
Luxury Vacations in Taiwan
Tiny but mighty Taiwan is beloved for its lantern festivals and some of the most ravishingly ornate of Chinese folk temples. Yet it remains relatively unfamiliar to or visited by those from outside Asia.
In the capital, Taipei, the skyline is dominated by Taipei 101, a bamboo-shaped obelisk that was once the world’s tallest building, split into eight segments for good luck. This symbol of modernity belies the deep traditions that continue below, in street-food markets and teahouses that serve the island’s famous Oriental Beauty oolong. Most travellers come for a weekend and never leave the city – yet many of Taiwan’s best features are farther afield. On the east coast, the great gorge of Taroko National Park is a marble maw through which thunder mineral-blue rivers; further south, the Huadong or East Rift Valley is a tapestry of rice terraces. The port city of Kaohsiung is home to a creative crowd, where former factories have been transformed into living works of street art that house independent jewellery and ceramics shops. Historic Tainan, on the west coast, is Taiwan’s oldest city and former capital. Its splendid Confucian Temple – the country’s first school – eloquently expresses the attitude of a forward-looking people who remain closely in touch with their past.
Loading...