About Taiwan

Area: 36,000 square kilometers
Population: 23 million
Capital: Taipei City
Language: Mandarin/Taiwanese/Hakka/Indigenous Languages
Religion: Buddhism/Taoism/Christianity/Islam
President: Ma Ying-jeou

Taiwan is shaped like a tobacco leaf that is narrow at both ends. It lies on the south-eastern part of mainland Asian, in between the Taiwan Straits and Mainland China; one of the solitary islands on the western coast of the Pacific Ocean. To the north lies Japan and Okinawa, to the south is the Philippines. Many airlines fly to Taiwan; this convenience makes it the perfect travel destination.

Information extracted from: http://www.chinatownconnection.com/introduction-taiwan.htm

Culture of Taiwan

The cultural aspects of Taiwan are not to be missed. The blending of Hakka, Taiwanese, Indigenous people and mainland Chinese cultures has produced a rich plethora of cultural and social color. Whether it is religion, architecture, language, living habits, or food, it's just one big exciting melting pot! Food is the best representative of this cultural mixing and matching. Aside from cuisines from different parts of the mainland such as Zhejiang, Hunan, Guangdong, Yunnan, Shanghai, Beijing, Sichuan, and others, there are also many different types of local Taiwanese cuisine as well as the local delicacies of each area.

Most of Taiwan’s 23 million inhabitants are descendants of immigrants from different parts of mainland China, especially the coastal provinces of Fujian and Guangdong. About 360,000 "aborigines", believed to be of Malayo-Polynesian origin, inhabit the mountainous central and eastern parts of Taiwan.

Due to the make-up of the population and that Taiwan was ruled by the Japanese between 1895 and 1945, Taiwan's culture is a unique mixture of mainly Chinese elements with a little of Japanese. In addition, it is heavily influenced by Western cultures due to globalisation. In the recent years, characteristics of the aboriginal culture have also become more visible. Fine arts, architecture, folk traditions and popular culture embody both traditional and modern and both Asian and Western motifs.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.culture.tw/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=841&Itemid=296

Traditions of Taiwan

According to tradition, the landscape includes imaginary flows of cosmic energy (qi). The divination practice of fengshui taps into pools of qi that are concentrated at points (xue) in the landscape. The proper location and orientation of a house or grave can bring a family good fortune. Charms strategically placed in the house also achieve this end, as do the characters for longevity, happiness, and prosperity that are carved into wood screens and windows or painted on paper to adorn interior walls.

Good fortune also is tied to the moral order of the family, and the building plan of the traditional country house reflects and reinforces that order. The relative statuses of the different generations are evident in the floor plan and dimensions of a building and its rooms. At the center of a home is the all-purpose main hall where the family rests, eats, and receives guests, and that contains the family altars, ancestral tablets, and god. On both sides of the main hall are bedrooms. The parents occupy the room immediately to the left, and the oldest son and his wife the one to the right.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.everyculture.com/Sa-Th/Taiwan.html

Indigenous Group in Taiwan Part l

Indigenous groups in Taiwan (yuan jhu min) refers to those ethnic groups inhabiting Taiwan and its neighboring islands before mass immigration of people from China's coastal areas from the 17th century onward. During the period of Japanese rule, Taiwan's indigenous peoples were designated as either "mountain savages" or "plains savages."

As of November 2005, the 12 Taiwan indigenous groups recognized by the government have a combined population of approximately 464,000, representing about 2 percent of Taiwan's total population. According to linguistic analysis, Taiwan's indigenous peoples belong to the Asutronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) group, which inhabits an area of oceans and islands that extends from Easter Island in the east to Madagascar in the West, and from New Zealand in the south to Taiwan in the north. Anthropological research has shown that cultural customs of Taiwan's indigenous groups, such as stilt houses (buildings raised above the ground to protect against damp, insects, and snakes), slash-and-burn cultivation, bamboo and rattan weaving, manufacture of clothing from animal hides, tattooing, chewing of betel nut, and circle-dancing, all belong to traditional Austronesian culture. Due to the number and diversity of indigenous languages in Taiwan, some scholars have suggested recently that Taiwan may be the original homeland from which the Austronesian peoples began their diaspora several thousand years ago.

The location of various different indigenous groups on map of Taiwan

Indigenous Group in Taiwan Part ll

The following includes different indigenous groups in Taiwan and the various explanations.

