Five things you didn’t know about Taipei

Taipei is known for being the largest city and also the capital of Taiwan within the Republic of China. Taipei is situated along the Tamsui River which can be found in the Taipei Basin. The city sits on the very most northern tip of Taiwan and is called home by an incredible 6.9 million individuals. Nevertheless, despite being a highly cultural destination, there are still many incredible (and often unusual) things that not everyone may know about Taipei. In this article, we will be taking a look at five things you didn’t know about Taipei, both the normal and some that are perhaps a little more unusual.

 

1. Incredibly overpopulated

Surprisingly, Taiwan is only slightly bigger than Belgium in terms of land, but Taiwan has an staggering population of over 23 million people, with 6.9 million them living in Taipei. For the record, if we take a look at Belgium’s popular size, they only have approximately 11 million residents, so you can now imagine how incredibly overpopulated Taiwan is and the capital, Taipei. This record number of individuals living in Taiwan has made the country one of the most severely yet densely populated countries on Earth.

 

2. WiFi is accessible just about everywhere

In recent times, the city’s government of Taipei had decided that all of its residents and visitors alike should have full access to some form of Internet in any type of public space. With that, you can discover free WiFi throughout the entire city of Taipei. In order to access free WiFi in Taipei all you need to do is register, it’s that simple! Once you have registered for WiFi you will have full access to the WiFi connection throughout public areas such as shopping centres, libraries, and even hospitals.

 

3. Taipei is home to unusual eateries and restaurants

When walking through the city of Taipei you will soon pass by and discover some incredibly peculiar restaurants and eateries. There are restaurants that serve deliciously good ice cream in a bathroom setting, with chairs that resemble small toilets. Even the ice cream come in bowls that resemble small toilets too! Bizarre! You may also want to give up on trying to identify some local foods too, especially the foods you can find on the local markets. You’ll be guaranteed to come across some incredibly unusual dishes.

 

4. Garbage trucks sound like ice cream vans

In Taipei you may become a little excited when you hear the pleasant jingle of what you believe is an ice cream van, serving up deliciously refreshing ice cream. Unfortunately, in Taipei you may be a little disappointed upon discovering that jingle you would normally associate and ice cream van with is in fact a garbage truck. In Taipei, garbage trucks play music in order to prompt residents to bring their rubbish out to the truck. And during the festive period, they even play Christmas songs!

 

5. White symbolises death

It may seem a little odd in comparison to the Western culture, but the colour white actually symbolises death in Taipei, and you will typically find people wearing white at funerals rather than black. This also means you will very rarely see white at a wedding either. At weddings you will more than likely see colours such as red, which represents good luck.