Taiwan is located to the southeast of the Chinese mainland opposite Fujian province the island province of Taiwan is flanked by the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Taiwan Straits to the west.
Taiwan belongs to the tropical and subtropical zones. However, being surrounded by seas in all sides, the majority of Taiwan region lies in the temperate and humid maritime climate zone. As is influenced by the maritime monsoon, Taiwan has neither severe winter nor extremely hot summer. The forests remain luxuriantly green and the flowers blossom in all seasons. Taiwan is also characterized by abundant rainfall and violent typhoon. It has an annual temperature of 22oC -- the hottest month, July, averaging 27-28oC and the coldest month, January, 15oC -- and an annual precipitation of over 2,000 mm.
The food in Taiwan is similar to Yue (Guangdong) cuisine but has its own feature. Recommended selections of seafood are the oysters, prawns, baby abalone on the half-shell, poached shrimp, deep-fried shrimp rolls, steamed crab, and grilled teriyaki eel. Those who dislike seafood may try the next popular meat called the Black Chicken.
Taiwan is an economically developed province of China. Industries are flourishing mainly in the fields of computer products, textile, electronic appliances, foodstuff processing, chemicals, petrochemicals, and metal smelting, etc. Taiwan is rich in resources of minerals, aquatic products, and forest vegetation. Its output of coral occupies about 80% of the world total production, winning the fame of "The Kingdom of Coral". In the field of agriculture, paddy rice, tea, sugarcane and fruits are produced in abundance. External trade occupies an important position in Taiwan's economy, with such main trading partners like the US, Japan, Hong Kong, German, Australia, and Singapore, etc. Surrounded by sea, Taiwan is as beautiful as a painting with bountiful tourist attractions. There are such significant places of historic interest and scenic beauty as Alishan Cloud Sea, Mazu Temple, Confucius Temple, Yangmin Mountain and others.
Ninety-seven percent of Taiwan's population is the Han people, the rest are mainly the Gaoshan people ("mountain people") totaling about 300,000. The nine tribes of the "mountain people" are Atayal, Saisiyat, Bunun, Tsou, Paiwan, Rukai, Ami, Puyuma, and Yami. These tribes live in less accessible mountains, remote eastern Taiwan, and the offshore Orchid Island, where their culture and languages are relatively well preserved. Noted traits that were common to these groups included tattooing (except among the Yami and Bunun), pantheism and shamanism.
Taiwan's population is over 24 million, which makes Taiwan one of the world's most densely populated places in the world. Given that two thirds of the island is mountainous the majority of the people live in the other one third of the island that just adds to the population density.
Languages
There are two main languages spoken in Taiwan and they are Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese. Some people can speak some English but it is more common in the big cities with some of the younger people.
The currency used in Taiwan is The New Taiwan dollar (NT$). The exchange rate in 2005 was around NT 32 to US$1. Other foreign currencies can be exchanged at government-designated banks and some hotels.
Most Major credit cards are accepted but sometimes you may have to pay an additional charge for using a credit card. Traveler's checks may be cashed at some tourist hotels but are not widely accepted at other types of businesses around the island.
A 10% service charge and a 5% value added tax (VAT) are automatically added to room rates and meals in most hotels. All other tipping is optional but is usually not expected and in most cases not even accepted.
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