Amis

Numbering more than 178,000 and residing mainly in eastern valleys and coastal areas, the Amis is the largest of Taiwan’s indigenous groups. The vibrant singing and dancing celebrations of the Ilisin harvest festival, held during the summer months, are well known.

The Amis are variously classified as belonging to the Nanshi, Xiuguluan, Coastal, Taitung, or Hengchun tribe depending on geographic location. These subgroups have somewhat different dialects, customs, and styles of dress. They all have a matrilineal clan structure and system of inheritance.

Facial tattooing was once an important tradition for the Atayal.
(Photo by Diago Chiu)

Atayal

There are more than 81,000 Atayal scattered throughout the northern part of central Taiwan’s mountainous region, who observe a code of conduct and beliefs called the gaga ancestral instruction system. Traditionally, facial tattooing was a key part of coming-of-age ceremonies. The Atayal are renowned for their weaving of colorful, intricately patterned fabrics, and a woman’s skills in this area can determine her social status. Male members of the Atayal inherit their father’s first name as their last name.

Bunun

The Bunun, numbering around 50,000, live in the central and southeastern mountainous regions of Taiwan, where they practice shifting cultivation and hunting. In addition to the harvest-time “millet ceremony,” major Bunun ceremonies include the “ear-shooting ceremony,” a ritual in which arrows are shot at animals’ ears in the belief that this will ensure success in hunting. The Bunun are also particularly noted for their pasibutbut polyharmonic choral singing of prayers.

Kavalan

Based in Taiwan’s eastern counties, the Kavalan number around 1,200. They are one of the region’s originalpingpu (plains) groups, most of which have assimilated with Hans who migrated to the plains in Hualien and Taitung counties. Traditional Kavalan ceremonies have also been influenced by the Amis, who live near the Kavalan. The group’s distinctive language, myths, and shamanist practices remain despite this cultural confluence. Clan chiefs—who can be women or men—are chosen by election.

The simplicity of Bunun women’s clothing and accessories gives them an elegant style.
(Photo by Larry Hsieh)

Paiwan

Totalling around 86,000, the Paiwan group can be divided into the Ravar and the Butsul tribes. Inhabiting the southern Central Mountain Range, Hengchun Peninsula, and southeastern coastal region, they are known for their glazed beads, skill in carving wood and stone, and use of hundred-pace snake totems as decorative motifs.

In bygone times, Paiwan society was organized in three classes—nobility, warriors, and commoners. Commoners tilled the land and could be elevated to the warrior class, while the nobility were free to engage in leisurely activities such as sculpture. Once every five years, the Maleveq ceremony is held, at which time, it is believed, ancestral spirits descend from Dawu Mountain to commune with their descendants.

Under the Rukai’s rigid social hierarchy, people tend to marry within their class.
(Photo by Yeh Ming-yuan)

Pinuyumayan

The 11,400 Pinuyumayan are concentrated in Taitung County. Two subgroups with differing dialects and customs—the Zhiben and the Nanwang—can be distinguished. In premodern times, Pinuyumayan men were known for their martial skill and valor.

Traditional shamanistic religious practices survive among the Pinuyumayan. A major role of the shaman is to interpret omens.

Rukai

The 11,700 Rukai are distributed across Pingtung, Kaohsiung, and Taitung counties. Traditionally, they had a hierarchy of nobility and commoners, with the lily symbolic of nobility. Only highly regarded commoners recognized as spiritually pure or brave had the honor of adorning themselves with lilies.

As part of a harvest ceremony held in August, Rukai men bake millet dough on heated stone slabs and divine the harvest in the coming year based on the appearance of the millet cakes.

Saisiyat

The Saisiyat, with a population of about 5,700, are best known for their Pastaai ceremony, conducted to commemorate the spirits of a short-statured, darker-skinned people who, they say, were the earliest inhabitants of Taiwan and passed on many of their skills to the Saisiyat. Legend has it that because men among the Short People sexually harassed Saisiyat women, the jealous Saisiyat men killed virtually all of them. To propitiate the spirits of the Short People, ritual chanting and dancing are performed four nights in a row biennially in communities in northwestern Taiwan’s Miaoli and Hsinchu counties.

