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General |
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Area: 36,000 square kilometers
Population: 23 million
Capital: Taipei City
Language: Mandarin/Taiwanese/Hakka
Religion:
Buddhism/Taoism/Christian/Islam/Catholicism
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Climate |
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Taiwan enjoys warm weather all year round. The
strongest fluctuations in weather conditions are
during spring and winter, while during summer
and autumn the weather is relatively stable. The
annual average temperature in Taiwan is a
comfortable 22 degrees Celsius with lowest
temperatures ranging from 12 to 17 degrees
Celsius. |
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VISA |
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Foreign nationals may obtain tourist visas if they hold
foreign passports or travel documents valid for more
than six months in the Taiwan for purposes of
sightseeing, business, family visits, study or training,
medical treatment, or other legitimate activities. Visa
requirements included one completed application form,
incoming and outgoing travel tickets, one photo,
documents verifying the purpose of the visits, and other
relevant documents. The Visitor Visa Application Form
can be downloaded from the website of
the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
The completed form should be submitted to
an overseas mission of ROC(Taiwan) for visa
issuance.
30-day visa-free privileges are afforded to citizens of
31 countries and30-day landing visas are afforded to
citizens of 3 countries. For any further information,
please visit the website of the Bureau of Consular
Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. |
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Currency |
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The Taiwan's unit of currency is the New Taiwan Dollar
(NT$), which has five denominations in paper money and
five in coins. Paper money comes in NT$2000, NT$1000,
NT$500, NT$200, and NT$100 denominations. Coins come in
NT$50, NT$20, NT$10, NT$5 and NT$1 denominations.
For different currencies, please visit the Currency
Converter at Currency Conversion 1 . |
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Credit Card |
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Major credit cards such as American Express, Master
Card, Visa, and Diners Club are accepted and traveler's
checks may be cashed at foreign-exchange banks, some
tourist-oriented businesses, and (by room guests) most
international tourist hotels. |
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Traffic |
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International Airlines
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There are two international airports in Taiwan:
CKS Airport in Taoyuan (about 40 KM from Taipei
City), and Hsiao-Kang Airport in Kaohsiung.
Direct flights between Taiwan and other
countries provide convenient services.
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CKS Airport
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Airport Transportation |
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MRT |
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The mass rapid transit system (MRT) in
Taipei, has five lines in operation (see
Route Map - PDF format). MRT running
hours is from 06:00 to 24:00. Auto
ticketing slots can be found in MRT
stations. "Single-journey Ticket" price
ranging from NT$20 to NT$65 depending on
travel distance. A 150-dollar "One-day
pass" purchased from service booth will
allow unlimited travels among all MRT
lines within one day. |
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Taxi
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Major cities have an abundance of taxis. Charges
are NT$70 for the first 1.5km and NT$5 for each
additional 300 meters. An additional NT$5 is
charged for every two minutes of waiting, and a
20% surcharge is added to fares between 23:00
and 06:00, NT$10 dollars tip needed for cab
dispatched by phone and for luggage placed in
taxi trunk. Out-of-town or long-distance travels
may not apply to meter charge.
50% additional to meter charge needed for cab
travel to CKS airport. It costs around NT$1,200
to travel from CKS to Taipei city.
English Taxi Association:+886-2-2799-7997
Taipei Foreign Affairs Police
Station:+886-2-2381-7475; 2381-8341; 23817494
Complaint about CKS airport
taxi:+886-3-398-2241; 3-398-2177 |
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Telecommunications |
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Public phones in Taiwan are divided primarily into two
types, coin and card. Coin phones accept coins in
denominations of NT$1, NT$5, and NT10. For local calls,
NT$1 buys one minute of phone time. Phone cards are
divided into magnetic strip stored value cards and IC
stored value cards, and can be used all over Taiwan.
Magnetic strip cards sell for NT$100 each, and IC cards
are available in NT$200 and NT$300 versions. The cards
are sold in railway stations, bus stations, scenic
spots, and convenience stores. International calls can
be made from private cell phones, public IDD phones, or
hotel IDD phones. International calls are charged in
units of six seconds. |
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Business Hours |
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Government |
8:30~12:30
13:30~17:30 |
Open on weekdays, but closed on weekends
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Banking Business |
8:30/9:00~15:30 |
Open on weekdays |
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Department Stores & Shops |
11:00~21:30 |
Most open daily |
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Restaurants |
Lunch 11:30~14:00
Dinner 17:30~21:00 |
Most open daily |
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Electricity |
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Taiwan uses electric current of 110 volts at 60 cycles,
appliances from Europe, Australia or South-East Asia
will need an adaptor or transformer. Many buildings have
sockets with 220 volts especially for the use of air
conditioners. |
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Time Zone |
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Taiwan is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
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Tipping & Tax |
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Tipping is not customary in most of places in Taiwan.
The one exception is tipping the bellboy when you check
into a hotel. Value-added tax is levied on most goods
and services at a standard rate of 5% and is included in
the retail price. |
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