Taiwan 2001

		Sports and Recreation
		Fishing has gained popularity since the Recreational Fishing Regulatory Measures took effect in 1993. Recreation Although cities in Taiwan are exciting places with much to see and do, they are not good places for recreation or outdoor activities. Major thoroughfares are jammed with traffic, and the sidewalks are crammed with people and parked motorcycles. There are few places to go to ride a bike, jog, or even just take a stroll. Taipei, like the island's other urban centers, has a distinctive recreational style that has developed in response to rapid urbanization. The biggest single shift is that recreation has become increasingly constrained by diminishing physical space and limited free time. Except for a handful of private companies, all businesses require employees to work at least a half-day on every other Saturday. This leaves little spare time for leisure activities. Another factor that reduces leisure time in urban centers is traffic. In major cities, rush-hour traffic frequently triples normal commuting time. It can be even worse on holidays and long weekends; during Chinese New Year, for example, a one-hour drive to a neighboring town can easily extend to three or four hours. Although Taiwan boasts six national parks, accounting for 8.5 percent of the island's land mass, many people seldom visit them for fear of traffic problems. Consequently, many people stick close to home. A growing class of people who have money to spend but demand convenient places to spend it, has fueled a boom in indoor, easy-to-reach, urban activities. Thus, no matter where a person lives or works, there are nearby restaurants, discos, KTVs, and clothing boutiques down the street, next door, or even downstairs. To attract patrons who work long hours, most leisure spots are open late into the night. Bookstores and clothing boutiques are commonly crowded with browsers until 10 p.m. on week nights, and night markets (streets where outdoor vendors set up shop in the evenings) are packed with people of all ages until long after midnight. Whether eating out alone or treating friends and family, getting a bite to eat is probably the most popular entertainment islandwide. Consequently, most neighborhoods have a wide range of restaurants. The Taipei City Department of Public Health 臺北市政府衛生局 estimates that Taipei alone has between 5,000 and 6,000 restaurants. KTV KTV, or Karaoke television, is the ideal indoor entertainment of choice for thousands of people in Taiwan. Large KTV complexes with private rooms, professional equipment, and refreshments are especially popular with high school and college students as places to relax and socialize. Karaoke, a term coined by the Japanese, is a combination of kara, which means "none" in Japanese; and a modification of orche, the initial letters of the word "orchestra," which the Japanese pronounce as "okay." Literally, the term means "an orchestra without instruments." In fact, it is a microphone hooked up to a tape or videocassette player. As a singer sings into the mike, the sound is mixed with the taped music. No matter how hoarse or off-key one's voice might be, it will emerge from the speaker sounding professional. Karaoke (minus the video) first showed up in local coffee shops and restaurants in 1976 as an import from Japan. Soon it swept the island, becoming immensely popular in both urban and rural areas. A second boom started in 1988, when the government cracked down on pirated videotapes. Many of the island's numerous MTV ("movie television") parlors, which rent videos for customers to watch in private rooms, were forced to stop showing pirated movies. To stay in business, many MTVs added karaoke equipment and switched a letter on their signboard to become KTVs. Thus, a new trend was born. A high percentage of families in Taiwan have their own karaoke sound equipment to entertain family and guests. KTV patrons include people of all ages and occupations, from teenagers to retirees, housewives to business people. Even high-ranking government officials have been known to pick up a microphone and perform on occasion. Outdoor Recreation "Adventure sports" such as surfing, scuba diving, and sailboarding, although still on a small scale in Taiwan, are gaining popularity around the island as a result of interest generated by classes, rental shops, and clubs. Even gutsier activities such as paragliding and bungee jumping are attracting brave souls not scared off by the danger or expense. A less thrilling but equally trendy sport that has become a lure to children and adults alike is roller blading. People, particularly children, wearing roller blades and skating to their heart's content is now a common scene in parks and playgrounds. A variety of fishing activities have also gained in popularity since the Recreational Fishing Regulatory Measures 