Sediq children recite a traditional song. (Huang Ting-sheng)

Sakizaya

The Sakizaya, with a population of around 350, live mainly in Hualien County. Because they have long interacted closely with the Amis, their customs and attire have become essentially identical to those of the Amis, and intermarriage between the two groups is common. They nevertheless have been able to preserve their unique language. The Sakizaya people’s fusion with the Amis is said to have come about when the Sakizaya fled their coastal plain homeland and sought refuge in the mountains after losing a battle against Ching troops. Only by disguising themselves as Amis could they avoid being annihilated.

The Tsou pay homage to their ancestors and the god of war through dance and song.
(Photo by Song Sheng-zao)

Sediq (Seediq/Seejiq)

Numbering between 6,000 and 7,000, the Sediq are closely related to the Atayal in terms of language, customs, and religious observances. As with the Atayal, they are famous for the intricacy of their weaving and embroidery, traditionally using ramie fiber, with a preference for traditional star-like and other geometric patterns against a white background. In previous times, Sediq communities observed a Waya code of conduct, which included rules for every aspect of life, including family affairs, agriculture, hunting, religious ceremonies, and social interactions.

Thao

The Thao have a population of some 600-plus. Once residing on Lalu Island in the middle of Sun Moon Lake, they later moved to the lake’s edge and practiced “floating island” farming, whereby crops are planted on soil-bearing bamboo rafts on the lake. The Thao’s language and culture has been strongly influenced by their Atayal and Bunun neighbors.

Hand-carved boats are a distinctive feature of Yami culture.
(Wei Chen A-si, courtesy of the Tourism Bureau)

Truku

The Truku, with a population of about 25,000, live on the eastern coast in the Hualien County area and the mountainous region of Nantou County. Hualien County’s famous Taroko Gorge is named after the Truku. They are closely related to the Atayal and Sediq in terms of language and customs. As in these two groups, Truku women in earlier times sported facial tattoos. And like their Sediq cousins, the Truku have traditionally favored white clothing with embroidered trim.

Tsou

The Tsou, who number about 6,600 and once lived around Jade Mountain, are divided into northern and southern subgroups with variations in dialect and customs. Special cultural features include the Homeyayaharvest ceremony and a taboo against hunting bears. In earlier days, Tsou men were reputed for their warrior spirit.

Traditionally, the southern Tsou believe that their ancestral spirits reside in special mother-of-pearl beads. The beads are stored by shamans away from public view and are taken out only when conducting religious ceremonies.

Yami

The nearly 3,500 Yami people live on Orchid Island off Taiwan’s southeastern coast. They have developed a culture based on fishing at sea—unique among the indigenous peoples of Taiwan. The launch of a newly built boat with decorative carvings is accompanied by a major celebration to bless the boat. A focus of Yami culture is the flying fish, which migrates annually through the waters off eastern Taiwan, and which the Yami depend upon for survival. Religious ceremonies are conducted during which prayers are intoned for an abundance of flying fish. Other traditional staple foods are taro and sweet potato.

Traditionally, the Yami live in houses of stone and wood built on “shelves” cut out of stony hillsides, a practice that helps maintain coolness in summer and retain warmth in winter. They are genetically similar to, and share cultural and linguistic features with, the inhabitants of the Philippines’ Batan Islands. A women’s hair-swinging dance is unique to the Yami people.

Despite a high degree of assimilation of the indigenous peoples by the dominant Han culture, their languages and traditions have become increasingly appreciated as the common cultural heritage of all Taiwanese, and an important ingredient of what gives Taiwan its unique identity. Reflecting this growing appreciation, the government of the Republic of China has been allocating increasing funding for assistance to indigenous communities and programs for cultural preservation and development.

Challenges remain, however, in promoting indigenous cultures, especially with the migration of indigenous people to cities, testing the commitment and ingenuity of governments and civic groups to provide urban indigenes with culture-nurturing resources where they live and work.

Information extracted from: http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/indigenous/

Languages in Taiwan

The written language intelligible to speakers of all Sinitic tongues is Chinese, the only pictograph-based writing system still in use on a large scale. While mainland China chose to adopt “simplified” characters in a bid to ameliorate widespread illiteracy, in the Republic of China (ROC), “traditional” written characters are still employed.

