Taiwan tourist information

Taiwan's culture is primarily derived from traditional Chinese culture, with some Japanese and American influences. Taiwanese aborigines each also have distinct cultures which are thought to share ethnic origins with the Pacific Islanders.

Most Taiwanese adhere to a mix of Buddhist/Taoist religions and Confucian teachings. Traditional Chinese holidays such as the Chinese New Year, the Lantern Festival, and the Dragon Boat Festival are celebrated regularly. One especially important deity for Taiwanese people is Matsu, symbolizing the seafaring spirit of Taiwan's ancestors from Fujian and Guangdong.

Many Japanese style houses can be found in Taiwan as relics of Japanese colonial rule. Common usage of Japanese words such as "obasan" and almost all baseball terminology can also be seen as a lasting Japanese effect on Taiwan.

Taiwanese culture also has influenced the West: Bubble tea and milk tea are popular drinks readily available around city centers in Europe, Canada and the United States. Ang Lee is the famous Taiwanese movie director of Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Eat Drink Man Woman, among other films. Mr. Lee also won the Best Director Academy Award for his directing in the film Brokeback Mountain.

About 80 % of the people in Taiwan belong to the Holo ethnic group and speak both Mandarin and Taiwanese. Mandarin is the primary language of instruction in schools; however, most spoken media is split between Mandarin and Taiwanese. Speaking Taiwanese under the localization movement has become an emblem of expressing Taiwanese identity, and the language has undergone a resurgence since the early 1990s. The Hakka, about 10% of the population, have a distinct Hakka language. Aboriginal minority groups still speak their native languages, although most also speak Mandarin.

The Taiwanese localization movement continues to be a major driver of Taiwanese culture, as a reaction against both the previous repression by the once Kuomintang-controlled government and the hostility of the PRC. Thus, identity politics, along with the over 100 years of political separation from mainland China, 50 of which were under Japanese colonial rule, has led to distinct traditions in many areas, including cuisine, opera and music.

One of Taiwan's greatest attractions is the National Palace Museum, which houses more than 650,000 pieces of Chinese bronze, jade, calligraphy, painting and porcelain. The Kuomintang government moved this collection from the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1949 when it fled to Taiwan. The collection, estimated to be one-tenth of China's cultural treasures, is so extensive that only 1 % is on display at any time.

Popular sports in Taiwan include basketball and baseball. Cheerleading performances and billiards are quite fashionable. Badminton is also common.

Cuisines in Taiwan have several variations. In addition to the following representative dishes from the people of Hoklo (Ho-lo) ethnicity, there are also Aboriginal, Hakka, and local derivatives of Chinese cuisines (one famous example of the last is beef noodle soup).

Taiwanese cuisine itself is often associated with influences from mid to southern provinces of China, such as Guangdong (Canton) and Fujian (Hokkien), but influences from all of China can easily be found. A notable Japanese influence exists due to the period when Taiwan was under Japanese rule. Traditional Chinese food to be found in Taiwan, alongside Taiwanese and Hakka-style dishes, includes dishes from Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Shanghai, Hunan, Sichuan and Beijing.

Pork, rice, soy are very common ingredients, as with many Chinese cuisines. Beef is far less common, and some Taiwanese (particularly the elderly generation) still refrain from eating it. This is in part due to the considerations of some Taiwanese Buddhists, a traditional reluctance towards slaughtering precious cattle needed for agriculture, and an emotional attachment to such beasts of labour.

Taiwan's cuisine has also been influenced by its geographic location. Living on a crowded island, the Taiwanese had to look aside from the farmlands for sources of protein. As a result, seafood figures prominently in their cuisine. This seafood encompasses many different things, from large fish such as tuna and grouper, to sardines and even smaller fish such as anchovies. Crustaceans, squid, and cuttlefish are also eaten.

Because of the island's sub-tropical location, Taiwan has an abundant supply of various fruit, such as papayas, melons and citrus fruit. A wide variety of tropical fruits, imported and native, are also enjoyed in Taiwan. Other agricultural products in general are rice, corn, tea, pork, poultry, beef, fish, and other fruits and vegetables. Fresh ingredients in Taiwan are readily available from markets.

The scarcity of natural resources has made for hard living on the island. As the Taiwanese had to make do with very little, they show remarkable adaptiveness, craftiness and creativity when it comes to preparing food.

In many of their dishes, the Taiwanese have shown their inventiveness in their selection of spices. Taiwanese cuisine relies on an abundant array of seasonings for flavour: Soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil, fermented black beans, pickled radishes, peanuts, chili peppers, cilantro (sometimes called Chinese parsley), and a local variety of basil ("nine story tower"). The resulting dishes thus combine and form interesting tastes which make Taiwanese cuisine simple in format yet complex in experience.

Taiwan's best-known snacks are present in the night markets, where street vendors sell a variety of different foods, from finger foods, drinks, sweets, to sit-down dishes.In these markets, one can also find fried and steamed meat-filled buns, oyster-filled omelets, refreshing fruit ices, and much more. Aside from snacks, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, night markets also have vendors selling clothes, accessories, and offer all kinds of entertainment and products.