Taipei

Also known as The City of Azaleas, Taipei City, Taibei, City of Taipei, Tanshoui, Tai Pei

Taipei (; ; Tâi-gí: Tâi-pak), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of Taiwan. Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.

AI overview

Taipei is the capital and special municipality of Taiwan, located in northern Taiwan as an enclave surrounded by New Taipei City. The city sits on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed surrounded by river valleys, and serves as Taiwan's main political and administrative center.

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Place details

Locality: 臺北市
Country: 臺灣
Population: 7,871,900
Timezone: Asia/Taipei

via · GeoNames

Travel guide

Understand

thumb|400px|An evening in Taipei from Elephant Mountain in 2017. In 1884, Liu Mingchuan, the Qing dynasty governor of Taiwan, moved the prefectural capital to Taipei. As officials arrived and government buildings were constructed, the city began to transform from a quiet market town. When Taiwan became a province in 1887, Taipei was named its capital and continued to hold that status. Its position in northern Taiwan — closest to Japan — also supported its growth after the island was ceded to Japan in 1895.

During Japan’s fervent modernization campaign, much of Taipei’s traditional Chinese architecture was swept away, including the historic city walls. However, several Qing-era structures, such as the old North Gate, the former Provincial Administration Hall, and a number of temples, survived. The Japanese colonial period also left a lasting mark on the city’s architectural landscape, with prominent landmarks such as the Presidential Palace and National Taiwan University built during this time.

Taipei underwent another dramatic transformation after 1945, when the Kuomintang (KMT) government relocated from mainland China. To accommodate the massive influx of mainland refugees, temporary housing spread rapidly across the city. These were later replaced with utilitarian concrete apartment blocks, which defined Taipei’s urban aesthetic for decades. Many of these buildings still stand, but beginning in the 1980s, Taiwan’s economic boom fueled a new phase of development. Modern ne…

See

Those who take the time to visit and look around will soon find that Taipei is just as vibrant as any other major city, and is full of a certain charm which makes it unique in its own right. Just spend a day wandering around Taipei's streets and you will start finding many surprises.

Buy

It has been said that Los Angeles has no center. In contrast, one could say that Taipei is all center, and as such it has been given the epithet - "the emporium without end." Basically, however, the main shopping area can be divided into two districts: East and West. West Taipei is the old city and is characterized by narrow streets packed with small shops. East Taipei boasts wide tree lined boulevards and the biggest shopping malls are in this area.

Eat

Taipei is a foodie's paradise. Almost every street and alley offers some kind of eatery. Although Taiwanese cuisine is primarily based on the cuisine of southern Fujian, the huge influx of Kuomintang refugees from mainland China after losing the Chinese Civil War means that Taipei is also one of the best places in the world to sample regional cuisines from all over China, with many of these also having been given a unique Taiwanese twist. In addition, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean and Italian cuisines are also popular. Basically, East Taipei, especially around Dunhua and Anhe Roads, and also the expat enclave of Tianmu are where to clash chopsticks with the rich and famous, whereas West Taipei offers more smaller, homey restaurants. Convenience stores are open 24/7 and are extremely useful for travelers. You can buy cheap meals, withdraw cash, and buy toiletries.

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Article

51 sections

Contents

Names
History
Early settlers to the Qing dynasty
Empire of Japan
Post-WW2 under ROC
Geography
Climate
Air quality
Cityscape
Demographics
Economy
Culture
Tourism
Commemorative sites and museums
Taipei 101
Performing arts
Shopping and recreation
Temples
Festivals and events
Government
Garbage recycling
Administrative divisions
City planning
Transportation
Metro
Rail
Bus
Airports
Ticketing
Education
Sports
Major sporting events
Youth baseball
Media
Television
Newspapers
International relations
Twin towns and sister cities
United States
Outside United States
Partner cities
Friendship cities
In popular culture
Gallery
See also
Notes
Words in native languages
Other
References
Further reading
External links

The municipality of Taipei is home to an estimated population of 2,494,813 (March 2023), forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, also known as "Greater Taipei", which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro areas. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or just the municipality alone. Taipei has been the political center of the island since 1887, when it first became the seat of Taiwan Province by the Qing dynasty until 1895 and again from 1945 to 1956 by the Republic of China (ROC) government, with an interregnum from 1895 to 1945 as the seat of the Government-General of Taiwan during the Japanese rule. The city has been the national seat of the ROC central government since 1949, and it became the nation's first special municipality (then known as Yuan-controlled municipality) on 1 July 1967, upgrading from provincial city status.