Located less than 10km away from the Chinese mainland, transiting through Kinmen Island is a more affordable option than flying. Known in Chinese as 小三通 (Three Links, as it was the first and primary connection between the PRC and ROC with regards to industry, commerce, and trade), the border area between Xiamen and Kinmen is bustling and now more busy than ever.
The Republic of China (Taiwan) allows certain passport holders visa-free entry for tourism, visiting friends or relatives, social visits, doing business, attending exhibitions, fact finding, and international exchanges.
In order to be approved for visa-free entry, make sure your passport is valid for at least 6 months (3 months for Japanese), can prove you do not intend on staying indefinitely in Taiwan (either by a flight reservation or some type of itinerary), and have no criminal record or other extenuating circumstances in the ROC.
In Taiwan, there are four primary commercial airports offering international flight service, along with several smaller airports offering domestic flight service. The large majority of visitors coming to Taiwan will arrive at and leave from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, located just outside of Taipei City.
Called 預付卡, yù fù kǎ, prepaid SIM cards are easily accessible in Taiwan for a relatively low startup cost. SIM cards can be purchased in city shops, at the airport, or in advance online with a simple pickup at the airport. Getting a data plan is easy, but make sure to check all the available plans before choosing.
We're still trying to figure this out ourselves!
Check back soon :-)
In 1927, government officials in China (then the Republic of China) began to faction due to disputes over the country's direction. The split occurred at an ideological level, primarily between nationalism from the Kuomintang party (KMT) and socialism from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Connecting downtown Taipei City to the Taoyuan International Airport (TPE), the Airport MRT is the fastest way to reach the airport, with express service taking 35 minutes from Taipei Main Station to both Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
Ever wonder what the numerical code at the top of receipts in Taiwan is used for? These numbers are for a lottery run by the government, and you have a free entry!
Known in Chinese as 統一發票 (Tǒngyī Fāpiào), the bi-monthly receipt invoice lottery was created to encourage legal tax reporting by giving consumers an incentive to purchase at stores that legally report sales taxes. Every two months, sets of numbers are randomly drawn that correspond to the eight numbers printed along the top of a legal receipt.
As the largest metro subway system in Taiwan, the Taipei MRT serves about 2 million riders daily. It is fast, convenient, and, most importantly, CLEAN! The subway system is very easy to navigate, and is both bilingual in Chinese and English (including the Chinese languages of Mandarin, Taiwanese Hokkien, and Hakka). Transfers between lines are relatively close to each other, and the stations serve most areas of Taipei.