Taichung

Taichung  is a city located in west-central Taiwan, with a population of just over 2.6 million people, making it the third largest city on the island after Taipei and Kaohsiung. On 25 December 2010, it merged with Taichung County to form a single special municipality. The city's motto is "economic, cultural and international city."

Economy:
Taichung has a vibrant, diverse economy that incorporates traditional businesses, small family-run shops and factories, large industrial areas, and a thriving commercial sector. The heart of Taichung’s economy has long been the small business. The small business sector still thrives in the city and is in most evidence in the downtown area with small eateries, traditional markets, and other various family businesses. Taichung's Chun Shui Tang teahouse is where bubble tea was invented, by a teahouse owner, Liu Han Chie.

Taichung is most famous for its suncakes (taiyang bing). Taichung is an important center for a number of key industries. The city is a major manufacturer of bicycles and related parts, and sporting goods. Small metalworking, mold and die enterprises abound. During the heyday of the Taiwanese Miracle, the city hosted the famous "Shoes Nest," hundreds of small firms involved in the shoe industry, which has since moved to China. Nike's Asian design center is located in Taichung.

Sea Port: Taichung Harbor, located on the coast in Taichung County, is the second largest cargo facility on the island capable of handling container shipping. Despite being the second largest port on the island of Taiwan, there are no passenger ferry services available and the port is closed to unauthorized personnel.

Culture and Recreation:
Professional Sports:
The Sinon Bulls is a professional baseball team playing in the four-team Chinese Professional Baseball League. While they are identified with Taichung City, many of their “home games” have been played outside of the city due to the inadequacies of the old Taichung Baseball Field. The team was expected to move into the newly completed Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in 2008, but it turns out that no CPBL games will be played in the newly built stadium, with the exception of the annual all-star game on July 20.

Other Sporting Activities:
Taichung hosts two road races annually. The ING Marathon preparation 10K race is held every September in the Metropolitan Park. The Supau Cup Marathon is held on the city’s streets every autumn, either in October or November.

Museums and Cultural Centers:

• National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts
• National Museum of Natural Science (NMNS)
• Taichung Municipal Cultural Center
• Taichung Folklore Park
• Taichung Winery
• Stock 20
• Wenying Hall

Parkways:

•     Jianxing Parkway
•     Meicun Parkway
•     Jingguo Parkway   
•     Wuquan Parkway
•     Chonglun Parkway
•     Shuyi Parkway
•     Zhongming Parkway
•     Xingda Parkway
•     Dongguang Parkway
•     ShuangShi Parkway

Temples:
Temples can be found all over the city of Taichung. While many of them are of recent construction, others are considered historic and are indicative of the changing currents through Taichung’s history.

• Confucius Temple
• Martyr’s Shrine
• Pao Hueh Temple
• ChengHuang Temple
• WanChun Temple
• Li Ancestral Shrine
• Wen Chang Temple
• LeCheng Temple
• WanHe Temple