic areas, towering mountains, night markets and many more.

National Scenic Areas

Penghu National Scenic Area, comprising of ninety islets, scattering around the Taiwan Strait. Flat landscape makes it different from Taiwan Island. It is blessed with the most spectacular view in Taiwan. Located in southeast of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island offer the enjoyment of nature environment, such as whale spotting and scuba diving. Matzu National Scenic Area comprises four townships on five islands. Most of the tourist sites are located in Nangan. Beigan has its stone houses and fish noodles. Juguang has its fishing port, as well as a lighthouse designated as a Class 2 historic site. In Dongyin one will find fantastic rock formations and the Dongyin branch of the Matzu Distillery. Southwest Coast National Scenic Area is the 12th national scenic area. Natural and cultural attractions abound at the Siraya National Scenic Area in southern Taiwan's Tainan County. In addition to five scenic reservoir areas (Cengwen, Wushantou, Baihe, Jianshanpi, and Hutoupi), the scenic area embraces the geologically fascinating Caoshan Moon World, the Zouzhen archaeological site, and the skin-pampering mud springs of Guanziling. Colorful aboriginal events and tasty local specialties also await you at Siraya. The scenic area's main attraction is a varied coastline that consists of sand dunes, sand banks, marshes and wetlands, offering precious ecological habitats for wildlife.

Information Source: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/pda/m1.aspx?sNo=0002012

Towering mountains

Taiwan is known for its towering mountains, and is reputable as a "Mountainous Island". The island is spotted with numerous mountains over 3,000 meters. It is also home to the Northeast Asia's tallest mountain, Yushan, which is nearly 4,000 meter in height. Besides mountains, beautiful coastal scenes are also part of Taiwan's great natural asset. Starting from the northern tip of the island is the North Coast & Guanyinshan National Scenic Area and Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area that features various sorts of coastal geography. Traveling all the way down from here, one will first arrive at the scenic East Coast National Scenic Area and East Rift Valley National Scenic Area, and then the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area blessed with sunshine and tropical touch. Alongside the mountainous areas is the Maolin National Scenic Area, where a lot of aborigines live and place one can check out the world of butterfly, Rukai stone-made houses and Natural scenes in Taiwan. Legendary tales depict subtle beauty of Alishan National Scenic Area , where you can enjoy the relaxing scene of sunrise & cloud sea. Natural setting of Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area, eagle-spotting at Bagua Mountain, home of fruit-Lishan can sacred Buddhist sanctuary- Lion’s Head Mountain, can bring to you the many faces of the island's beauty.

Information Source: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/pda/m1.aspx?sNo=0000203

Night Markets

“Seven out of 10 tourists visiting Taiwan have patronized at least one night market,” President Ma Ying-jeou said, noting that night markets represent the vitality of Taiwanese culture.

Some of the most famous Taiwanese food one would think of would be the local specialties (usually small eats) which would usually be found in the night markets (eg. Shilin Night Market in Taipei and Lioho Night Market in Kaohsiung).

Some of them include:

Beef noodles: noodle soup with chunks of meltingly soft stewed beef and a dash of pickles

Oyster omelet: made from eggs, oyster and the leaves of local chrysanthemum, topped with sweet red sauce.

Aiyu jelly: made from seeds of a local fig, usually served on ice

Taiwan sausage：usually made from pork; modified version of the Cantonese lapp cheong which is much sweeter in taste

Bubble tea/ pearl milk tea: milk tea with chewy tapioca balls

Stinky tofu or Fermented tofu: tofu with aroma which is intimidating at first but can be an acquired taste

Scallion pancakes: flour pancake with many thin layers, made with scallions(chopped green onions)

Oyster vermicelli: a thickened soup containing small oysters and Chinese vermicelli

"three cups chicken": chicken with sauce(made of a cup of rice wine, a cup of sesame oil/sugar, a cup of soy sauce)

Information Source: http://www.taiwantoday.tw/ct.aspxitem=115265&ctnode=426&mp=9