Leisure programmes in Taiwan PART 1

Recreational

Karaoke

KTV parlours are the Taiwanese version of the Japanese karaoke television. Karaoke is a Japanese word which means empty orchestra. The system of microphones plugged into the audiotape players can make anyone feel like a star. There is an official estimate of at least 1500 registered KTV parlours throughout Taiwan. They appeal to anyone out for a good time and can accommodate a large range of people who wishes to sing in Chinese, Taiwanese, Cantonese or English. The most elegantly decorated parlours with hostess are expensive entertainment centres that serve corporate guests and their clients.

Partyworld KTV is very popular in Taiwan

Manga Culture

Taiwanese youths are big supporters of Japanese popular culture from hairstyles, clothing, and looks. Nothing portrays this occurrence better than the popularity of Japanese comics, called manga among Taiwanese youth. Taiwan’s manga culture was almost demolished by strict laws enforced in the mid-1960s by the Kuomintang. Cheng Kai Shek deemed manga as “evil books” and would ensure that the future generations are reading the correct books.

This is a poster from a Taiwan manga called “The One” by Nicky Lee.(It’s a story of a model.)

Kids getting obsessed over mangas

All standard bookstores in Taiwan have a special section for manga, the other the most common places for Taiwanese to purchase manga is at a convenience store. Convenience stores such as 7-11 are very popular and play a significant role in Taiwanese life. While a large amount of manga readers are youth, the number of adults who read manga has gradually increased. Taiwanese youth love reading manga and many of them see it as a form of entertainment.

With globalization occurring, lesser Taiwanese are brought up under traditional and conservative Confucian teachings. With the current Taiwanese youths growing up, it is likely that they will carry on supporting mangas. Presently, publishing companies try to recruit new Taiwanese artists by hosting various manga contests. The negative community opinion of Taiwanese manga must be changed for Taiwanese manga culture to separate from from the shadow of Japanese manga culture.

Sports and Games

Taiwanese youths are actively participating in outdoor adventure sports such as mountain climbing, sailing, surfing and paragliding. Taiwanese do enjoy urban sports to the extent that 54 different sports are represented in the Republic of China’s Sports Federation. The more popular ones are racquet sports such as badminton, table tennis and tennis. Taiwanese also take pleasure in playing rich strategy games from China like mah-jong, Chinese chess and elephant chess. The history of mah-jong is unclear but is seemed to have developed into its present form in Ningbo, China. The form of mah-jong played in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong differs from the ones played in the United States. Computer games derived from mah-jong are also popular that Microsoft invented a modern version of mah-jong called Taipei.

Leisure activities of the Taiwanese reflect on their busy lifestyles. The average Taiwanese workers or students have little daily time for recreation. Furthermore, people in the cities have even more limited access to recreation through traffic and congestions. Thus electronic entertainment fits the needs of these busy modern people, explaining the popularity of video games, computer games, KTV or just watching television at home. So traditional entertainment may need to convert into these electronic forms and such example is the televised puppet theatre and computerised elephant chess.

Hot spring

Hot spring in Taiwan originated when a German entrepreneur discovered Peitou and later established a small local spa. Under Japanese rule, the government constantly promoted and further enhanced the natural hot springs. The Japanese brought with them their rich onsen culture of spring soaking, which had a great influence on Taiwan.

Hot Spring Locations around Taiwan



During Japanese rule, the key hot springs in Taiwan were Beitou, Yangmingshan, Guanziling and Sichongxi. However, under Republic of China in 1945, the hot spring culture in Taiwan slowly lost its popularity. Only in 1999 did the authorities once more started large-scale promotion of Taiwan's hot springs, setting off a renewed hot spring enthusiasm.

This video is promoting Beitou, one of Taiwan's key destination for a hot spring experience!

In recent years, hot spring spas and resorts on Taiwan have gained more popularity. With the support of the government, the hot spring has become not only another industry but also again part of Taiwanese culture.

The hot spring I went to was 40degrees.

Which was hot enough to cook eggs.

Event

Double Tenth National Day

National day in Taiwan every 10th October is held in honour of the Wuchang Uprising which is a special event in China’s political development. The celebration ceremony is held at the front of the Presidential Office Building with the main purpose of the Presidential Address made to the nation. A public parade which includes representatives of different professions, entertainment and folk performances is organised and the event would end off with a dazzling display of fireworks.