Mandarin

Mandarin has four tones and is called Guoyu (national language) by people in the ROC. Its origin can be traced back to the late Ching dynasty, when the government decided to make the dialect spoken around Beijing the official language. Today, Mandarin is used or understood by the vast majority of the population.

However, in the early days of the Republic, this was not the case. In 1913, the Ministry of Education (MOE) established a commission to formulate a standard phonetic system based on the phonology of the Beijing dialect. Consisting of 37 phonetic symbols and four tone marks, the Mandarin Phonetic Symbols system has helped people learn proper Mandarin pronunciation since it was first introduced in schools. The system is still used in Taiwan today.

Holo

Holo is spoken by around 73 percent of the people in Taiwan. Among a variety of methods for representing the tongue in script, one of the most popular has been the Romanization system known as Pėh-oē-jī, which was first introduced by Presbyterian missionaries.

Many attempts have been made in Taiwan over the years to promote a natively formulated written system. The MOE, for instance, unveiled the Taiwanese Language Phonetic Alphabet in 1998. In 2006, the MOE rolled out the Taiwanese Romanization Scheme for use in Holo teaching and language textbooks. However, as of today, most native speakers of the Taiwanese dialect of Holo remain untrained in reading their native language.

Hakka

The Hakka language in Taiwan has five variants, of which the SiXian and HaiLu dialects are the most widely spoken. SiXian is prevalent in Hakka communities in MiaoLi, PingTung and Kaohsiung counties; and HaiLu is most commonly spoken by the Hakka population of HsinChu County.

Hakka is, like Holo, primarily an oral language, and fluency in Hakka is becoming increasingly rare among Taiwan’s young people. To promote the language, the Council for Hakka Affairs (CHA) has drawn up and implemented a number of plans. These encompass the creation of a database for basic Hakka language materials, the publishing of dictionaries of the various Hakka dialects and the providing of funds to schools to teach Hakka. The CHA administered language proficiency tests for speakers of Hakka in 2008 that resulted in an 88.84-percent pass rate.

Indigenous Languages

Taiwan’s indigenous languages, classified as Formosan languages, belong to the same Proto-Austronesian language family as Malay and Hawaiian. The numbers of people who know how to speak indigenous language are declining in the recent years, as new generations growing up in cities become more fluent in Mandarin or Holo than their tribal tongues. To help keep these languages alive, the MOE has included them in school curriculum.

Language Education

In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the importance of preserving Taiwan’s rich linguistic heritage. This has led the government to promote the teaching of Holo, Hakka and indigenous languages. Since 2001, primary school students have been required to take a course in at least one of these languages.

For decades, English as a foreign language has been a required subject for students in junior and senior high schools in Taiwan. English was made compulsory from the third grade in 2005. In support of English learning, the MOE commissioned the Language Training and Testing Center to develop tests for five ability levels. From 2000 to 2008, more than 2.6 million people took these exams. In 2005, the five-year Plan for the Promotion of Second Foreign-Language Study in Senior High Schools was implemented, adding Korean, Russian and Latin as new elective courses to the already available Japanese, French, German and Spanish. In 2008, Japanese was the most popular choice.

Those wishing to pursue language study outside the university system may do so at private language schools or public educational institutions. While the most popular foreign languages taught here remain English and Japanese, interest in major European languages has been growing. A rising number of immigrants and guest workers from Southeast Asia have also encouraged schools to provide courses in such languages as Indonesian, Thai and Vietnamese.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.taiwan.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=27738&ctNode=1918&mp=1001

Education in Taiwan

Taiwan enjoys one of the world's highest literacy rates because of its emphasis on education. In 1997 about 93% of people ages six or older were estimated to be literate. All children receive nine years of free and compulsory education provided at government expense, including six years in public primary school and three years in junior high. Salaries of the teaching staff are paid by local governments. While textbooks and tuition are free, children must buy their own notebooks and pencils. In 1968 the curriculum was revised with more emphasis on science, while maintaining the Chinese cultural tradition.

In order to attend high school, students must pass an examination after junior high. After completing nine years of compulsory schooling, approximately 90.7% of students in the latter half of the 1990s continued their studies at a senior high or vocational school. Agriculture, engineering, commerce, maritime navigation, home economics, and nursing are some of the skills taught in vocational schools, which offer three-year programs.

