TAIPEI, TAIWAN
Date Modified: 06.28.2008
Content: Taipei - General Info and Links
Source: Wikipedia
TEACH ENGLISH
IN TAIWAN - Browse
ESL Jobs
Area: 271.7997 km2
Population: 2,625,512 (May, 2004)
Population Density: 9,660/km2
Districts: 12
Mayor: Ma Ying-jeou
City nickname: The City of Azaleas
Capital District: Xinyi
City Flower: Azalea
City Tree: India laurel fig
City Bird: Formosan Blue Magpie
Taipei City is the provisional
capital of the Republic of China (ROC) and the largest city on
Taiwan island. Home to 2,619,022 people (2005 census data, excluding
Taipei County), it is the center of Taiwan's commerce, government,
and culture. Major industries include electrical and electronic
equipment, textiles, metals, ship-building, and motorcycles.
Taipei City is a special municipality administered directly under
the central government of the ROC. It is not part of but surrounded
entirely by Taipei County, which is administered as part of Taiwan
Province.
>> Subdivisions
Taipei administers twelve districts:
Songshan
Xìnyì
Dàan
Zhongshan
Zhongzhèng
Dàtóng
Wànhuá
Wénshan
Náng?ng
Nèihú
Shìlín
Beitóu
>> Geography
Taipei City is located in the Taipei Basin in northern Taiwan
and is bordered on the south by the Sindian River (Hsintien),
and the Danshuei (Tamsui) on the west. The northern districts
of Shihlin and Beitou extend north of the Keelung River and are
bordered by Yangmingshan National Park. Because of its location
in a valley, the city commonly experiences high temperatures and
humidity during the summer months, a problem enhanced by the high
population density and the use of air conditioning. The climate
is subtropical.
>> History
The region known as the Taipei basin was home to Ketagalan tribes
before the 18th century. Han Chinese began to settle in Taipei
Basin in 1709.
In the late 19th century, Taipei gained economic importance due
to the trade of tea. In 1875, the northern part of Taiwan was
separated from Taiwan Prefecture and became. The new city was
known as Chengnei, and government buildings were erected there.
Taiwan became a province of China in 1885, but remained a temporary
capital of the province before it became the official one in 1894.
As settlement for losing the Sino-Japanese War, China ceded the
entire island of Taiwan to Japan in 1895. Taipei was the political
center of the Japanese Colonial Government. Much of the architecture
of Taipei dates from the period of Japanese rule (during which
the city was known in Japanese as Taihoku) including the Presidential
Building which was the Office of the Taiwan Governor-General.
In 1949, the Communists forced the Kuomintang government under
Chiang Kai-shek to flee mainland China and establish Taipei as
the provisional capital of the ROC (Nanking remains the official
ROC capital). Taipei was also the capital of Taiwan Province until
the 1960s when that was moved to Jhongsing Village.
From 1875 (during the Qing Dynasty) until the beginning of Japanese
rule in 1895, Taipei was part of Danshuei County of Taipei Prefecture.
Taipei was incorporated in 1920 as part of Taipei Prefecture.
It included Bangka, Dadaocheng, and Chengnei among other small
settlements. The eastern village Songshan was annexed into Taipei
City in 1938. As approved on December 30, 1966 by Executive Yuan,
Taipei became a centrally administered municipality on July 1,
1967. In the following year, Taipei City expanded again by annexing
Shilin, Beitou, Neihu, Nangang, Jingmei, and Muzha. In 1990, 16
districts in Taipei City were consolidated into the current 12
districts.
>> Politics
The current mayor of Taipei is the Kuomintang's Ma Ying-jeou.
The office of mayor of Taipei is seen as a stepping stone to higher
office. Both the current and previous Presidents Chen Shui-bian
and Lee Teng-hui were mayors of Taipei, and Ma Ying-jeou is widely
regarded as the most likely Kuomintang candidate for President
in 2008. Until 1994, the mayor of Taipei was an appointed position,
but since then it has been elected.
Taipei City has a higher proportion of
Mainlanders than average in Taiwan. This and the fact that the
city is highly dependent on commerce and finance which would be
disrupted in case of conflict with the People's Republic of China
means that the city is more favorable to Chinese reunification
than other areas of Taiwan. Indeed, it was partly due to the fact
that Chen Shui-bian was still able to win the mayorship in 1994
despite his pro-independence tendencies that made him the obvious
DPP candidate for President in 2000.
>> Festivities in Taipei
The Grand Hotel of Taipei/ taken by Liyu/ 9 August, 2004
There are many yearly Taiwanese festivals that commonly are held
in Taipei including the Lantern Festival and Double Tenth Day.
A common location for festivities in Taipei is the square in front
of the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Recently, some of the major
festivals normally held in Taipei (specifically, the Double Tenth
Day fireworks) have been moved to others cities in Taiwan.
