Five For Friday – Happy Birthday Taiwan

October 10th marks Taiwan’s National Day, affectionately known as Double 10 day. As that is coming up tomorrow, this weeks 5 says a quick Happy Birthday to Taiwan. Before we do that however, some quick housekeeping. Stay tuned next week for 1. An announcement regarding a second lighting workshop to be held in mid November. [...]
5 For Friday – Shihtoushan, Taiwan
This edition of 5 is once again from Taiwan. One of the leading Buddhist centers in Taiwan is Shihtoushan – Lion’s Head Mountain – located in the northern part of Miaoli county. At 496m above sea level, with lush vegetation around, it makes an ideal spot for a number of Buddhist temples and monasteries. With [...]
Taiwanese Village Life
Mention Taiwan and the image that appears in most people’s minds is one of skyscrapers in bustling cities, hi-tech factories and sumptuous Chinese food. While these are integral parts of modern Taiwan, there’s a traditional side that is most easily seen in the countryside. Most modern Taiwanese only have to look back a generation or [...]
Taiwan Stories – The Lifesaver
As a travel and documentary photographer, I regularly come into contact with a wide variety of people from all walks of life. The more I travel and learn, the more it reinforces the idea that people everywhere are essentially kind, generous and willing to give of themselves. Stopping to take the time to talk with [...]
Taiwan Delicacies – Mambo Fish
Considered a delicacy in Taiwan, Japan and Korea, but banned in the EU, the ocean sunfish, or mola mola, is found in temperate and tropical waters all over the world. The mola mola is the heaviest bony fish in the world, weighing up to 1 ton (1000kg) due to a diet consisting of large amounts [...]
Lantern Festival in Taiwan
Happy Lantern Festival The fifteenth day of the first lunar festival is celebrated as Lantern Festival. It marks the first full moon of the new year and various types of colored lanterns, both simple and elaborate, can be seen wherever Chinese culture exists. In Taiwan, the festival becomes more popular each year, with more and [...]
Renewable Energy in Taiwan
Counting down the last few days of the theme competition. Only 4 photos to go. Here’s one of them. Growing awareness of environmental problems associated with fossil fuel usage, coupled with fears of a dwindling oil supply, had led to a massive increase in the use of alternative, renewable energy sources. As of 2007, wind [...]
Chen Shui-bian
Here’s todays image in the theme competition. To people in Taiwan, this man needs no introduction. Loved by some, hated by others. Fierce supporter of Taiwan or just another corrupt politician. Political prisoner or criminal. Whatever ones feelings about him, he is guaranteed a prominent place in Taiwan’s history.
Chinese Taipei v Taipei City FC
Chinese Taipei’s national football team met Taipei City FC, an all-star team comprising the top foreign players from the various Taipei teams, at Zhongshan Soccer Stadium. Photos by Craig Ferguson and Selina Tseng. ©Craig Ferguson Images 2008
Taiwan University Games
The National Intercollegiate Athletics Games (NIAG) are Taiwan’s university games. Beginning on May 9th and running until the 13th, over 12 000 athletes representing 169 universities and colleges in Taiwan will be competing. As the biggest sporting event in Taiwan prior to the Beijing Olympics, these games will feature members of the Chinese Taipei Olympic [...]
Cosplay
For those who fancy themselves as superheroes or comic book characters, cosplay is the answer. Short for costume play, Cosplay was originally a Japanese subculture that began in the 1970s which featured people dressing as characters from anime, manga, tokasatsu and video games. As it’s grown and spread to other countries, it’s added some local [...]
Mazu Madness
Fireworks madness from the Mazu Festival. Don’t forget to take a look at previous posts detailing the origins of the Mazu Pilgrimage and images from the first 2 days of this years festival. Also, check out the complete gallery of Mazu images from which these few highlights are taken.
2008 Mazu Pilgrimage Festival
Saturday April 5th saw the start of the 2008 Mazu Pilgrimage. Among the many gods and goddesses worshipped in Taiwan, Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea is perhaps the most revered. Every year, in the 3rd month of the lunar calendar, the Dajia Mazu, which is housed at the Zhenlan temple, is taken out on [...]
Yangmingshan National Park
Yangmingshan National Park sits on the edge of Taipei city. With the 1120m Qixingshan as the highest peak in northern Taiwan, Yangmingshan is a favored destination for hikers. This post is going to be just photos. Thanks to Todd at The Daily Bubble Tea for the inspiration behind them.
April Events
As another month comes to a close, it’s once again time for a look at events and goings on over the next few weeks. March was a busy month, and April is shaping up to be equally as busy, with a couple of major festivals taking place here in Taiwan. Before we head into April, [...]
Featured Photographer – Michael Geier
Time for another installment from the featured photographer series. This time we have Austria’s Michael Geier. Michael is currently based in Taiwan and is the man behind the Discover Formosa website. Michael has a background in multimedia and has been involved in photography since he was a school student. Read on to hear his answers [...]
316 Super Sunday
Sunday March 16 saw the last weekend rallies for the 2008 Presidential Election take place. In cities all over Taiwan, hundreds of thousands came up to support their preferred party. The DPP’s main rally in Taipei started at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall under the slogan “A Million Giving High-Fives to Reverse the Tide”. The [...]
