Taiwan’s culture is rich, fine, and diverse. At each corner, one can find some unique stories and local sentiments to enjoy. You are cordially to travel to Taiwan and discover people’s lifestyles. The beautiful island has many off the beaten track destinations to offer.
The culture of Taiwan is a blend of Confucianist Han Chinese and indigenous Taiwanese cultures. Japanese and Korean have influenced Taiwanese culture as well. Taiwan has a variety of cuisine attributed to the different cultures in the country.
Foods widely eaten in the nation are rice and soy with seasonings including soy sauce, peanuts, sesame oil, and rice wine.
Seafood, such as fish, squids, and various crustaceans, as well as meat, especially pork, are an essential part of Taiwanese cuisine. The Buddhists in the country do not eat beef, making it unpopular, although a large portion of the population enjoys the Taiwanese beef noodle soup.
Chinese immigrants introduced tea to Taiwan, and in the present world, the country produces some of the world’s best teas. Tea making is an art in Taiwan with Pearl milk tea being a favorite.
Religion And Beliefs
In Taiwan, there is a blend of Taoism, Buddhism, Chinese folk religion, and ancestral worship, which add up to the prevalent religious belief in the country.
Other religions and beliefs in Taiwan include: Christianity, Islam, and Mormonism. Similar to China, people in Taiwan follow the Hell Banknote tradition, which is a significant practice involving the burning of paper money called Hell Banknote.
People give this offering to their dead ancestors, to spend in the afterworld. Values and ethics in Taiwan follow Confucianism, which advocates for respect for elders, loyalty, and responsibility towards one another.
Sports In Taiwan
Common sports in Taiwan include baseball, football, basketball, and softball. A significant number of people practice martial arts such as taekwondo and t’ai chi ch’uan. Baseball has the highest number of spectators and is Taiwan's national sport, with many talents joining teams in the United States and Japan. Individual sports in the island nation include archery, cycling, golf, table tennis, and marathon.
Taiwan Cinema Culture
The introduction of cinema in Taiwan came in 1901 when the Japanese ruled the island nation. Before 1945, Taiwan filmmakers adopted most of Japanese films conventions. A benshi narrated silent films differently from their Western world equivalent. Wang Yung-Feng, a musician, and composer became the first Taiwanese benshi.
After 1949, the growth of Taiwanese cinema was rapid after the end of the Chinese civil war. Only seven Mandarin films existed out of 120 produced in 1962, with the rest being in Taiwanese. Internationally acclaimed filmmakers, such as Edward Yang, gave Taiwan’s film industry recognition.
"Taiwan is a great country with a rich culture" - Mat from Germany