Taiwan lives up to its promises for tourism

Hendarsyah Tarmizi, The Jakarta Post, Taipei

During the past five decades, Taiwan has successfully transformed itself from an underdeveloped, agricultural island into an industrialized nation synonymous with high-tech products.

The success put Taiwan in the same league with other newly emerging economic powers such as Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore, the so-called East Asian tigers.

The government's emphasis on the development of the manufacturing sector, however, left the tourism industry almost unnoticed.

Times have changed, however. Dwindling job opportunities due to the relocation of many manufacturing companies to mainland China has prompted Taiwan to turn to its untapped tourism potential. The development of the tourism sector has become an important part of Taiwan's economic policy, evident from the government's more aggressive campaigns worldwide to attract overseas visitors.

During this year, declared Taiwan Tourism Year to mark the awakening of the country's tourism industry, the number of foreign tourists has sharply increased.

In attempting to lure tourists, it must compete with Hong Kong or mainland China, but although all share similar cultural backgrounds, they have their respective appeal.

Located in the Pacific off the southern coast of China's Fujian province, Taiwan is roughly the size of East Java and shaped like a tobacco leaf. It is said to be the best place in the world to experience traditional Chinese culture coexisting in harmony with modernity, especially in Taipei.

The cultural, political and business center of Taiwan, it is a growing metropolis with glistening skyscrapers, modern shopping centers and traditional markets.

No better example of its push for modernity is the magnificent Taipei 101 towers, the world's tallest building at 509 meters high, which is located right in the heart of the city.

The tower, visible from every corner of Taipei, is an impressive demonstration of the financial, political and engineering prowess of this island of 23 million people, who struggle to achieve international recognition of statehood and are regarded by China as members of a renegade province.

Sightseeing on the city's main streets, which I experienced along with three other Indonesian journalists at the invitation of Eva Air, is enjoyable and inspiring, with the notorious traffic jams found in Jakarta or Bangkok a thing of the past here.

With per capita income of US$18,000, more than 80 percent of families own cars, but congestion only occurs at rush hours in the morning or in the evening.

"People prefer to take a bus or train to work, most even take their scooters," said Indonesian-born tourist guide Tony, as a liter of gasoline is about four times the price of that in Indonesia.

Taipei shares many similarities with Hong Kong with its traditional temples and modern skyscrapers, but there is an important difference for the non-Mandarin speaking visitor.

Unlike in Hong Kong, there are few English translations of public signs except at major sights.

Despite the potential for miscommunication, Taiwan has a lot to offer, including one of the world's most complete museums of Chinese antiquities and impressive classical architecture.

Located in the Waishuangsi neighborhood of Shihlin district, the National Palace Museum is another source of pride for Taiwan as it is considered of the best museums in the world.

The museum holds the world's largest collection of Chinese artifacts, around 700,000 items in all. As it can only display around 15,000 items at any given time, the rest are kept in well- protected, air-conditioned vaults at a secret location.

There are old artifacts made from jade, bronze, porcelain and enamel. There is also tapestry and embroidery, and priceless documents and books containing excellent examples of ancient Chinese calligraphy.

Some of the oldest artifacts in the collection of the museum are pieces of prehistoric pottery over 5,000 years old. The largest part of the art objects are from the private collection of China's emperors.

Also of interest is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, built in downtown Taipei in 1977 to commemorate Taiwan's great leader who died on April 5, 1975. This beautiful monument demonstrates that rich Chinese culture has not only become one of the major landmarks in Taiwan but also one of most popular tourist sites among foreign visitors.

The CKS Memorial Hall, which occupies an area of 250,000 square meters, has a number of display halls, including the CKS Memorial Office, where visitors can see an exact replica of the late president's office. At the entrance to the hall, his two Cadillac sedans are on display.

Several popular tourist sites lie outside Taipei. In Tai Chung city, about two hours by bus from Taipei, tourists can explore the beauty of the famous Sun Moon Lake, where many aboriginal tribes still live. Nearby is the magnificent Chung Tai temple.

Sun Moon Lake, situated to the north of Yu Shan and south of Nanggao Mountain in Nantou county, is the biggest natural lake in Taiwan. Along the side of the lake, there are also a number of ancient temples, including the famous Wen Wu temple. The Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, the meeting hall of the local aborigines, is also located near the lake.

The aborigines were the original settlers about 6,000 years ago (Chinese first migrated to the island in the 1400s). History indicates that the original tribes of Taiwan originated from Southeast Asia, including the islands of what is Indonesia today, and the Pacific.

And don't be surprised if sidewalk traders near the Wen Wu temple can speak Indonesian. "Beli, disini bagus dan murah (Buy, here they're good and cheap)," said a souvenir trader to a group of Indonesian tourists.

Uni from the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village said she was familiar with a few Indonesian words, such as muka for face, gigi for tooth, telinga for ears and other parts of the human body.

Uni is from the Tsou tribe, one of nine major aboriginal tribes on the island. Although they still preserve their ethnic language, they live like other citizens and stay in modern housing. The population of the Taiwanese aborigines is now about 3 percent of the total population.

Modern temple Chung Tai Monastery is also among the popular tourist sites in Taiwan. Unlike ancient temples which use old Chinese architectures, the Chung Tai Monastery uses modern architecture both in its exterior and interior.

From outside, the temple does not look like other Chinese temples which are mostly painted in red and gold.

Located on the mountain of Puli, near Tai Chung city, it is the second largest temple in Taiwan and attracts both local and foreign pilgrims.