I am planing my summer vacation in July.Will stay in china and hongkong for 3 weeks.i am considering about Taiwan.Anybody been there?should i visit Taiwan during my summer vacation?

If you do not speak or read chinese, Taiwan is probably not for you. Taipei is OK for a day or two stopover. Taiwan is good for business, not sightseeing. It is almost like a giant industrial park, with housing for the worker bees. <BR>If you want to experience chinese culture, do it in HK, where english is widely spoken and understood, and there is much more to see and do.

It's hot in summer. Taiwan's citys have different characters from China and Hongkong. It's worth to visit. I was be there. And there are Cool resorts for vacation. Good taste of foods. of course you can find people speak English.

Just go ahead!The fact is everyone began to study English at least from the senior high school.You can find english speaker easily.Maybe the traffic is too busy,but you will find everything is convenient to stay there.Except Taipei,you can see the marvelous scenery in the eastern Taiwan.Also,The Green Island has the marine hot spring.You can enjoy it at night surrounded with the sound of sea and the teinkle stars. <BR>Have fun!

If you like shopping, Taipei is the place to go. But beware:<BR><BR>Taiwan is introducing her own Tongyong Pinyin as the official romanization system. With the possible exception of Taipei, whose current mayor is a Havard graduate, Taiwan will soon change all the road signs. Many foreigners in Taiwan immediately criticized the government as narrow-minded. But those who want to use the international (Hanyu) system are being accused of wanting to reunite China. Tongyong Pinyin advocates say that they have every right to ask foreigners to respect the ruling party's decision, despite the fact that many foreigners have already learned the international (Hanyu) system. Ministry of Education has said foreign visitors to Taiwan should find a way to solve their own problems. <BR><BR>http://home.pchome.com.tw/travel/julianwang2/pinyinjulianwang2.htm<BR>

I was in Taiwan for 2 weeks in Feb. 2002. Taipei is interesting for 3-4 days, but the most interesting area for a tourist is in Eastern Taiwan--Toroko Gorge is one of the seven wonders of Asia. A good Western style hotel is at the gorge, also a hostel. There are trails much like the Grand Canyon in the U.S. The gorge is made of marble,and has ocassional earthquakes. Also the Chipen? area west of the city of Taitung is great for hot springs, mountain beauty. We took the train from Kaoshiung up the East coast and then to Taipei. Two westerners who didn't speak Chinese-- and it was fun and a small adventure. Look in a guide book in library or bookstore for details, also internet has information for tourist. Search under "Taiwan travel". Hope this helps.

Hey,I live in Hong Kong!It's really hot here in summers and there r typhoons and stuff sometimes,but it's a great place if you don't mind thee buildings and crowds and cars

MUCH THANKS FOR ALL!!

Taiwan's a pretty interesting place, though travelers frequently overlook it. Taipei has a wide-range of hotels and restaurants, and lots of shopping (though you're much better off buying trinkets, handicrafts, and touristy souvenirs elsewhere in Asia). Many Taiwanese speak English (especially the younger generations), and are by and large much better educated than people in other industrialising nations. The thing that struck me most was that despite the appearance of being a modern, affluent place, the Taiwanese are still extremely friendly and helpful. It's basically a cleaner more orderly version of Mainland China, minus the annoying dishonest tourist scams, poor customer service, and overbearing military state atmosphere.