Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in the western Pacific off the coast of East Asia. High, forested mountains run its length, dropping steeply to the ocean in the east and easing into a gentler plain in the west. In Taipei, the National Palace Museum holds a collection of Chinese art, while evenings belong to night markets and tea houses. Taipei 101 rises over the Xinyi skyline, and at the city’s edge lie Beitou’s hot springs and the volcanic hills of Yangmingshan.

Hot springs are part of life across the island — in Beitou, in Jiaoxi on the Yilan plain and in Guguan’s mountain valley. Sun Moon Lake lies in the central mountains, tea plantations cover the slopes of Alishan, and near Hualien the marble walls of the Taroko Gorge close in above a mountain river. In the south, Tainan keeps its old streets and temples, Kaohsiung its harbour.

Food alone is worth the trip: beef noodle soup, xiaolongbao soup dumplings, gua bao steamed buns, night-market snacks, mountain oolong tea and bubble tea. The north is subtropical, the south tropical. Autumn (roughly October–November) and spring (March–May) are usually the most comfortable; summers are hot and humid, with a rainy season. Taiwan suits food lovers, travellers drawn to mountains and gorges, fans of hot springs and spa, culture and design, couples and families.