Taipei

/tuy"pay"/; Chin. /tuy"bay"/, n. Wade-Giles.

a city in and the capital of Taiwan, in the N part. 2,100,000.

Also, Taibei; Older Spelling, Taipeh.

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city, special (province-level) municipality (pop., 2003 est.: 2,638,065), and seat of government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Founded in 1708, it became an important centre of the tea trade in the mid-19th century. When Taiwan was proclaimed a province of China in 1886, Taipei was later made the capital, and it retained that designation under Japanese rule (1895–1945). In 1949 it became the administrative centre of the Chinese Nationalist government. It was designated a special municipality in 1967. Taipei is the commercial, financial, industrial, and transportation centre of Taiwan. Its many educational institutions include the National Taiwan University (1928). The city's National Palace Museum houses one of the world's largest collections of Chinese artifacts.

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▪ Taiwan

Introduction

Chinese  (Wade-Giles) T'ai-pei 

 province-level municipality and capital of Taiwan (Republic of China). It is situated on the Tan-shui River, almost at the northern tip of the island of Taiwan, about 15 miles (25 km) southwest of Chi-lung (Keelung), which is its port on the Pacific Ocean. Another coastal city, Tan-shui, is about 12 miles (20 km) northwest at the river's mouth on the Taiwan Strait, the channel that separates Taiwan from mainland China.

      Taipei lies in the relatively narrow, bowl-shaped valley of the Tan-shui and two of its main tributaries, the Chi-lung and Hsin-tien rivers. The generally low-lying terrain of the central areas on the western side of the municipality slopes upward to the south and east and especially to the north, where it reaches 3,675 feet (1,120 metres) at Mount Ch'i-hsing. The climate is humid subtropical, with hot, muggy, rainy summers and cool, damp winters. Taiwan's largest city, it is also the political, economic, and cultural centre of the island. Area 105 square miles (272 square km). Pop. (2003 est.) 2,638,065.

History

      Taipei was founded in the early 18th century by Chinese immigrants from Fujian province on the mainland. In the 19th century it became an important centre for overseas trade via its outports of Chi-lung and Tan-shui. Taipei was made an administrative entity of the Chinese government in 1875, and when Taiwan was proclaimed a province of China in 1886, the city was made the provincial capital. The Japanese acquired Taiwan in 1895 as part of the peace agreement after the Sino-Japanese War and retained Taipei as the capital. During that time the city acquired the characteristics of an administrative centre, including many new public buildings and housing for civil servants. The island reverted to China in 1945, after Japan's defeat in World War II. The city became the capital of the Chinese Nationalist (Nationalist Party) government after the victories of the communists on the mainland in 1949 had forced the Nationalists to reestablish themselves on Taiwan.

      Taipei expanded greatly in the decades after 1949, and in 1967 the city was declared a special municipality and given the administrative status of a province. At that time, the city's total area increased fourfold through absorbing several outlying towns and villages. The city's population, which had reached one million in the early 1960s, also expanded rapidly after 1967, exceeding two million by the mid-1970s. Although growth within the city itself gradually slowed thereafter—its population had become relatively stable by the mid-1990s—Taipei remained one of the world's most densely populated urban areas, and the population continued to increase in the region surrounding the city, notably along the corridor between Taipei and Chi-lung.

The contemporary city

      Taipei and its environs have long been the foremost industrial area of Taiwan, although the region's preeminence has diminished somewhat. Most of the country's important factories producing textiles and wearing apparel are located there; other industries include the manufacture of electronic products and components, electrical machinery and equipment, printed materials, precision equipment, and foods and beverages. Services, including those related to commerce, transportation, and banking, have become increasingly important. Tourism is a small but significant component of the local economy.

      Beginning in the 1960s, many older, low wooden buildings in Taipei began to be replaced with high-rise apartment houses and office buildings. Because of the population influx and the priority given to office and industrial construction, an acute shortage of housing developed in the city. The government has taken steps since the late 1960s to build affordable public housing, but overall real-estate costs have remained high. Much new construction has occurred in the city centre, particularly in the area of the Presidential Building and the Nationalist Party headquarters, and broad boulevards now radiate from there to all parts of the city. Among the more notable commercial projects was the Taipei 101 (Taipei Financial Canter) building, which, when its framework was completed in 2003, became the world's tallest building, reaching 1,667 feet (508 metres).

      Railways and roads connect Taipei with all parts of the island. Within the city, the first line of a rapid-transit system was opened in 1996 and was subsequently expanded to five lines. Chiang Kai-shek International Airport, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Taipei, is Taiwan's major point of entry for overseas travelers; Sung-shan Domestic Airport, east of the city centre, handles domestic air traffic. Taipei has benefited from the government's efforts to improve Taiwan's telecommunications infrastructure.

 Among the many educational institutions in Taipei are the National Taiwan University (founded 1928), the National Taiwan Normal University (1946), and the National Chengchi University (1927). While Taipei is not a place of antiquity, it is a good place to view antiquities. The National Palace Museum, named for its original institution in Beijing (Peking), houses one of the world's largest collections of ancient Chinese artifacts, calligraphy, paintings, and porcelain, all objects brought over from the mainland in the late 1940s. Among the city's other cultural sites are the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, the Confucian Temple, the National Museum of History, and the Botanical Garden. The Snake Alley night market is a popular tourist attraction southeast of the central area near Lung-shan Temple.

      Taipei maintains an extensive system of parks, green spaces, and nature preserves. One of the most popular nearby recreation areas is Mount Yang-ming, which is only 6 miles (10 km) north of the central city. Both the mountain and the town of Pei-t'ou at its base are known for their hot springs. Pi Lake has boating and water sports. There are ocean beaches not far from the city, and Tan-shui is a popular resort town.

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