Tourism

The myriad strands of Taiwanese culture blend in fascinating ways to create a thoroughly modern society with strong traditional roots. Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in Taiwanese cuisine. Taiwan's most famous food you cannot miss are Xiaolongbao, stinky tofu and fried chicken fillet.

Visiting Taiwan without going to night markets is like going to Paris for the first time but not going to see the Eiffel Tower. It has to be done. 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.

Hot springs, the hot tears of the earth, are one of the most precious gifts that the earth has given to this island. It can proudly regard itself as one of the regions with the highest concentration and greatest variety of hot springs in the world.

There were once 22 stone fish traps along the coast in Waipu Village in Houlong Township in Miaoli County, with a 200 or 300 year-old history. Now, however, the Hehuan and Munai fish traps are the only two fully-intact stone fish traps still in existence on the main island of Taiwan. For over 20 years, Hsu Su-wei, administrative head of the Waipu Village and director of the Miaoli County Stone Fish Trap Sustainable Preservation Culture Association, has led a group of local fishermen with an average age of 70 years old, in maintaining and preserving the stone fish traps using traditional methods. They hope to preserve the majesty of the stone fish traps and give younger generations an insight into how early fishermen in Taiwan lived—following in the tradition of local crafts being kept within the community.