As of 1997, Taiwan had over 100 institutions of higher education. More than 100,000 students take the joint college entrance exam each year. Approximately 61.9% of the candidates are admitted to a college or university. The government relaxed many restrictions which prevented students from studying abroad in the 1980s.

Although Taiwan has a highly developed college curriculum, many students do travel abroad to study. Taiwanese college and graduate students are particularly interested in engineering, computer science, natural science, and business management. In the latter half of the 1990s, about 13,000 students annually pursued graduate study in the United States.

Information extracted from: http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Taiwan-EDUCATION.html

For more information, please also refer to: http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/taiwan/pro-education.htm

Types of Leisure Programmes in Taiwan

Sports

Taiwanese are known to be extremely active people and their diverse lives invariably converge on sports fields every day.

The following are some sports that are often played in Taiwan.

Baseball

Professional Baseball in Taiwan was initiated by Chinese Professional Baseball League in 1989 and the first official match was played in 1990. Till 2006, Taiwan had only one professional league, the Chinese Professional Baseball League and six professional baseball teams. On an average the matches receive the support of 3,000 spectators per game.

The Taiwan National Baseball Team is one of the best teams in Asia- up in the league with Japan and South Korea. The team has won the Asian Baseball Championship on four occasions in 1983, 1987, 1989 and 2001. The national beat the likes of Japan, China, and South Korea to win a gold medal at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

Over the years, Taiwan has produced quite a number of talented baseball players most of who leave the domestic league for greener shores in Japan or North America.

Some of the young players who have made it to the competitive circle outside Taiwan are Chien-Ming Wang, Hong-Chih Kuo and Chin-Hui Tsao. These three young players are the first to make it into North America’s Major League Baseball.

Basketball

Basketball is growing in popularity in the fecund sports arenas of Taiwan. Basketball in Taiwan is especially popular among the school children. One of the major basketball leagues in Taiwan is the Super Basketball League which was founded in 2003.

Football

FIFA recognizes Taiwan as the Chinese Taipei National Football Team in international matches. The Chinese Taipei Football Association was established in mainland China under the name China Football Association in 1924. Taiwan's best performance came in 1960 when it secured third place in the Asia Cup.

Golf

Golf is an extremely popular sport in Taiwan. There are numerous well-spread lush green courses. Most of the golf courses remain open the whole year. Lin Keng-chi is one of the most successful golfers in Taiwan.

Tennis

Though tennis is a widely played sport in Taiwan, not many players have emerged from the island. The most famous tennis player in Taiwan at present is the young Yen-Hsun Lu.

Volleyball

The national volleyball team of Taiwan is known as the Chinese Taipei national volleyball team. The team comprises tall athletic players who show lot of promise. The national volleyball has not yet entered the world cup and it reached the second round in Asian Games.

Information extracted from: http://www.asiarooms.com/en/travel-guide/taiwan/sports-in-taiwan/index.html

Festivals

The main holidays and festivals in Taiwan may be divided into two major categories: Festivals are associated with the traditional lunar calendar whereas official holidays are celebrated according to the western calendar. The lunar festivals developed from the customs of China's past, and to the celebrants, these occasions are a time for recalling one's cultural origins and remembering the wisdom of early ages. Such festivals include the Chinese New Year Festival, and Lantern Festival, all symbolic of discarding the old and ushering in the new; the Dragon Boat Festival, a time for warding off evil and strengthening the body; the Ghost Festival, when the outcasts from the underworld are given salvation; the Mid-Autumn Festival a celebration of the full moon and unity of mankind; and Double Ninth Festival is to remember the elders.

Official commemorative holidays are primarily based on the achievements of the people and are celebrated to remember events important to the development of the nation. These occasions include the Founding Day of the Republic of China; 228 Memorial Day; Women's Day; Youth Day; Children's Day; Tomb Sweeping Day; Armed Forces Day; Teachers' Day; and days commemorating the decisive events of the ROC's history, including Double Tenth National Day; Taiwan's Retrocession Day; and Constitution Day to name a few.

Both traditional festivals and commemorative holidays and Festivals in Taiwan are celebrated not only in a style unique to the region, but more importantly, in a way that both exhibit the significance of each occasion and fosters the hope of peace on earth.

