Once a stronghold of Chinese aboriginal tribes, the island nation of Taiwan was only finally conquered by foreign powers at the beginning of the 17th century, ushering in a process of hybridisation that’s left myriad cultural threads lingering throughout its energetic hi-tech metropolises, rural temples and tranquil backcountry of mist-clad hills and snow-capped mountains.
Most notable, of course, is the hand of China in the west, which manifests right across the board, from the Confucian complexes of Tainan, to the spicy, steaming Szechuan noodle broths served up on the corners of Taipei. Then there’s the Dutch colonial touch found at Fort Zeelandia, and the lingering influence of the Japanese from the north, whipping past with the punctual trains, or bustling about the port districts of Kaohsiung.
Of course no traveller should miss the heady fray of Taipei, with its soaring skyscrapers and bustling food courts, but as any Taiwan tourist guide will say, there are treasures aplenty away from the cities here too, from the gushing waters and rugged walls of Taroko Gorge, to the thick cypress forests and misty hills of Alishan.