Taipei City -- Introduction

Taipei City

Taipei City is located in the valley of the Tanshui River in northern Taiwan. It is the nation's capital, as well as its busy center of commerce, government and culture.

Taipei City itself has a population of almost 3 million. Today the city has expanded into surrounding towns in the Taipei County, and this makes the Greater Taipei's population reach approximately 6 million.

While Taipei City proper covers only 272 square kilometers of land, statistics in 2003 shows that every square kilometer of land is occupied by approximately 9,720 persons. This means that Taipei City has the second highest population density among the largest cities in Taiwan, just behind that of Kaohsiung City (which has 9,827 persons per square kilometer).

The significant population growth in Greater Taipei is the result of people moving to the city in search for better economic and educational opportunities in the past several decades. The increase of population leads to rising land prices and less job vacancies, so that it has become more difficult in recent years to find a place to live and work in the city.

Like other international cities in the world, Taipei City has incredible traffic jams. Up to October 2003, there were 692,756 automobiles and 991,472 motorcycles in the city. During the past two decades, the Taipei City Government has been working hard to solve the traffic problem. Its achievement is a gigantic Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) network, which is connected to the city's bus services. A newly designed, no contact, IC smart card (Easycard system) enables travelers to reach every corner of Taipei City without even having to take the tickets out of their pockets.

[Click here for a map of Taipei City's MRT network.]

Here are some interesting articles to read:

• Magazine presents contest (September 15, 2006)
• Taipei rated as happiest city in Taiwan (August 31, 2006)
• Mass rapid transit system changes turnstiles to gates (March 10, 2006)

As for the weather, winter in Taipei City can be drizzly and chilly. In summer, especially from June through to September, it can be hot, humid and with plenty of typhoons. October, on the other hand, is considered the best month.

Nonetheless, international tourists often find Taipei to be an economic, cultural and trend-setting city. As one traveller observes: "If you have not seen Taipei, then you have not seen Taiwan at all." The map here at right-hand side shows some of Taipei City's famous scenic spots, as well as the relative locations of other interesting places in Taiwan.

Twelve City Districts

The city of Taipei is divided into twelve urban districts. The map here shows where and what they are:

1. Peitou. 2. Shihlin. 3. Tatung. 4. Chungshan. 5. Sungshan. 6. Neihu.

7. Wanhua. 8. Chungcheng. 9. Taan. 10. Hsinyi. 11. Nankang. 12. Wenshan.

The "City Center" of Taipei covers the Tatung (3), Chungshan (4) and Sungshan (5) Districts. The Wanhua (7) and Chungchen (8) Districts were developed relatively earlier, while the Neihu (6), Taan (9) and Hsinyi (10) Districts are the recently developed ones.

Within these city districts are "neighborhoods". Some of the well-known neighborhoods in Taipei City include Tienmu and Waishuanghsi in the Shihlin (2) District and Dinghao in the Sungshan (5) District.

Most of the Peitou (1) District and a small part of the Shihlin (2) District in the north of Taipei City are where the famous Yangminshan National Park is. In the south of the city, the Nankang (11) and Wenshan (12) Districts have also been developed into important tourist areas.

Places such as Sanchung, Yungho, Chungho, Panchiao, Hsientien and Hsichih are considered as the "satellite cities" of Taipei City, or the outskirts of Great Taipei. Many people who work or study in Taipei City live in these outskirt towns.