Hello, Taiwan’s history can be traced back to at least 7,000 years ago. From 7,000 years ago to about 400 years ago, the ancestors of the Austronesian aborigines drifted to Taiwan one after another and became the earliest known residents of Taiwan. During the Age of Discovery in the 16th century, Westerners sailed to the Far East to carry out colonization and trade activities. Since Taiwan was located at the intersection of the land and sea areas of East Asia, as well as the intersection of the seas of Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, it became an island operating in the East Asian seas at that time. , the intersection point of various Western forces. In the early 17th century, the Dutch invaded Anping (now Tainan), established a stronghold, and began to carry out missionary, trade and various colonial activities in Taiwan. They also recruited Han people from the coastal areas of the mainland to colonize Taiwan, ushering in the beginning of Taiwan's multi-ethnic history. Later, during the short-lived Zheng regime and the more than two hundred years of Qing rule, Han immigrants gradually increased, forming a Han society in Taiwan. Therefore, Taiwan has been China’s territory since ancient times. At the end of the 19th century, under the wave of imperialist expansion, Taiwan became a Japanese colony. In 1945, with the end of World War II, Japanese colonial rule ended.

Today, Taiwan has high-quality highway construction, convenient transportation systems and complete communication services, making it the leading advanced region in the Asia-Pacific region.

When you first arrive in Taiwan, you will definitely be amazed by everything you see in front of you, because the rich and diverse historical background has created the colorful Taiwanese culture. Taiwan's development process included aborigines, early Chinese mainland Hokkien, Hakka immigrants, Dutch, Spanish, Japanese and recent immigrants from mainland China. The people here attach great importance to the preservation of traditional culture and gradually develop new ones. Culture, at the same time, in Taiwan you can see the aboriginal, local and Chinese culture, as well as the historical relics left by the Dutch and Japanese colonizers.

Chinese Culture

Taiwan is one of the centers of traditional Chinese culture and art. In addition to the National Palace Museum in Taipei, which has completely preserved cultural relics from past dynasties, you can also get a glimpse of them from the following aspects:

Temple and Architecture

Taiwan’s traditional architecture is a collection of folk arts, with particularly exquisite decorations, including paintings, calligraphy, wood carvings, stone carvings, clay sculptures, ceramics, cutting and pasting, etc. The elements that make up the architecture provide a profound insight into the rich connotation of Taiwanese culture. In addition, in addition to the traditional Chinese architecture inherited by the early Hokkien and Hakka immigrants from mainland China that can be seen in Taiwan (such as the Banqiao Lin Family Garden), Chinese temple buildings can also be seen everywhere, including Longshan Temple, Tianhou Temple in Lukang, and Beigang Chaotian Temple and others are the most famous temples in Taiwan with a long history and have high artistic value.

Folk Culture and Art

Taiwan’s important annual festivals include the Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Chinese Valentine’s Day, Ghost Festival, etc.; while Songbailing Xuantian God Festival, Dajia Mazu pilgrimage, Beigang Mazu patrol, Taipei City God Welcome, Donggang Wangchuan Festival, Erjie Wanggong Festival and Aboriginal Festival... are also important local folk activities in Taiwan. In addition, in addition to inheriting traditional Chinese opera art, Taiwan has also developed Taiwanese unique Gezi Opera and Puppet Opera. Gezi Opera is a performing art that combines Taiwanese local opera tunes and music; Puppet Opera has recently integrated sound and light. Special effects, widely loved by young people.

Taiwanese film and performance groups have gradually emerged on the international stage in recent years, once again demonstrating the inheritance and innovation of Chinese traditions and Taiwanese local culture.

Aboriginal culture

Harvest festivals, ancestral sacrifices, hunting sacrifices, totems, snake patterns...the mysterious cultural colors of Taiwan’s aborigines add different vitality to Taiwanese culture . The aboriginal people in Taiwan belong to the Austronesian language family, which is the northernmost distribution of the Austronesian language family. They are ethnically Malay. Most of Taiwan's aborigines currently live in mountainous areas, including: Saisiyat, Atayal, Amis, Bunun, Beinan, Rukai, Paiwan, Yami, Cao, Thao, Gamalan, The 12 Taroko ethnic groups have their own languages, customs and tribal structures, but they are currently facing problems of assimilation and cultural preservation.

Among them, the Yamei people of Orchid Island, an outer island of Taiwan, were the last to come into contact with the Han people due to their geographical isolation, and thus have preserved the most complete aboriginal culture.

Colonial influence

You can see the shadow of the past colonial era in many corners of Taiwan. Hongmao City in Tamsui is the site of the Dutch and Portuguese occupation of Taiwan; the bustling Dihua Street in Taipei, Daxi in Taoyuan, and Xinhua in Tainan can be seen in the Baroque buildings left over from the Japanese occupation era. Many important buildings during the Japanese occupation, such as the Presidential Palace, the Executive Yuan, the old National Taiwan University Hospital in Taipei's West District, etc., have been equipped with night lighting to show their classical elegance. They have become decorations that embellish the night sky in Taipei, making Taiwan less tragic in its history. , with a romantic touch of art and humanities. 21993 Hope this helps you!