Travel

Scenic getaway: Gongbei Temple in New Taipei

The temple can be reached by taking Bus 896 from Nangang Station

Taiwan News
Date: 2020/01/29
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

The double-arched bridge (New Taipei City Tourism and Travel Department photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Gongbei Temple (拱北殿) in New Taipei City’s Xizhi District is a scenic, quiet place for people to calm their soul away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

The temple is most popular in late November and December when the maple leaves turn red. Even so, the temple is still worth a visit anytime for its simple architecture, which features Japanese and Chinese elements, as well as a photogenic environment that includes a double-arched bridge, Japanese-style stone lanterns, and secluded footpaths.

The double-arched bridge can be reached by taking the trail on the left side of the temple which leads to a hillside behind the building. The bridge is a particularly popular spot for taking photos.
[FULL  STORY]

El Nido No. 1 emerging travel destination for Taiwan citizens

Taiwan News
Date: 02020/01/05
By  Central News Agency

El Nido most popular emerging travel destination among Taiwanese. (Tripadvisor.com photo)

El Nido in the Philippines is the most popular emerging travel destination for Taiwanese tourists, according to an analysis released Dec. 26 by online travel website Booking.com.

According to the website, the top five emerging travel destinations for Taiwanese travelers in 2020 is El Nido, followed by Göreme in Turkey, Chiang Rai in Thailand, Kitakyushu in Japan and Seogwipo in South Korea.

The destinations received the highest jumps in bookings between August 2018 and June 2019 compared to data from the same period of last year, according to the website.

The site credited El Nido's beautiful natural landscape, which comprises limestone cliffs, white sand beaches and lagoons, for its popularity amongst tourists, while Göreme's rock formations and churches are the town's biggest draw for visitors.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan Escape: Finding Tranquillity In The Penghu Islands

Suitcase Magazine
Date: 1 December 2017
Words by CONTRIBUTOR : JULIA ESKINS  Photos by JULIA ESKINS

Arriving in a new destination at night has a way of heightening your senses. When darkness falls, first impressions are built only on sounds, smells and moonlit scenes. It isn’t until the flood of morning light that the whole picture becomes clear. Some of these early perceptions are washed away, while others, like Penghu Islands’ seaside potpourri of salt, incense and freshly caught fish, stay with you forever.

I found myself on one of these enigmatic evening strolls on my first night in Magong, the largest city in the Penghu Islands. Only a 50-minute flight west of busy Taipei, the 90-island archipelago in the Taiwan Strait is – for want of a better phrase – a secret paradise. While Taiwanese residents are in the know, you’ll be hard pressed to see more than a handful of western tourists wandering its reaches at any given time.

On my first night, I felt like somewhat of an imposter, enveloped by the sounds of karaoke and locals chatting over cups of bubble tea and shaved ice-grass jelly. Bed and breakfast-style accommodations abound alongside upmarket options offering infinity pools and sunset views. While the islands are home to the usual holiday draws: white-sand beaches, coral reefs and killer seafood, its age-old quirks differentiate it from other sun destinations.

Wander through the villages and you’ll find relics of Japanese pirates, colonial architecture, 15th-century temples and walls built of coral. Its landscapes, punctuated by 17-million-year-old towering basalt columns and volcanic rock formations, draw eager-eyed geology buffs. The best way to soak in the islands’ charms is by spending some time on the water. After all, Penghuians are known to worship Mazu, the goddess of the sea.    [FULL  STORY]

Jiufen, Taiwan: Street Food, Ocean Views, and Memories of Gold

Epoch Times
Date: November 1, 2019
By: Crystal Shi

Jiufen, a town tucked into the mountains. (Shutterstock)

JIUFEN, Taiwan—The picturesque town of Jiufen, nestled in the green, perennially fog-shrouded mountains that hug Taiwan’s northeastern coast, once pulsed with the promise of gold. At the height of the region’s gold rush, this was the center of the action.

But on a recent visit, I joined crowds of tourists in search of other riches: stunning ocean vistas, legendary local eats, and a sort of nostalgic charm that permeates every narrow, lantern-lit cobblestone street. The days of gold mining have long gone, but the former mining town has since struck a new kind of gold: tourism.

Golden Days

The story begins in the early 1890s, when a group of railroad construction workers, in the midst of washing their rice bowls, found specks of the precious mineral in the Keelung River. The unexpected discovery triggered a gold rush, and crowds of hopeful prospectors descended upon the riverbanks to try their luck.

In 1894, the source of that gold was traced to a huge deposit in the mountains around Jiufen. The region’s gold mining era soon took off in earnest—spearheaded by the Japanese, who colonized the island the following year—and as the industry boomed, the mountain towns at its center swelled with miners and newfound riches. By the 1930s, Jiufen had gone from an isolated farming village to a mining hub so prosperous it earned the nickname “Little Shanghai.”     [FULL  STORY]

LIST: Flight cancellations for August 9, Friday

ABS-CBN News
Date: Aug 08 2019

MANILA – Local airlines have announced the cancellation of flights to Basco, Batanes and Taipei, Taiwan and their respective return trips on Friday due to the effects of Typhoon Hanna.

