(partially inspired by destroycreate's Moscow thread)
I've recently taken a major interest in Taipei and Taiwanese culture writ large. Taiwan seems to be where China, Japan, and the Philippines all converge. I've even read that Korean culture is making inroads in Taiwan, and like South Korea, Taiwan has long been at odds with a more autocratic, yet ethnically harmonious neighbor.
From all the YouTube vlogs watched and Google Street Views explored, I've become convinced that Taipei is quietly one of the greatest cities in the world and perhaps the world's most underrated global city. Geographically, Taipei is situated equidistant between Hong Kong and Shanghai, has many direct flights to all of Japan's major cities, Seoul, Beijing, and greater Southeast Asia. It's the true crossroads of Asia.
• Video Link
Among the major urban centers of East Asia, I dare say that Taipei has the best built environment. Taipei City squeezes in 2.5 million people in 104 square miles, but more than half of that land is uninhabited or sparsely populated mountainous or agricultural area. Core Taipei is about the size of Manhattan and Paris (sans Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes), and its population density is easily north of 50,000 per square mile. And this isn't including the urban intensity of the much-larger New Taipei City adjacent to it or nearby Taoyuan. Altogether, the Taipei-Keelung-Taoyuan metro area numbers 9.25 million — perhaps the least sprawly metro of its size in the developed world.
Taipei's back streets/alleys are more visually appealing than their Tokyo and Seoul counterparts, with more small food and retail establishments and the absence of power line poles. The straight roads make for photogenic streetscapes and canyons, but the grid's irregularity allows you to get lost in them:
https://goo.gl/maps/ewC6NMuuRDugoEmR7
The population density, concentration of businesses, and dozens of night markets and other places for food and drink being open until midnight or later — translate into vibrant streets.
The city's natural setting is probably second only to Hong Kong, with a gorgeous lush green mountains at its door step:
Source
https://goo.gl/maps/hvCVX8NDo2XQ8drG8
The mountainscape in Taiwan is also less interrupted by small, winding backcountry roads unlike in Japan and South Korea:
https://goo.gl/maps/6Fz91aJYi3EdnbJ4A
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What are your thoughts about Taipei and Taiwan as far as urbanism, food, culture, and general inscape?
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