Information extracted from: http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/index_e.htm

For more information on each type of activity, please refer to: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002020

Lohas

LOHAS refers to Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability. At a time when the “LOHAS” tide is welling ever stronger throughout the world, Taiwan offers you an endless number of ways, with an Oriental flair and a uniquely Taiwanese character, to stay healthy. Come to Taiwan and feel “LOHAS” the Taiwanese way, in the island’s cuisine, sports, leisure activities, and folk methods of health care.

In Taiwan, you can give your taste buds a treat and stay healthy at the same time by enjoying your fill of medicinal foods and healthful organic cuisine. If you are anxious to achieve a physical and mental balance, then you might try Taiwan’s yoga, Zen meditation, martial arts, or Tai Chi to bring you tranquillity the Oriental way. If you just want to relax a bit during your trip, then a visit to one of Taiwan’s popular spas, a soak in a hot spring bath, or a soothing cup of traditional tea might be just the thing for you. If you want to experience the Chinese medical treatment that is receiving ever more attention around the world, then Taiwan will provide you with a health-travel environment of the highest quality. This brochure introduces Taiwan’s rich variety of health-giving resources so that you can experience, in the most relaxed and natural way possible, the island’s health culture and leisure travel at the same time.

For more information, please refer to: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/pda/m1.aspx?sNo=0002036

What is Taiwan known for?

Pop-culture

BEYOND CUTE: Singer-actress Rainie Yang is a favourite leading lady for Taiwan’s quirky TV dramas.
(Photo courtesy: ANN/ AsiaNews)

Taiwan has overtaken Hong Kong as the capital of Asia’s pop culture, giving fans an endless array of pop stars backed by sleek packaging, kitsch and a smattering of talent.

Being a pop star now means you have to be a singer, actor, product endorser, director. In short, you have to do everything and be everywhere from music billboards to TV and silver screens.

Taiwan stars fit this bill perfectly and one very good example is Jay Chou.

Jay Chou

Starting out as a composer for popular singers, he produced his own album in 2000 and never looked back. In the last eight years, he became Asia’s biggest music star selling out albums and concerts before moving on to star in big-budget films including Curse of the Golden Flower directed by Zhang Yimou and co-starring Chow Yun Fat and Gong Li, and Secret, which he himself wrote, directed and acted in. The only thing that Chou hasn’t done is the so-called idol dramas that Taiwan popularised.

But there are enough stars to fill that void and capture the short attention span of Asian fans. The names Jerry Yan, Vanness Wu, Vic Chou and Ken Zhu - collectively known as F4 - because household names through Meteor Garden, perhaps the first idol drama that conquered language barries and cultural differences. The F4 fever swept across the region from Hong Kong to Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia, up to mainland China.

Show Luo

The famous quartet of pretty boys are perhaps Taiwan’s biggest entertainment exports, so popular across the region that the country’s tourism ministry even tapped them as tourism ambassadors for the Japanese and Korean markets. They have become big in Japan, where the pop culture is just as thriving; the 30,000 tickets for the group’s three-night concert in Japan this month were all sold out in only half an hour.

Like Jay Chou, the F4 members have also branched out to other areas in the entertainment industry from music to films.

F4; the boy band that swept across the region
from Hong Kong to Malaysia and the rest of Southeast Asia, up to mainland China

To be sure, Jay Chou and F4 are not the only Taiwanese artistes who have brought attention to the small island in Southeast Asia. Taiwan’s pop culture is so alive and kicking that the popularity of its singers and actors have extended beyond the island’s limited shores in ways that Hong Kong—Taiwan’s closest neighbour and rival in pop culture—never quite achieved.

Aside from Jay Chou and F4, artistes like Show Luo, Jolin Tsai, Rainie Yang, S.H.E., Wang Lee Hom and many more have become household names.

Lollipop 棒棒堂; Popular boy band in Taiwan

For more reading, please refer to:

http://www.mysinchew.com/node/16930?tid=14

http://top40.about.com/od/top10lists/tp/asianboybands.htm

Food Culture

Food culture represents one face by which a country knows itself and by which it shows itself to the world. Due to its great ethnic diversity, Taiwan has a wide variety of such faces and, moreover, these have increased and strengthened with the rise in local awareness. This diversity of cuisines includes eight main categories: Holo (also called “Minnanese,” or simply “Taiwanese”), Hakka, and vegetarian foods, as well as the various cooking styles with long histories from the length and breadth of mainland China such as northern style, Hunan, Jiangzhe (from the provinces of Jiangsu and Zhejiang), Hong Kong (Cantonese), and Sichuan. In general, therefore, it can be said that Taiwan’s varied cuisine shows ethnic, geographic, economic, and other cultural influences.

