Thanks to the Taiwan Tourism Administration and China Airlines, a group of six media from Australia & New Zealand recently had the chance to uncover Taiwan and spend a busy itinerary exploring some of the many highlights of this beautiful island, including the breathtaking launch of the 2025 Taiwan Lantern Festival in Taoyaun city.
A Land Shaped by History
Taiwan, also known as Isla Formosa (beautiful island) by the Portuguese, is a destination that seamlessly blends rich history, breathtaking landscapes, and modern innovation. From its indigenous roots and colonial past to its commitment to sustainability and adventure, this island offers something for every traveller.
Taiwan’s history is a tapestry woven with influences from Dutch and Spanish settlers in the 17th century, Japanese rule for 50 years up to the end of World War II, and modern-day Chinese heritage with a western influence. Today, it stands as a thriving democracy, home to 26 million people, cutting-edge technology, and deep cultural traditions. The new Tourism slogan of Waves of Wonder accurately depicts the stunning landscapes of mountain ranges, oceans and winding roads and most vistas offer a sense of those waves being visual to the viewer.
Exploring Taiwan
After an overnight flight from Brisbane/Sydney with China Airlines on a clean & new Airbus 350 the group were able to freshen up at the Hyatt Regency Taoyaun, a modern comfortable hotel that notably had international plugs for charging devices drained from the flight and having an amazing breakfast selection.
The group were then whisked away by bus to the next stop, the luxury HOSHINOYA Guguan hotel, a hot springs resort hotel. The hotel is set in a mountainous region with private hot springs and an amazing sense of serenity. A traditional lunch was served before hot springs were availed of by all, both in room and in shared Onsen style locations. A degustation meal was enjoyed along with forest yoga, breathing exercises and lantern making. A quite spectacular start to the trip. Watch out for a separate review on this hotel coming soon.
A walk to the village along with suspension bridge crossings and Chinese lanterns was arranged with a local knowledgeable guide before the team arrived at the nearby Formossan Cultural Village, via a pitstop for tasty local food of course. This attraction blends a theme park with great rollercoasters with recreations of Taiwanese tribal histories – a strange mix that somehow works. At the edge of the Cultural Village a double cable car offers spectacular views up the mountainside and down over Sun Moon Lake, where the evening ended with a stroll to the water’s edge and a stay in the Wyndham Sun Moon Lake Hotel, another hot springs hotel.
The following morning brought a first (but not last) touch of rain of the trip but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the group from eating Black Tea Ice Cream and enjoying a boat cruise across Sun Moon Lake to the Xiangshan Visitor Center, an architectural masterpiece designed by Japanese architects Norihiko Dan and Associates.
The next stop was a train station to board the High Speed Rail (HSR) to Taoyuan for the opening ceremony of the 2025 Lantern Festival. The rain really decided to make an appearance and made the lights and colours pop as they reflected off the wet surfaces. The festival has many lantern displays produced by local school teams and various light installations adorned every section of the main square. The festival atmosphere was helped by a large food vendor area along with agricultural and local produce. The crowd, while smaller than if the rains had stayed away, were in good spirits and enjoyed the presidents speech, the dramatic drums and music and buildup to the unveiling of the main centerpiece, a rotating symbol that showcased Baseball, High tech Microprocessors and Taiwanese heritage. The festival rotates through cities every year, and next year is the turn of Chiayi and Miaoli counties, with the Chiayi festival themed around “new Chiayi” and the Miaoli festival themed around “slow living,” with the opening ceremony taking place on March 3rd 2026.
The by now soaked travellers made their way by HSR again to the next hotel, the relaxing Wellspring by Silks in Beitou, another hot springs hotel which was very welcome as a relaxing end to a spectacular evening. The hotel boasts an artist in residence and is close to the Beitou hot springs source and hot spring museum. An afternoon excursion brough the group to the National Palace Museum with a traditional Beef Noodle soup lunch with amazing Red Bean buns for dessert served at Silks Palace on the grounds of the museum, followed by a tour of the Tulip festival taking place near the CKS Shilin residence grounds. Luckily the sun had returned for the remainder of the trip.
The last hotel of the trip was the funky Amba Taipei Songshan, see the Travel Monitor review for more detail on this one. This hotel allowed the group to visit Taipei night markets, the Keelung River and as a base for exploring the historic gold mining town of Jiufen along with gold panning and the Heping Island Geopark.
The final day was spent exploring Taipei with key attractions being a trip up Taipei 101, once the world’s tallest building, the Leong San See Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and a stroll among the markets on the waterfront at Dadaocheng Wharf.
The trip was memorable and made many of the group long to return to try out the other areas that we couldn’t cover in the whirlwind tour. From lantern-making workshops to bike trails and serene hot springs, Taiwan is a destination that invites visitors to slow down, immerse in local culture, and discover the beauty of this Isla Formosa.
Thanks also to Alex our wonderful guide for the tour and her amazing food ordering skills.
