With 23 million people crammed
onto an island that covers just more than 36,000 square kilometers, Taiwan ranks among the 20 most densely
populated places in the world.
Although the industrious island
has built a global reputation for cheap electronics, this is one Asian tiger
that offers far more than stickers on the backs of calculators.
Economically there's little it
has left to prove, but Taiwanese people remain a proud and determined bunch.
Here are 10 things they do better
than anyone else.
1. Night
markets
Taiwan's 300-plus night markets await your midnight
cravings.
For an island smaller in area
than Switzerland, Taiwan sure has a lot of night markets -- an estimated 300
island-wide.
These open-air bazaars are
particularly loved for street food, referred to locally as xiao-chi, literally
"small eats."
Perennial favorites are oyster
omelets, stinky tofu and an assortment of snacks on a stick straight off the
grill.
Specialty drinks range from
bubble tea to shots of snake blood.
According to the Taiwan Tourism Bureau, some 70% of tourists to Taiwan will
visit a night market.
The top three Facebook check-ins for 2013 in Taiwan were all night
markets; Tainan Flower Night Market (12th globally) nabbed the top spot,
followed by Luodong and Feng Chia night markets in Yilan and Taichung,
respectively.
2. Themed
restaurants
If literal toilet humor (eating
out of miniature urinals and toilet bowls) is your idea of an amuse bouche,
Taiwan provides a belly full of laughs.
Modern Toilet
restaurants address taboos pertaining to dining etiquette, posing witty
rhetoric on websites such as: "To eat or to pee? Now that is the question."
At the other extreme, you can
get a cutesy overdose at a Hello Kitty namesake cafe, where everything from burger buns
to soup bowls is shaped like the mouthless cartoon cat. (For more on the kitty
obsession, read point 9 below.)
What's that? Can't get enough
pink and glitter?
That's OK, because Taiwan is
home to the world's first Barbie-themed restaurant, with Mattel-approved smotherings of
pink plastic and frilly tutus.
Previous themed restaurants in
Taiwan have included a cafe based on an Airbus A380, complete with trolly
dollies serving food and drinks from a cart, as well as restaurants with jail,
hospital and school-inspired themes.
3. Free
WiFi
Since 2011, Taiwanese citizens
have been able to log onto iTaiwan, the island's free WiFi network.
Taiwan is one of the first
places in the world to offer free WiFi on a mass scale.
In June 2013, the service was
rolled out to tourists in four of the five largest cities, using more than 4,400
hotspots.
Visitors can sign up for an
iTaiwan account with their passport at Taiwan Tourism Bureau centers and offices
in transportation stations, then receive complimentary WiFi in Taipei, New
Taipei, Taichung and Tainan.
4. Chinese
artifacts
Heaven for Chinese history buffs.
You might think it'd be in
Beijing or Shanghai, but the National Palace Museum in Taipei houses the largest collection
of Chinese artifacts and artwork in the world.
The impressive permanent
collection comprises more than 650,000 items.
Chinese history is told through
bronze statues, jade carvings, calligraphy, lacquerware and other historical
pieces -- many of which belonged to Chinese imperial families -- including an
intriguingly life-like, meat-shaped stone and a jadeite cabbage.
Despite several rounds of
building expansion, only a fraction of the collection is on display (no more
than 10,000 items at any one time), making the museum worth returning to several
times a year.
5. Animated
news
With an army of about 400
animators, Next Media
Animation (NMA), a Taiwan-based animation studio, can turn any news story
into a cartoon in as fast as 90 minutes ('making-of' video here).
More impressively -- the videos
are usually satirical, outrageous and hilarious.
The studio, created by a Hong
Kong media tycoon, takes infotainment to another level.
Founded in 2007 to create
CGI-animated videos for news without real footage for Apple Daily News in Hong
Kong and Taiwan, the talents of Taiwan's animators were exposed to the world
with the 2009 release of their hilarious video of what might
have happened during Tiger Woods' infamous car crash.
