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. Some elderly people do not speak Mandarin as they were schooled in Japanese or not at all.
Population growth rate
- As in many Asian countries, night markets are a staple of Taiwanese entertainment, shopping and eating.
- For instance, the price for any train (TRA) is calculated based on the price of a local train and a 10% discount.
- Taiwan had long been a major centre of Chinese pop culture, but this has diminished significantly since the 2010s, as most of the top Taiwanese singers and actors have relocated to mainland China where they can make a lot more money.
- 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.
- Since these people were mainly from the intellectual and social elite, an entire generation of political and social leaders was destroyed.
- 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.
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. Taiwan’s geographical location between an oceanic trench and volcanic system makes it an ideal hot spring (溫泉 wēnquán) vacation spot. There are several hot springs destinations throughout the country, including Beitou (北投), Wulai (烏來) and Yangmingshan (陽明山). Hot spring bathing 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 (often lablled 大眾裸湯 dàzhòng luǒ tāng) you will be required to bathe nude.
- There are no laws against homosexuality in Taiwan and unprovoked violence against gays and lesbians is almost unheard of.
- However, the configuration of its coastlines and the age and formations of rocks on Taiwan’s west coast suggest to some geologists that Taiwan was once part of the Asian mainland.
- Minor cities and towns do not have local buses, but have intercity routes that make frequent stops.
- 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.
- However, if you know what you’re doing, it’s the perfect way to get around in a city.
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. Taekwondo is also extremely popular and is often a mandatory part of school children’s physical education. Some of the more famous teachers will provide you with the paperwork needed to extend a student visa twice. Many accommodations are not staffed 24/7, but they will leave a contact at their door.
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. Vegetarian buffet restaurants (素食自助餐) will typically cost you NT$ for a good sized, nutritious meal. Also consider buffet (自助餐) restaurants, which, unlike in the West, are not fixed-price all-you-can-eat restaurants (which are called “吃到飽”, meaning “eat until you are full”, in Taiwan). Such restaurants are self-service, with the dishes laid out in a common area, and customers are given a pair of tongs to pick dishes from the spread to accompany some rice.
People and Society
One of the intermediate stations, Fenqihu, is famous for its local version of the railway bento. 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.
Service
Rice, noodles, and seafood are staples of the diet, while vegetables and fruits are abundant due to the island’s fertile land. Taiwanese cuisine is known for its emphasis on fresh ingredients, bold flavors, and creative preparation techniques, making it one of the most beloved culinary traditions in Asia. Indigenous festivals, such as the Harvest Festival and the Orchid Island Ceremony, are also celebrated by Taiwan’s indigenous communities, reflecting their unique cultural practices and spiritual beliefs.
Water
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.
If you get return tickets there is a small discount depending upon travel distance. Though originally accepted only in their respective cities, the two cards can now be used interchangeably at most (but not all) locations. 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. Taiwan was first 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.
Holders of a valid APEC Business Travel Card (ABTC) except those issued by mainland China or Hong Kong may visit Taiwan for up to 90 days without a visa. There has been an increasing usage of Korean by tourism boards due to the large number of Korean people visiting Taiwan. An enthusiasm for Korean-language education is also gaining momentum due to the popularity of South Korean dramas and pop music. If you learnt Mandarin in mainland China, you might have heard people using the term 臺妹 (táimèi) to refer to young Taiwanese women. However, in Taiwan, it is a derogatory term used to refer an uncultured young woman from the countryside, and Taiwanese women will not be impressed if you use it to refer to them. 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.
Taiwan was first populated 30,000 years ago by an Australo-Melanesian group known as the Negrito. The Negrito were eventually assimilated and displaced 5,000 years ago by Proto-Austronesians who arrived from the east coast of mainland queenwin casino China, predominantly from what is now Fujian province. It has been suggested that these people were the ancestors of Austronesian speakers across Southeast Asia, the Pacific, and even Madagascar. Recorded history began with the partial colonization of Taiwan by the Dutch and then the Portuguese in the early 17th century. (The old name of Taiwan, Formosa, comes from the Portuguese Ilha Formosa for “beautiful island”.) Many pro-independence Taiwanese consider the establishment of Dutch colonial rule in 1624 to be the birth of the Taiwanese nation.
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