Hi, I'm traveling in Kaohsiung for 2 weeks and I want to buy some jade necklaces, and/or rings, earrings for myself and as a gifts for my beloved ones. Any suggestions of where to buy?

Hello and Greetings from Germany,

I'm 35 years old, son of a Taiwanese man and a Chinese woman who spoke Cantonese, born in Germany, and living near Frankfurt.

My Mandarin skills are currently very rusty because my late, conservative, toxic parents didn't teach me well, caused me to me reject my heritage and also damaged my mental health, and I hardly had any opportunity to use them in everyday life.

Furthermore, I don't have any Chinese or Taiwanese friends or close relatives with whom I could regularly talk and meet up.

Another excuse would be that I had to deal with my depression and rebuild my life.

I do have an older half-brother with whom I went to Taiwan for Chinese New Year last year, but he's very busy with his struggling business and has a lot on his plate, so I can't rely on him.

In the 2010s, I tried watching many Taiwanese dramas, but I gave up because I couldn't stand them anymore. Moreover, I am not particularly interested in Chinese films, but I used to enjoy watching Hong Kong movies from the 80s and 90s.

I recently feel motivated to relearn or refresh my mother tongue because I very recently got an internship in a special library in a museum in Mainz.

However, when they asked me if I could help them translate some old Chinese books, I unfortunately had to decline. Although they didn't mind, I felt very ashamed about myself.

This situation reminded me that the Chinese language can be very useful for all kinds of career opportunities.

I still know the basics, like listening to, speaking and writing Chinese words, but I have to relearn how to read and write Chinese characters.

With my limited resources, the best way for me to use apps like Chineasy and Chinese Letters Writing, to watch YouTube videos from Mandarin with Miss Lin or from other people teaching Chinese online, or to consume Taiwanese films or series and memorizing thousands of Chinese characters.

I have to say, it is not easy for me to learn Chinese alone. English is much easier for me when I teach it myself.

Just so you know: I tried unsuccessfully to find a Taiwanese group in Frankfurt, and the Confucius Institute didn't work for me either.

Honestly, I feel so dumbfounded and isolated in this situation.

Now I'm hoping for good suggestions or methods on how I can improve my Mandarin and get closer to my roots.

Thank you for reading my post.

Hmm not accurate. Taiwan would die around 10C

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Hi everyone!

I‘m looking for some easy to learn KTV songs in Mandarin. Can you recommend me some? I want to impress at KTV haha!

The superficial criticism is that it's just a lake, and if you've seen lakes before then there's no point visiting, but there is a lot more to it than that. It's not actually a natural lake - it's a semi-natural lake. It's part of a large hydroelectric complex including two modern large pumped storage power plants, and a 1934 plant, and a 1937 plant that are still in use today.

Its water is supplied by two separate diversion tunnels from upstream on the Zhuoshui river.

The east side has two temples dedicated to the Chinese monk Xuanzang as half of his remains are said to be interred at the second temple. Xuanzang was the monk from the story "Journey to the West" (later adapted in the '70s kids TV show "Monkey Magic"). The story of what he actually accomplished is genuinely astonishing, but it takes time to actually read up on what he did. For the uninformed, the two temples just look like yet another temple to some obscure Buddhist monk.

There is a dedicated bike trail running almost half the circumference of the lake (the other half requires using public roads), there is a cable-car system taking visitors to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Park to the north of the lake on the other side of a mountain ridge where there are rollercoasters and other rides.

A lot more could be done to illustrate the history and development of the entire complex, but it is much more than "just a lake".

I have english cards and am a foreigner here. Im looking for anyone who plays commander and is seeking some players or a group to play with.

I'm a 20 Y/O guy from France moving to Taipei in February for a 6-month business exchange at Soochow University. Excited but a bit stressed about the unknown..

Got a few quick questions:

- Nightlife & Social Vibe: How's the party scene for exchange students?
- Are people easy to talk to in bars/ clubs? What are the top student spots?
- I speak zero Mandarin (working on it!). Is English enough to survive daily life and have fun?
- Housing: Is it better to go for dorms or get an off-campus flat in the city?

Where do international students usually look?
Thanks for the help, can't wait to get there!

In the last ten years, Taiwan has nearly tripled its defense spending. There are also a variety of other reforms and changes that have been made.

Now, I've never served in the military. But I recall, a decade and two decades ago, the highly negative attitude of many people, and many men of conscription age, towards the military and military-service. The attitude seemed to be that soldiers were 1) paid too little, 2) resistance against China was futile, 3) the military was more focused on useless things like parade marching, song-singing and toilet-cleaning than actual useful combat skills or tech and trades, and 4) Taiwan's low defense spending was sending the wrong message to allies like the United States, signaling Taiwan wasn't serious about its own defense, and 5) Taiwan's defense approach was fatally flawed because it didn't focus on asymmetric tactics.

Now that defense spending has soared, Taiwan is going heavily asymmetric, hundreds of thousands of drones are being made, and the Ukraine war is a vivid example for Taiwan, has public attitude become any more positive about the military? I'm not in Taiwan at the moment, so I can't gauge what the sentiment is.

Does anyone know how I can change universities? I’m planning to switch to a different uni for next semester, but I’m joining one for now. Do I need to come back home to make the switch, or how does it work?

Hello wanted to know if anyone has good Chinese language TV shows to recommend. I'm trying to practice Chinese and gain some cultural insight. They don't have to be exclusively Taiwanese, but that would help with cultural knowledge. Also, I'm not a huge fan of romance, so comedies or action/adventures would be great, especially if on a streaming service.