The following are affected flights as of 8 p.m. Thursday:

SKYJET

  • M8 816 Manila – Basco
  • M8 817 Basco – Manila

PHILIPPINE AIRLINES

  • PR890 Manila – Taipei
  • PR891 Taipei – Manila
  • PR2696 Clark – Basco
  • PR2697 Basco – Clark
  • PR2688 Clark – Basco
  • PR2689 Basco – Clark

PAL said affected passengers may rebook and refund within 30 days from their original flight date, with rebooking or refunding fees waived.    [SOURCE]

Fewer Chinese tourists make Taiwan more attractive to Japanese travelers

Japanese tourism in 2019 expected to increase after news of China's tourist ban

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/08/05
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

JAL 767-346 and ANA 767-381ER at Osaka Intl. Airport (By Wikimedia Commons)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Aug. 1, the Chinese government announced that it would be suspending all individual permits for travel to Taiwan, forcing Chinese citizens hoping to visit the country to join officially approved tour groups instead. The move is widely seen as an attempted political maneuver to damage Taiwan’s economy ahead of the January 2020 elections.

While Taiwan is likely to see a major dip in tourism from China in the coming months, there are reasons to be optimistic, as the sudden drop in Chinese visitors will make Taiwan’s popular tourist destinations less crowded. Japanese website Zakzak is encouraging Japanese vacationers to consider visiting Taiwan in 2019 on account of decreased crowds and potential travel deals offered by hotels and tour operators to make up for losses.

According to the article, now is a “great chance” to visit Taiwan, which is regularly a top destination for Japanese tourists. In 2013, there were 1.24 million Japanese visitors to Taiwan, but by 2017 that number had increased to 1.9 million, reports Zakzak.    [FULL  STORY]

Head to Tainan and Alishan if you want to see more of Taiwanese culture

Metro News
Date: 12 May 2019
By: Qin Xie

Taipei is always the first port of call for first-time visitors to Taiwan – and rightly so, given that it’s the capital.

But if you really want to delve into Taiwanese culture, heritage and explore the lesser known parts of the island, you need to head south.

I decided on Tainan, the former capital, as my first port of call.

On the train down, I spotted an article on some of the craftsmen in the city – that’s how I ended up at Tainan Kuang Tsai Embroidery Shop.

Mr Lin, who’s owned the shop for decades, creates these incredible embroidered pieces for everything from Chinese opera costumes and wedding outfits to decorations for temples.    [FULL  STORY]

Southernmost Taiwan cape named one of most welcoming places in the world

A considerable number of properties in Eluanbi Cape won 2018 Guest Review Awards

Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/09
By: Ryan Drillsma, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Eluanbi lighthouse in Kenting (Flickr/paularps)

TAIPEI (Taiwan) — Eluanbi Cape (鵝鑾鼻) in Pingtung County (屏東縣) was named one of the friendliest travel destinations in 2018 by Booking.com.

Digital travel platform Booking.com released its annual list of “the most welcoming places on earth” today (Jan. 9). According to the hotel reservation website, the list honors its “accommodation partners that consistently deliver great guest experiences with a 2018 Guest Review Award.”

Eluanbi Cape in Kenting (墾丁), Pingtung is one of the areas known for hosting many such accommodations and was named alongside Niagra on the Lake in Canada, New Zealand’s Lake Tekapo, and Newport in the United States.    [FULL  STORY]

Taiwan’s Pinglin tea zone is a Top 100 Green Destination

The award will be handed out at ITB Berlin next year

Taiwan News
Date: 2018/12/21
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Pinglin, New Taipei City (photo courtesy of New Taipei City tourism department).

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Pinglin district of New Taipei City, known for its hillside tea plantations, has been named as one of the world’s Top 100 Green Destinations, reports said Friday.

The award will be handed out at one of the largest tourism events in the world, the ITB travel fair in Berlin on March 6, the Liberty Times reported.

2018 was the fourth year that a Dutch-based foundation made a selection of global tourism destinations based on criteria such as sustainable development, social, cultural and economic conservation, and environmental protection.

Pinglin amounted to the back garden of the greater Taipei area, with its water sources protected from pollution, the Liberty Times reported.    [FULL  STORY]

12 Taiwan national forest recreation areas accept mobile payments

The 12 national recreation areas will accept the four smartphone payments–Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and Taiwan Pay.

Taiwan News 
Date: 2018/12/17
By: George Liao, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

Shuangliou National Forest Recreation Area (photo courtesy of the Forestry Bureau)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Twelve national forest recreation areas in Taiwan have adapted themselves to accepting mobile payment, which has become a trending payment in recent years, according to a recent news release posted by the Forestry Bureau, which administers the country’s national recreation areas.

The bureau said in the news release that from now on, the 12 national forest recreation areas, as well as the Bong Bong Train in the Taipingshan National Forest Recreation Area, and the sightseeing mini trains in Wulai, New Taipei City, will accept the four NFC-enabled smartphone payments linked to visitors’ credit cards–Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay, and Taiwan Pay.

The 12 national forest recreation areas are Taipingshan, Manyueyuan, Neidong, and Dongyanshan in northern Taiwan; Basianshan, Dasyueshan, and Aowanda in central Taiwan; Alishan, Shuangliou, and Kenting in southern Taiwan; and Jhihben, and Chihnan in eastern Taiwan, the bureau said.

The national forest recreation areas are rich in natural resources, the agency said, adding the levels of negative ions and phytoncides, which are beneficial to human health, in forests are several times higher than those in metropolitan areas. Forests can directly intercept particulate matter and reduce the level of PM2.5, the bureau added.
[FULL  STORY]