Taichung City is the third biggest city of Taiwan. Situated at the centre of the Taichung Basin, west part of the Taiwan Island, Taichung City was established in Qing Dynasty, 1886 (the 12th year of Emperor Guangxu's reign), which was once the provincial capital of Taiwan. It is also the centre of economy, communication and culture.
Area & Location: Taichung covers an area of 163.4256 Sq. Km in the central part of Taiwan. The city of Taichung is situated in a basin surrounded by spectacular mountains.
Population: 1.11 million
Language: The national language is Mandarin Chinese. Other dialects, particularly Taiwanese and Hakka, are spoken with some English.
Religion: Buddhism; also Taoism, Christianity and Islam.
Currency: New Taiwan Dollars (NTD)
Credit Cards: Hotels, department stores, airlines, and major restaurants accept credit cards. Elsewhere, it is preferable to use cash.
Business Hours: Most people on the island work a five-and-a-half day week.
Type of Operation
Weekdays
Saturdays
Banks
09:00-15:30
09:00-noon
Department Stores
11:00-21:30
11:00-22:00
Other Stores
10:00-22:00
10:00-22:00
Government Offices:
morning
08:30-12:00
08:30-12:00
afternoon
13:30-17:00
(Note: Times may vary from business to business)
Tipping/Taxes: Tipping is optional. It is usual, however, to tip restaurant waiters and hotel porters. A 10% service charge and a 5% value-added to room rates and meals.
Buses: The city bus fare is NT$20-40 depending on length of journey; the buses are frequent and mostly air-conditioned.
Taxis: Taxi fares are NT$70 for the first 1.2km. (NT$15 is added to the final fare shown on meter), and NT$5 for each additional 500 meters. While waiting in traffic the fare increase by NT$5 every five minutes. Between 11:00 pm and 6:00 am taxi meters add an extra 20 percent to the fare. An NT$10 surcharge is added for calling a taxi by phone, or for putting luggage in the trunk. Most drivers speak only Chinese, so have hotel personnel write both your destination and your hotel's name and address in Chinese.
Time: GMT + 8.
Electricity: 110 volts AC, 60Hz.
Telephone
Full IDD is available. Country code: 886. Outgoing international code: 002. There is an extensive internal telephone system.
Mobile telephone
GSM 900 and 1800 networks. Network operators include Far Eastone Telecommunications, KG Telecom (website: www.kgt.com.tw) and Taiwan Cellular Corporation (website: www.twngsm.com.tw).