In the video, now ex-wife Elin
Nordegren chases Tiger Woods' car with a golf club after finding out about
Woods' affair.
After the video went viral, the
company decided to service international audiences in Japanese and English.
Some of the team's most popular
recent works include a video about the execution of Kim Jong-un's uncle and a review of five stories that must die in 2014.
6. Mock
meat
One of the world's most
vegetarian-friendly destinations, Taiwan offers 6,000 or so restaurants serving an impressive variety of
delicious vegetarian fare to feed the 10% of the country that shuns meat.
But while it can't beat India in
terms of the abundance and variety of vegetarian dishes on offer, Taiwan is the
best place to hit when you're craving meat but don't actually want to eat any.
That's right, we're talking about mock meat.
Given how important flesh is to
the traditional Chinese diet, it's no surprise Taiwan's fake meat -- usually
made of soy protein or wheat gluten -- can fool even hardcore carnivores.
Yes, there have been scandals
that revealed actual meat inside supposed mock meat dishes. But it's is a
thriving industry here and is considered a staple across Taiwan.
Mock meat stir-fries in
particular taste surprisingly like the real thing.
7. Little League
baseball
Taiwan ballers have no problem stepping up to the plate.
Baseball may be Taiwan's most
popular sport -- diamonds are almost as common as dumplings around the
island.
Taiwan holds the record for the
most Little League World Series championship titles (17),
nearly double that of its closest runner-up, Japan.
Adding to a cabinet of trophies,
a team from Taiwan won the 2013 Junior League Baseball Junior World Series.
8. National health
coverage
In a year when the Obamacare
debacle played out in global headlines, it's worth to noting that Taiwan has
what many call the best universal healthcare system in the world.
Legal residents can visit any
specialist in the country.
Docs anywhere will pull up their
entire medical record via smart card, consult and prescribe Chinese medicine
and/or prescription drugs.
Fees are billed directly to and
reimbursed by the National Health Insurance Administration, whose 2%
administrative costs are the lowest in the world.
Sky-high kitty obsession.
9. Hello Kitty
obsession
Taiwan's obsession with the
Japanese-born Sanrio character doesn't stop at feline-themed restaurants.
Taiwan holds the distinction of
being the first in the world to be honored with Hello Kitty-branded beer.
Brewed by Taiwan Tsing
Beer, the drink purred its way onto the shelves earlier this year.
The light brew features fruity
flavors, from lime to a distinctly avant garde banana infusion.
Eva Airways in
2013 made headlines with the resurrection of its themed planes, which
feature the ubiquitous cat on everything from exterior liveries to headrest
covers to fruit, which is cut in the shape of you know what.
Eva Airways' dedicated Hello Kitty Jets site
offers horizon-expanding trivia, including Hello Kitty's height (five apples
tall) and weight (three apples).
The Grand Hi-Lai Hotel in Kaohsiung offers Hello Kitty-themed
rooms, the cat's iconic ribbon and/or silhouette stamped on everything within
eye(sore)'s reach.
Pink kitty curtains, kitty bath
amenities, kitty tea set and a radio that plays Hello Kitty music are all
involved.
Not reaching for the insulin
shot yet? Then you can book a breakfast date with a talking and moving "live"
Hello Kitty.
10. Little
dumplings
Yes, we recognize xiaolongbao as
a delicacy homegrown
in Shanghai, but Taiwan is slowly taking over the dumpling world, one
broth-filled bite at a time.
Starting from a single shop in
Taipei, Din Tai Fung now serves its famed xiaolongbao in destinations
as far flung as Australia, Thailand and the United States.
Two of its Hong Kong branches
have earned a coveted Michelin star, with the mothership Xinyi store in Taipei
sneaking into the Miele Guide.
Not bad for a chain restaurant,
and not a "fancy" one at that.
When Tom Cruise visited Taiwan
in 2013, he joined in on the 18-pleats-per-dumpling action with a cooking class
at the shop's Taipei 101 branch.
Even better? CNN put Din Tai
Fung at number two on its list of best franchises for travelers.
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