The Ultimate Travel Guide to Taiwan: History & Attractions

The heart of traditional Chinese culture thrives in Taiwan — from Taipei 101 and the world-class National Palace Museum to the dramatic Taroko Gorge, sun-drenched Sun Moon Lake and the night market food culture that rivals anywhere in Asia.

A Glimpse into History

Taiwan's history is one of the most complex and politically charged in the world — an island that was Indigenous Austronesian homeland for thousands of years, became a Chinese frontier, Dutch and Spanish colonial outpost, Qing Dynasty province, Japanese colony, and is today a vibrant democracy whose sovereign status remains one of the world's most consequential geopolitical questions. Austronesian-speaking Indigenous peoples (16 officially recognised tribes) have inhabited Taiwan for at least 6,000 years and are related to the peoples of the Pacific Islands, Madagascar, and the Philippines — Taiwan is believed to be the origin point of the entire Austronesian language family. Dutch traders established Fort Zeelandia on Taiwan in 1624; Spanish traders built Fort San Salvador in the north (1626). Ming loyalist Zheng Chenggong (Koxinga) expelled the Dutch in 1662 and made Taiwan the base for his resistance against the Qing Dynasty that had conquered mainland China. Qing China absorbed Taiwan in 1683. Mass Chinese immigration in the 18th–19th centuries transformed the island's demographics, marginalising the Indigenous population. Japan acquired Taiwan after the First Sino-Japanese War (1895) and ruled it for 50 years, building infrastructure and an education system while suppressing Taiwanese culture. The Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after Mao's Communist victory, bringing 1.5 million mainland Chinese. Chiang Kai-shek's authoritarian rule (1949–87) included the White Terror — 140,000 imprisoned, 3,000–4,000 executed. Taiwan's peaceful democratisation since 1987 makes it one of Asia's democratic success stories.

Top Attractions in Taiwan

Taipei 101 & Xinyi District

The 508-metre bamboo-inspired skyscraper was the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010 and remains Asia's most elegant supertall tower, designed with 8-storey segments (8 being auspicious in Chinese culture) and a 660-tonne wind damper — a giant gold sphere that reduces sway in typhoons and earthquakes. The 89th-floor observatory offers the best views in Taiwan, and the surrounding Xinyi district has Taipei's finest shopping and nightlife.

Taroko Gorge National Park

The Central Cross-Island Highway cuts through 19 km of marble gorge — 300-metre sheer walls of white and grey marble carved by the Liwu River — past hanging temples, suspension bridges, sea caves, and waterfalls. The Zhuilu Old Trail cliff path (dug by Japanese engineers in 1914) traverses a ledge carved into vertical marble faces above the gorge floor. Taroko is Taiwan's most spectacular natural attraction.

Jiufen Old Street

The mountain village of Jiufen — the inspiration for the spirit world in Miyazaki's Spirited Away — tumbles down steep hillsides above the Pacific coast, its narrow red-lantern-lit lanes of teahouses, street food stalls, and historic shophouses creating the most atmospheric townscape in Taiwan. The original gold-rush town from the 1890s, it became famous after being featured in Hou Hsiao-hsien's 1989 film City of Sadness.

Sun Moon Lake

Taiwan's largest alpine lake — the eastern portion round like the sun, the western portion crescent-shaped like a moon — is cradled by green mountains at 748 metres altitude in the Nantou highlands. Cycling the 33-km lakeside path through aboriginal Thao village, the pagoda-topped Lalu Island, and the ancient Wen Wu Temple on the lakeside is Taiwan's most scenic cycling route.