>>Education
Taipei has 15 universities:
Chinese Culture University
Ming Chuan University
National Chengchi University
National Taipei University
National Taipei University of Technology
National Taiwan Normal University
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
National Yang Ming University
Shih Chien University
Shih Hsin University
Soochow University
Taipei Medical University
Taipei National University of Arts
Tatung University
In addition, there are nine colleges:
China Institute of Technology
Chung Kuo Institute of Technology
Kuang Wu Institute of Technology
National Taipei College of Nursing
National Taipei Teachers College
National Taipei College of Business
Taipei Municipal Teachers College
Taipei Physical Education College
Takming College
>> Transportation
Taipei's public transport system MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), now
also known as metroTaipei, uses both a light rail system based
on VAL technology and a conventional metro. Unlike most rail transport
in Taiwan which follow the Japanese practice and have trains running
on the left, the Taipei public transport system runs its trains
on the right. See Taipei Rapid Transit System.
Taipei Main Station is the largest Taiwanese railway station and
also functions as the nexus for the MRT system.
All scheduled international flights are served by Chiang Kai-shek
International Airport in nearby Taoyuan County. Songshan Airport
at the heart of the city serves mostly domestic flights, with
the exception of some charter flights.
An extensive city bus system runs throughout the city to serve
areas not covered by the MRT system. Some buses require payment
upon boarding, and other upon exiting, and many buses (longer
routes) require payment both upon boarding and exiting. Riders
of the city MRT system are able to use their MRT passes on buses
for discounted rates, making the bus system effectively an extension
of the MRT system. The passes, known as Easy Cards contain credits
which are deducted each time a ride is taken. The Easy Card, which
is the Taipei's equivalent to Hong Kong's Octopus Card, is extremely
convenient since it is read via sensory panels on buses and in
MRT stations capable of scanning through wallets or purses, thus
eliminating the need for the passenger to remove the card from
his or her wallet or purse.
Taxis are bright yellow and are readily available. Taxi fare is
determined by both time and distance and tipping is not expected.
Rates are very reasonable, with most inner city trips ranging
from US$8 to US$12. As with other services, taxi rates are significantly
higher (usually double) during special holidays like the lunar
new year. Taxis can be hailed by standing at the curb, stretching
out your arm, and waving your hand.
A quintessential form of transportation
in Taipei (and much of Taiwan) is the ubiquitous motor-scooter,
somewhat analogous to the motorcycles found in other industrialized
nations. However, motor-scooters are not subject to conventional
traffic laws, and generally thread between cars and occasionally
through oncoming traffic. A loophole in Taipei's motor vehicle
laws ensures that in any accident between a motor-scooter and
another vehicle, the other vehicle is at fault. For these reasons,
scooters are perhaps the most convenient (though environmentally
unfriendly) way for locals to navigate through their city.
>> Attractions
Longshan Temple
Taipei 101 is a new financial center in Taipei. The Guinness Book
of Records certified it as the world's tallest building in October
2003.
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
The Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall.
National Palace Museum
Longshan Temple
Shilin Night Market
Taipei Zoo
>> Pronunciation note
The spelling Taipei derives from the Wade-Giles romanization T'ai-pei,
in which "p" is pronounced more like an English "b".
Thus "Taipei" should accurately be pronounced like the
English words Tie-Bay, rather than Tie-Pay, its common English
pronunciation.
Both Hanyu Pinyin, which is used both in the PRC and in Taipei
City itself, and Tongyong Pinyin, which is mandated by the central
government, reflect this pronunciation, romanizing Taipei as Taibei,
a spelling that is closer to the Mandarin pronunciation. However,
this romanization is very rarely seen.
Though Taipei City has converted all its street signs to Hanyu
Pinyin, it has retained the original spelling of "Taipei"
as an exception.
TEACH ENGLISH
IN TAIWAN - Browse
ESL Jobs
MORE INFO
Taipei City Government Website
http://english.taipei.gov.tw/TCG/index.jsp
USEFUL LINKS
Currency Converter
Quickly and easily covert one currency into another using
this simple , online currency conversion tool.
http://www.fieba.net/fieba/openconverter.jsp
World Time
Find the time in any country of the world. This page displays world time by time zone and by city or you can use our search form powered by worldtimeserver.com
http://www.esljobproject.com/esl_info/world_time.php
International Calling
Find international calling codes to make international
calls. Easily find how to make an international call from
one country to another.
http://www.esljobproject.com/esl_info/int_calls.html
Banking
Banking information on how to setup an account in Asia.
Find how to start an account in China, Korea, Japan and
Taiwan.
http://www.esljobproject.com/esl_info/banking.html
Flights
Find Asian travel Agents while teaching overseas. ESL
Job Project. Find ESL teaching jobs in Korea, China, Taiwan,
Japan.
http://www.esljobproject.com/esl_info/flights.html
Things to Bring
ESL Teacher suggestions on what to bring to Asia. What
to bring when you teach in China, Taiwan, Korea or Japan.
http://www.esljobproject.com/esl_info/things_to_bring.html
Links
A collection of useful links related to the ESL teaching
community.
http://www.esljobproject.com/links/index.php
|
Member Area | 
Register |
Post Ad |
Wap
RSS Feed