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Wonders of Taiwan

Chimei Fish Weir, Penghu
Chimei Fish Weir, Penghu. / Carrie Kellenberger, Flickr / CC BY 2.0

WorldBlue  Highlights

This tropical island in the past has served as a birthplace for Austronesian languages which are spoken now from Madagascar to Hawaii. Taiwan is one of the most advanced countries in the world but at the same time, there is a lot of wilderness. The most amazing wonders of Taiwan are:

  • Hot springs – the diversity of hot springs here is surprising. Many hot springs have now been taken over by the health industry but quite a few are still in their pristine condition. A true wonder of the world is Guanziling Hot Spring which has had eternal (almost) flame above it for three centuries.
  • Old growth forest and great trees. Taiwan has several unique species of trees and some species of conifers reach giant sizes. There are forests where hundreds of trees are millennia old.

Map with the described wonders

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WorldViolet Top 25 wonders of Taiwan

Geological wonders

Guanziling Hot Spring

Tainan

This is a hot spring releasing methane that has been burning constantly for some three centuries.

The eternal flame of Guanziling Hot Spring, Taiwan
The eternal flame of Guanziling Hot Spring / Alexander Synaptic, Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Lisong hot springs

Taitung

Hot springs of unusual beauty. Springs have formed a colorful, steam-filled canyon with deep green and blue spots on cliffs.

Wulu River flows through Lisong Hot Spring
Wulu River flows through Lisong Hot Spring. / Drew Bates, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
Wushanding and Yangnu Mud Volcanoes

Kaohsiung

Group of impressive mud volcanoes.

Yehliu hoodoos

New Taipei

Sea cape with spectacular hoodoos and other interesting rock formations.

Yehliu hoodoos, Taiwan
Yehliu hoodoos / Bill So, Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Penghu columnar basalt formations

Penghu

Beautiful formations of columnar basalt. At high tide, most of the formation is covered by the sea.

Tongpan Island's basalt formations, Penghu Islands
Tongpan Island’s basalt formations, Penghu Islands. / Carrie Kellenberger, Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Shifen Waterfall

New Taipei

Picturesque, 40 m wide, and some 20 m tall waterfall.

Taiyao Waterfall

Taoyuan

Approximately 100 m tall waterfall.

Wulai Waterfall

New Taipei

Approximately 80 m tall waterfall.

Wulai waterfall, Taiwan
Wulai waterfall / soeperbaby, Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Maliguang Waterfall

Hsinchu County

Spectacular, 50 m tall waterfall.

Jiao Lung Waterfall

Chiayi

The tallest measured waterfall in Taiwan, 600 m tall. Most likely there are taller waterfalls in Taiwan.

Xiaoyoukeng fumaroles of Seven Star Mountain

Taipei

Impressive geothermal field with hot springs and fumaroles near the summit of an extinct volcano.

Xiaoyoukeng Fumaroles
Xiaoyoukeng Fumaroles. / Lin Wen Hung, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Biological wonders

Holy Lake Taiwania Forest (Forest near Hsueshan Mountain)

Taichung

Relict forest with giant, rare trees. Here have been found almost 300 Taiwania cryptomerioides trees that are millennia old. Trunks of 213 Taiwania trees have a diameter above 4 m, some trees are more than 70 m tall.

Mount Jiayang, Xueshan Range
Mount Jiayang, Xueshan Range. In the forefront is a conifer forest similar to Taiwania forests./ Peellden, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
Juwu Bashen Mu (Cypress in Tai An)

Miaoli

The stoutest known specimen in species (Chamaecyparis formosensis), diameter 6.56 m, 55 m high.

Ssumakushi “Granddady tree” (Simakusi, Smangus)

Hsinchu County

Giant tree (Chamaecyparis formosensis), reportedly the seventh largest in the country. The height of the tree is reported to be 35 m and it has a circumference of 20.5 m.

Ssumakushi "Granddady tree"
Ssumakushi "Granddady tree" / Peellden, Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0

Archaeological wonders

Wansan Petroglyphs

Kaohsiung

Group of mysterious petroglyphs of Wanshan people – engravings of diverse symbols, such as spirals, figures, human-like characters, etc. There are several sites but the most interesting is Kopaca’e.

Chimei Stone Fish Trap (Double-Heart of Stacked Stones)

Tainan

Ancient fish trap that has been very well maintained up to this day. The stone setting encloses two heart-shaped basins. There are numerous such fish traps on islands.

Chimei Stone Fish Trap, Taiwan
Chimei Stone Fish Trap / Carrie Kellenberger, Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Beinan Neolithic Village

Taitung

Site of a large Neolithic village that is 2,300 – 5,300 years old. The site contains numerous stone coffins.

Architecture wonders

Alishan Forest Railway

Chiayi County

Very impressive montane railway, built in 1899 – 1914. This railway climbs from 30 m altitude to 2 216 in 71.4 km through 50 tunnels and over 77 wooden bridges. Unusual is the triple loop.

Alishan Forest Railway
Alishan Forest Railway. / bryan…, Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Taipei 101

Taipei

Very tall (509 m) skyscraper with 101 floors, the tallest building in the world in 2004 – 2010.

Taipei 101 in the skyline or Taipei City
Taipei 101 in the skyline or Taipei City. / Heikki Holstila, Flickr / CC BY-ND 2.0
Zushi Temple (Zishi Temple)

New Taipei

Taoist temple that was first constructed in 1767. During the reconstruction in 1947 was gained a unique stone-carving: no detail in it is repeated.

Zushi Temple, Taiwan
Zushi Temple / , Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
Wentai Pagoda

Fujian

Tall pagoda on a large stone. It was built in 1387 as a navigational marker for ships.

Taiwan Confucian Temple

Tainan

Temple-school that was built in 1665 in order to cultivate the intellectual potential in Taiwan.

National Palace Museum in Taipei

Taipei

One of the largest collections of artifacts of Chinese civilization with nearly 700,000 items. Museum was evacuated from Beijing’s Forbidden City in 1933 in order to save it from the Japanese and moved to Taiwan in 1948 – 1949.

Dalongdong Baoan Temple

Taipei

Ornate wooden temple of Taiwanese folk religion. Constructed in 1804.

Dalongdong Baoan Temple
Dalongdong Baoan Temple. / David Jones, Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Fort Santo Domingo

New Taipei

Dutch fortress (1644), initially built by the Spanish in 1628.

Fort Santo Domingo
Fort Santo Domingo. / lwtt93, Flickr / CC BY 2.0

WorldYellow Recommended books

Formosan Odyssey: Taiwan, Past and Present


Until the early twentieth century, Taiwan was one of the wildest places in Asia. Its coastline was known as a mariners’ graveyard, the mountainous interior was the domain of headhunting tribes, while the lowlands were a frontier area where banditry, feuding, and revolts were a way of life. Formosan Odyssey captures the rich sweep of history through the eyes of Westerners who visited and lived on the island — from missionaries, adventurers, lighthouse keepers, and Second World War PoWs, to students coming to study martial arts.

Taiwan A to Z: The Essential Cultural Guide


Taiwan A to Z provides the essential information you need to know before you go to Taiwan. Whether you’re planning to be there a week or three years, this book is a must-read for any foreigner to Taiwan who wants to be successful there.


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