Taiwan – Discovering the Land of Trees, Sea & Qi

Taiwan is a land of towering sea cliffs, marble-walled gorges, vibrant urban jungles teeming with temples, tea houses, tantalizing treats of bustling night markets, gardens, museums, country villages, stunning wildflowers and butterfly migrations, lantern festivals, and home to over 200 majestic mountains over 10,000ft tall, many with natural pine and hemlock trees in the higher elevations that are hundreds, if not thousands of years old. 

With over half of the island being forested and 20% (and growing) protected as national park or forest reserve, Taiwan has immense biological and geographical diversity. 

Indeed, much of Taiwan’s flora and fauna cannot be found anywhere else on earth! Of its 120 mammals, 70% are endemic, including the Formosan rock monkey and the giant flying squirrel. With its diverse range of habitats, Taiwan supports over 650 species of birds, 150 or 17% of which are endemic. And 26% of its plants and 60% of its insects are only found in Taiwan! 

Isn’t this amazing?! 

Seeing and experiencing things you’ve never seen, filling up on vibrant Qi found nowhere else on our beautiful planet, is definitely one of the MANY reasons to come to Taiwan! 

AND, with all this wildness, forest, sea cliffs, wetlands and mountain peaks and BEAUTY, Taiwan is also home to 23 million amazing people. Taiwan is Asia’s most vibrant democracy and liberal society, upholding bold free press, gender equality, LGBTQ+ rights, and supporting the rise and protection of the island’s indigenous tribes and cultures, large movements for wildlife conservation, robust recycling and passion for tending to the multitude of ecosystems this island supports (almost all except desert!).

With over 12,000 temples around the island, religions and worship include a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and local folk deities. Temples in cities, towns and villages are often the focus of local culture, playing a role of community center, festival venue, art house and worship hall. Many display exquisite architecture, traditional decorative art and showcase performance arts. 

And the people of Taiwan are generous, creative and kind. And most likely, soon after arriving someone may ask you, “Ni chi bao le ma?” -“Have you eaten yet?” This is the local way of checking in, and friendly way to say hey, but also includes wanting to know if you’ve eaten — as delicious food, cuisine, tasty local street vendor treats, tea and an array of soups and beverages are on every street corner and are a big part of enjoying life on this Beautiful Island. The answer to this question is almost always “Yes” — as there is so much amazing nibbling and feasting to do — This island is a cuisine and treat heaven for omnivores, meat eaters and vegetarians.