Chinese cuisine goes back to ancient times and achieved its present level through the accumulation of thousands of years of practical knowledge of and experience in cookery. Emphasis is placed on the perfect combination of color, aroma, flavor and shape, through which the most common ingredients are transformed into culinary tours de force. Chinese cuisine has therefore become well-known around the world and continues to attract gastronomes alike. In Taiwan, cooking techniques from all areas of China have merged, and the Taiwanese do not only master the traditional local Chinese specialties, but also continuously use traditional techniques to develop new culinary treats. It is therefore that each year Taiwan attracts many tourists who come to savor these Chinese specialties, ranging from small steamed buns to water-boiled dumplings.

Traditional Chinese food to be found in Taiwan, next to Taiwanese and Hakka-style dishes, mainly includes dishes from Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Beijing.

Next to these Chinese delicacies, the enormous variety of typical Taiwanese snacks is unique in the world and most perfectly illustrates the important place that the food culture takes into the lives of the Taiwanese people. Famous and unique Taiwanese snacks range from oyster omelets to fried rice noodles, tempura, Tainan Danzai noodles, Taiwanese spring rolls, rice tube pudding, and braised pork rice. Food is cheap and delicious, and by no means inferior, while each specialty gives you an insight in the people of the area it originates from.

Typical Taiwanese snacks are found everywhere, but Taiwan's night markets in particular, each night market having its own traditions and characteristics, are the places where these snacks can be found in abundance. Trying out these snacks, tourists will be able to learn about different specialties, cultures and people from different areas, adding a whole new perspective to traveling.

Local dishes

In contrast to the refined dishes served at elegant banquets are a wide variety of local foods generally known as xiao-chi in Mandarin (“small eat”), which are something like a delicacy, snack, or one dish of a main meal. These are local dishes with the taste of the countryside. They are the product of folk culture and represent popular aesthetics. Superficially, therefore, xiao-chi seem to be quite the opposite of banquet dishes: folk as opposed to elegance, of different classes, with different flavors. For some time, however, xiao-chi culture has been on the rise, honing its qualities, and attracting attention and praise from all strata of society. This goes to show that there are no distinct boundaries between the two culinary cultures but, rather, that they share much in common.

Xiao-chi are “folk” in that their contents relate to people’s lives; they originated in everyday life, and are permeated with popular features. Taiwan’s xiao-chi have flavors from throughout mainland China as well as from Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu. Folk xiao-chi are found throughout Taiwan’s culinary world, in all the eight main categories of cuisine, and might be generally termed “Taiwan’s folk xiao-chi.” This comprises both foodstuffs and local produce, which differ in both characteristics and culinary methods. Each area has its own geographic characteristics, resulting in a myriad of folk xiao-chi.

Image extracted from: http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002033

For more reading, please also refer to:

http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002033

http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/culture/food/

http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-9-24/46304.html

Dramas

Chinese dramas are unique in that they can come from multiple cultures: Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland China (but mostly Taiwan). They could conceivably be given their own top 10 list, but, unfortunately, the Chinese television industries are not yet as sophisticated as their Korean and Japanese cousins and they don’t have as many truly great television series. So for the purposes of simplification, I’ve grouped them all together.

In Chinese dramas, there’s more focus on the family. Korean and Japanese drama series focus more about the couple or the quest or the whatever, but Chinese dramas takes time out to tell you how the mother and the father and the brother and the sister are doing. Not true in all cases, but a more general trend towards fun for the whole family.

The following are some examples of Taiwan dramas

Meteor Garden 流星花園

Fated to love you 命中注定我愛你

The Legend of Brown Sugar Chivalries 黑糖群俠傳

My Queen 敗犬女王

For more reading, please also refer to:

http://hubpages.com/hub/Best-Taiwanese-and-Chinese-Drama-Series

http://cathsdeen.com/2010/06/24/my-top-ten-asian-dramas-as-of-june-2010/

“Disney” in modern society of Taiwan

Disneyization of society argues that the contemporary world is increasingly displaying characteristics of the Disney theme parks.

