An article in a Belgian weekly lifestyle magazine has called Taipei the most underrated city in the world.
“It’s time to take a trip to Taipei!” writer Jesse Brouns told readers in his story carried in the latest version of the Flemish-language Knack Weekend.
EXQUISITE
Taipei, with a population of 3 million, is a capital city that is exquisite and just right, Brouns wrote.
It’s difficult to identify the real spirit of Taipei from its outward appearance, as the life of the city is hidden in small alleys, waiting to be tapped into, he wrote.
Brouns explained that people around the world may not have a clear impression of Taiwan, but he came to realize that it is a gourmet’s paradise and a mecca in Asia for people in the music industry.
INTRIGUING
Brouns described Taipei as full of intriguing places, including famous dumpling house Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐), night markets, department stores and shopping centers.
Calling the National Palace Museum “the Chinese version of the Louvre,” he said there was nothing to compare with it in China.
Brouns also pointed out the Grand Hotel, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall as other landmarks.
In China, traces of history can be destroyed in minutes, but in Taiwan, historical structures are retained, he wrote.
MODERN
Yet the city that has preserved some of its older buildings is also operating the world’s most successful modern rapid transit system for a mere 0.5 euros (US$0.70) per ride, he wrote.
He also lauded Taipei’s rich cultural diversity, ranging from Longshan Temple (龍山寺) and the restaurants on Huaxi Street selling snake meat and soup, to the Red House theater.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11
RSS