Quote:
Originally Posted by Quixote
Aside from old palaces, castles, hutongs, and Shanghai's Bund, Asian cities aren't really about architectural beauty. Although I do think that Tokyo's skyscrapers have a certain cosmopolitan language that is absent from even NYC's newest towers. For the most part though, glass skyscrapers are copied and pasted these days. Taipei's Fubon Xinyi A25 looks like a cross between the NYT Building and 3 WTC.
For such a young and relatively small country, Taiwan punches well above its weight — food paradise, history, cultural influences, arts and crafts, nature and scenery, etc. It's a hidden gem that gets overshadowed by its much-larger Han neighbor and the country it looks up to (Japan).
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Still, I see Taiwan as visitable for local reasons. There seems to be a greater interest in receiving tourists than in neighboring countries and a lot of freedom.
In Japan, everything seems to indicate that they would be more satisfied if it were the visitor who set foot in Tokyo first. They are right on this point, Tokyo Skytree is the tallest observation tower in the world, but their deck is at 450 meters, putting them in 7th position and a little higher than the Toronto Sky Pod I visited (447 meters)
The Japanese capital is still dispersed and inviting for exploration, as it is advanced and technological.
As for China, they also think that we should like Beijing first and then the others. But in China, at least for some two points seem to stand out more: Many would be more satisfied with stepping into Hong Kong, Macau and Shenzhen (If possible Guangzhou after Shenzhen) afterwards, even with the greatest heat. And others for obvious reasons will prefer Shanghai to Beijing. Despite all this abundance, Mainland is seen with more skeptical eyes, with foreigners and dissidents who have had contact with them believing that they are dealing with people who are more cliquey and less open to dialogue outside their group.
In Taiwan I don't see this tendency to monopolize cities, tourists can choose the one they are most interested in visiting, even if it is Kaohsiung, Tainan, Taichung or making a tour in small villages.
And believe or not, Taiwan has its own light even around giants. It is already recognized for its gastronomy, and also for its boldness. It has a welcoming style just like the Thais and their citizens seem to spread around the world and build an excellent image of the country.