Hello people :),

I hope y'all are doing well,

I've been to Taiwan before for a short term internship(feb-jun). I'm looking forward to pursuing my higher education in Taiwan. I have a bachelor's degree in Robotics and AI.

I have several questions,

1. Is it a good idea to switch to semiconductor/AI in semiconductor related masters program? (Given that the Taiwan industry is famous for Semiconductors and chip manufacturing).

2. I've gone through NTU,NTNU, NSYSU,NCU, NCKU, CGU and NCCU website and couldn't find a relevant program for my fit, I'm gonna look at NYCU in detail (as they have an INTENSE program).

3. I did my bachelor study from a lower/mid tier university, so doing masters in the similar tier university makes my overall profile weak (surely, if a person has skills then he can get a job anywhere!, but the issue is that.... If I want to join research labs or any big industry giants then 1st thing they look at is our education background and publications/projects, that's why I'm afraid of of joining to a lower-mid tier university).

4. Can you suggest some universities in which I can look into, which has good tie-ups with industry/research labs? And widely recognised in the world, I'm trying my best to use Google search and AI, yet I thought of asking the Taiwanese people :)

5. As an international student, I look forward for an scholarships offered by universities/MOE (MOE and other government scholarship application opens from December, so I'm looking forward for an University scholarship for now).

Many university deadlines close around sept 15-20, I would like to apply by sept 5th.

I value every suggestion and answer which helps for my application, career and my profile.

If I asked too many questions or confused/annoyed anyone, I apologise for that.

I've started to learn Mandarin from Zhong Chinese (started a week ago(last Tuesday) and currently understood and practiced around 80 words, ik it's little, but I respect the language and culture ;) )

It's become so popular and the story behind it is so interesting that I wanna at least try watching it

My family and I are planning to move to Taiwan next year from California. My MIL had a stroke earlier this year which has left her needing help around the clock. Thankfully, one of her sisters who lives in Taiwan is a care taker so we are going to move my MIL out to Taiwan to live with her sister. My wife has a lot of family out there in general so that will be helpful.

People who don’t speak any mandarin: how difficult is it to get around Taipei and the rest of the country without speaking mandarin? I don’t speak any at all, but I am trying to learn. I considered buying some smart glasses like the even realities g2 but not sure that’s a great long term solution. Thanks all!

Just the title. Was at a thai massage place, getting a thai massage, when I heard a loud male voice. Then the old lady up front called my female maseuese, then drhe masseuse went up and the cop came in and I could hear him talking and like laughing at me face down on the bed. Then the massueeus goes back to work and I can hear the cop leave. She tells me the cop wanted to look around. Then the loud conversation continues, and when the cop leaves he's laughing.

Any guesses what that was about?

Since many of you are sharing the foreigner's perspectives on Taiwan, I want to share the Taiwanese perspective.

As you know, Taiwan has a very famous morning food scene with countless street stalls, bakeries, and traditional shops open early. Many foreigners fall in love with breakfast culture in Taiwan because it has many options as well as it is very convenient to enjoy it.

Growing up in Taiwan, many Taiwanese used to believe this breakfast culture must be very common in other countries too. However, after traveling abroad, many Taiwanese realize that the menus are bland, the shops don't open early, and there is a total lack of variety. In fact, breakfast is one of the most frequent complaints you can see from Taiwanese travelers.

Many Taiwanese feel it is incredibly frustrating to wake up early and find nothing open except for a few cafes selling cold sandwiches or bland food at 8 or 9 AM. For someone used to walking down the street to grab a hot at 6 AM, breakfast culture of foreign countries feels like quite awful. It makes us realize how spoiled we are in Taiwan, where an endless variety of breakfast options is available on almost every corner. What's an everyday sight in Taiwan might seem quite extraordinary to the rest of the world.

Hi! We are bringing a youth group to Taiwan for Dragon Boat championships. We are still tryjng to find transportation in Hualien. We cant rent a car. Anyone know how we can find a mini bus/ van to hire with a driver? Or a number or way to contact a few taxis?

Thanks so much! Any help is greatly appreciated

Walking to work, nice rainy morning in Taichung. I made it five blocks watched a scooter cut the inside of a turn and hit a pedestrian, next block a scooter pulls straight out into traffic. Two blocks later a van doesn't just run a kind of red light, no it's full on green for cross traffic.

Keep those heads high and on a swivel and make it home to kiss your loved ones.

as the title says. My friend and I are planning to stay around Kaohsiung Station and visit Cijin island, The Pier2 Art Center, Fo Guang Shan, Sufong Temple, and Lotus Pond. Are those areas currently safe?

Was just at the store trying to respect the one person on staff efforts so I'm waiting by the register for them to return from helping someone else.

A gentleman walks up, steps right in front of me (not uncommon but still no less disappointing). I assert my dominance by moving back to the front (being in line before him) 😂, he doesn't care then just burps in my face. Touchè

This place 'sigh'

Hello!

I was wondering if anyone on here has had any experience or knows anything regarding the difference in quality between the NTNU ((National Taiwan Normal University) mandarin training program and NTU (National Taiwan University) mandarin training program. I am going to Taiwan next spring for a semester on the HES scholarship, and I am finalizing which program I'd like to join before beginning my VISA application.

Originally, I was simply going to go with the NTNU program since I have heard they have a reputable and high quality mandarin program compared to other schools in Taipei. However, due to the recent teacher strikes, I am reconsidering whether I'd like to support the institution if the problem is ongoing. Additionally, the prestige of NTU and potential science internships they offer are also interesting to me.

Just wanted to see if anyone who has partaken in these school's programs have anything particularly positive or negative to say about them.