Themed Restaurants

Themed restaurants refer to restaurants with a concept that is a priority over everything, influencing the infrastructure, food, music and the ambience of the restaurant. Food in the restaurant would support the presentation of the restaurant and these restaurants attract customers by the theme itself.

In the following examples, it will show the different types of themed restaurants in Taiwan. From this, it can be seen that themed restaurants are actually attracting large number of customers regardless of theme due to the fact that they are special in their own ways. In the recent years, there is also growth in themed restaurants in the world where it is becoming a growing trend as customers nowadays are seeking for speciality in life. Thus, they are a way to show that the world is changing and new and bold ideas have to be taken to surpass all other competitors.

Modern Toilet Restaurant

Image via Fun Fever

Perhaps the best-known strangely themed restaurant is Modern Toilet in Taipei, Taiwan, where hungry customers take a seat on Western-style commodes and enjoy feces-shaped chocolate soft serve in miniature toilet bowls. Toilet rolls are hung over the tables for use as napkins, and drinks come in miniature urinals. The toilet theme continues throughout the restaurant, with ‘WC’ signs hung as décor.

For more reading, please refer to: http://www.moderntoilet.com.tw/en/about.asp

A380 Superjumbo Restaurant

A restaurant located in central Taipei, the A380 In-Flight Kitchen looks and functions like an airline in many ways, expect that it serves a regular restaurant menu of Western food, sometimes in plastic trays.

Since November, the restaurant has been packing in wannabe passengers, who sit in soft speckled blue seats with headrests covered in white napkins and under oval-shaped windows. Locked white baggage compartments hang overhead.

Waitresses dressed as flight attendants take meal orders for filet mignon or waffles, as well as the customary fish and chicken. Staff says, "Welcome Aboard" to customers and issue boarding passes to those who must wait for a table.

For more reading, please refer to: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/no-turbulence-at-a380-superjumbo-restaurant-20090126-7pv7.html

Jay Chou French Italian Restaurant - Mr. J 義法廚房 II

Yes, the owner of this beautiful restaurant is the famous singer, Jay Chou.

Jay Chou

Mr. J French-Italian Restaurant

The restaurant is themed in a way that goes with his first directed movie, Secret.

In the restaurant, one is able to see the piano that was used in the movie, Secret. It is an antique owned by Jay Chou and after the movie; he placed it in the restaurant to let customers to take a closer look at it.

Waiters and waitresses are also dressed in the uniform in the movie, Secret. Scenes in the movie are also made into a poster and being hung in the restaurant.

For more reading, please refer to: http://www.mrj-tw.com/

Copyrighted Merchandise

Copyrighted Merchandise refers to the promotion and sale of goods in the form of or bearing copyright images and/or logos, which includes all types of products made under license.

These copyrighted merchandises are usually global brands recognised by many parts of the world. It is also a sign showing that globalisation has taken place in the region or country. In this way, when tourists visit a foreign country, they would be able to see the brands they usually see back at home. This would then allow them to have the homely feel when they see these global brands.

Starbucks

An internationally known brand of coffee that is founded in 1978, Taiwan;s President Chain Store is the largest convenience store chain system, direct and a total of more than four thousand stores. Invested enterprises in the same unit of leafy transfer, including logistics, medicine, cleaning supplies, drug store merchandise, consultant business administration, university press and Starbucks, Shanghai, Starbucks coffee drinks to retail companies.

Starbucks Coffee Company Ltd buys worldwide, roasted coffee beans as a fundamental quality plateau, and a selection of local talents cultivation training, providing high quality coffee consumers in Taiwan and service, with unique space design concept. Starbucks provides consumers in the home and office, the third of a good coffee place.

Starbucks in 2002 in Taiwan has reached a milestone of a hundred stores, the current store has spred to cities an countries of Taipei, Keelung, Taoyuan, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung, Taitung and most of Taiwan regions.

Starbucks is a popular brand of coffee and it is wanted by many people from many parts of the world. As Starbucks is a global brand that bears copyright logos and branding, this also meant that the shops are operating under license. In this way, it is proven that through Starbucks, global brands are playing a significant role in the life of Taiwanese, and other parts of the world.

For more information, please refer to: http://www.starbucks.com.tw/home/index.jspx