Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, offers the most modern architecture, infrastructure and technology alongside the historic and traditional aspects that make it an extraordinary city to experience.
‧Area: 36,000 square kilometers
‧Population: 23 million
‧Language: Mandarin/Taiwanese/Hakka
‧Religion: Buddhism/Taoism/Christian/Islam/Catholicism

Climate
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.

Currency
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 .

Credit Card
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.

Taiwan's international air routes are served by 34 airlines that fly to 56 major cities throughout the world. Four carriers operate domestic routes that reach to all of the island's main cities and offshore islands. There are two international airports in Taiwan: Taiwan Taoyuan International 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.
-Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
-Airport Transportation

The mass rapid transit system (MRT) are operated in Taipei and Kaohsiung, the two biggest cities in Taiwan. Currently, Taipei has eight MRT routes are under operation while Kaohsiung has two routes. (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.

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

The THSR goes through 8 main cities along the western part of Taiwan at the moment

Trains on the round-the-island rail network provide extremely convenient services. Tickets may be purchased three days in advance

Telecommunications
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.

Electricity
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.

Tipping & Tax
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.