休閒漁業管理辦法 took effect in 1993. In addition to seaside fishing, there are also many private ponds where people can fish for a small fee. Sea parks and aquariums have also been set up around the island in Kenting,Taipei and Penghu. Each year bird lovers gather in Chiku in Tainan County to watch black-faced spoonbills. Only 600 of these birds remain in the world, and about two-thirds come to winter in Taiwan. In 1993, the National Taiwan College of Physical Education 國立臺灣體育學院 located in Taichung established the first and only Department of Recreational Sports in Taiwan. The Department's goal is to train specialists in recreational sports coaching, planning, management, and promotion. Students choose from a variety of courses, including diving, bowling, skiing, surfing, and yachting. They also work in local recreational businesses. Private associations have also been formed to conduct research on leisure-related topics and to promote outdoor recreation through seminars, lectures, and group activities. In 1988, the Outdoor Recreation Association of the ROC 中華民國戶外遊憩學會 was founded. This association has sponsored hiking lectures by botanists, geologists, and other nature specialists, allowing participants to learn as they picnic or hike. The Old Hohuan Trail, which remained hidden among the mountains and forests after being abandoned for half a century, provides hikers with unforgettable experiences. Organized recreational activities are offered all year round by groups like the China Youth Corps 中國青年反國團. On weekends and holidays and during summer and winter vacations, the corps offers young people diverse outdoor activities like parachuting, rafting, skiing, and mountaineering. Each year it also organizes mock military exercises, back country hiking and camping, talent camps, and safari-style adventures for teenagers and young adults alike. For those who prefer indoor activities, the corps arranges arts and craft courses, such as guitar workshops, knitting courses, and painting classes. There are also self-improvement programs, including management courses, vocational workshops, and psychological counseling. The China Youth Corps holds activities throughout the Taiwan area--in major cities, the countryside, and even on the offshore island of Penghu 澎湖. Altogether, the corps has 23 youth activity centers and hostels, complete with recreational, educational, and camping facilities. The Chientan Overseas Youth Activity Center 劍潭海外青年活動中心 provides services and programs especially for foreign youth traveling or studying in the Taipei area. For those who are able to get away from the city for a whole afternoon, golf is yet another tremendously popular form of recreation in Taiwan, and many international-standard courses dot the island. There are currently 25 registered golf courses in the Taiwan area. While the price of membership in one of the more prestigious golf clubs on Taiwan can be very high, people still flock to the greens on the weekends. The basic cost for playing 18 holes, not including rentals, caddie fees, and gratuities, ranges from US$50 to US$100. Ultimately, however, the Chinese city park provides the best idea of how Chinese people seek exercise and relaxation. If one strolls through any park in Taipei early in the morning, one will witness people dancing folk dances, practicing kung fu, playing Chinese chess, doing aerobics, jogging, stretching, singing, and even taking their birds "for a walk." After spending a few minutes in this peaceful environment, one gains a better understanding of the traditional Chinese concept of health through harmony. For a change of atmosphere, many people retire to one of the numerous traditional teahouses or "tea art" shops all over Taiwan. Chinese teahouses are a blend of contemplative serenity and bustling activities. A casual afternoon at a teahouse will bring one to the heart of the social, artistic, intellectual, and political activities brewing in Taiwan. A number of such teahouses have been local trend setters for arts and culture, hosting art exhibitions, ceramic displays, antique shows, and teapot collections. Many of these teahouses, set in elegant cultured gardens, are ideal hideaways where tea drinkers can sample a wide selection of first-class teas. Tea drinking in Taiwan is akin to the high art of wine tasting in the west, and tea drinkers gladly pay between US$40 and US$80 for a half kilogram of good tea. On weekends, mountainside tea-art shops and restaurants offering open-air tea drinking, dining, and scenic views have become favorite destinations for Taipei residents. Perhaps the most notable of these are the teahouses in the Mucha 木柵 district of Taipei. Copyright (C) May 2001, Government Information Office.   All rights reserved.   Site design by L.F. Lee Best viewed with Netscape 4.x or IE 5.x (medium font) at 800 x 600 True Color (32 bit) resolution