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 * Mabelle Tham Si Qi (Left)* Jerome Quah Wei Ren (Middle)* Lu Zhi Mao (Right) |
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Taiwan is location in between the Southeastern coast of the Asian continent and East Asian Islands distributed among the western Pacific Rim. To the North lie Japan and the Ryukyu Island; to the south are the Philippine Islands; to the West is Mainland China. Taiwan is a long and narrow island stretching from north to south. The island is about 395 km long vertically and about 144 km in width with total land area of around 36,000 square kilometers (MeetTaiwan, n.d.).
Taiwan has a population of about 23 million people which consists of various ethnic groups. The aborigines who have inhabited the island for around 8,000 years make up 2.3% of the total population; the Han Chinese who migrated to Taiwan in the seventeenth century constitute the rest of the population. The diversity of Taiwan's culture and heritage formed with the integration of different ethnic groups and illustrate the harmony and prosperity possible among various religions, architecture, languages, lifestyles, and cuisines. Seventy percent of the population are concentrated in the five western metropolitan areas (Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan, and Kaohsiung) (MeetTaiwan, n.d.).
Food is the top priority to Taiwanese people in their daily lives. It is said that, on any street in Taiwan, if you walk three steps, there is a small food shop. Upon walking five steps, you shall bump into a restaurant. All kinds of regional food, from southern to northern, is served here. And other than traditional food, modern fast food is also available. This has made culinary culture in Taiwan highly diverse. Also, because Taiwan is where the world’s cultures converge, today, food from all corners of the globe can be found here - American, Italian, Japanese, and European food. Taiwan is truly gourmands’ heaven (Taiwan The heart of Asia, n.d.).
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 Map of Tainan with Townships Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and was the capital during imperial times. It is famous for its temples, historic buildings and snack food. The city is currently the fifth largest city on the island after New Taipei, Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei with a population of over 1.8 million. For a city of its size by population, Tainan's size by land area is exceptional. Very few buildings are more than 5 to 6 stories in height and most are between two and three stories. Like other Taiwanese cities, most people in Tainan, including taxi drivers, cannot speak English well (except for high school and college students), though some of the older generation can converse in Japanese.
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- Overview of Taiwan
- Overview of Tainan
