Taiwan
Asia’s only African safari resort opens in Taiwan
Asia’s only African safari resort has opened in Hsinchu County to offer visitors a unique African experience in north west Taiwan. The Leofoo Resort Guanshi boasts African-themed rooms and the opportunity for guests to get up close and personal with a variety of wild animals.
The Leofoo Resort Guanshi has a total of 164 rooms that can accommodate two-six people. All rooms have been decorated in the style of an African hunting lodge and feature floor-to-ceiling windows offering unobstructed views of free-roaming African animals, including giraffes, zebras, rhinoceros, ostriches and ring-tailed lemurs amongst others.
Guests can also enjoy organised tours to the nearby Leofoo Village Theme Park, as well as to the surrounding natural environment and local cultural sites in Hsinchu County. Prices start from NT$6,800 (approximately 140 GBP) per night based on double occupancy.
New cable car line at Sun Moon Lake
A new cable car line has launched near one of Taiwan’s most popular leisure destinations, Sun Moon Lake, to offer grand views over the island’s largest natural lake and surrounding mountain scenery.
The 1.8 kilometre-long ‘Sun Moon Lake Ropeway’ is elevated 150 metres over the surface of Sun Moon Lake. It will connect the Sun Moon Lake Activity Center, which is home to over 50 species of rare butterflies, with the Aboriginal Culture Village – a popular theme park that celebrates the cultures of local indigenous people.
Sun Moon Lake is a popular tourist attraction where visitors can tour a number of fascinating temples and picturesque pavilions. The lake is also ideally suited for a variety of outdoor activities including boating, canoeing, hiking and cycling. Its name is derived from its unusual shape, which is similar to the Chinese characters for sun and moon.
New cross-strait flights launched by China Airlines
Taiwanese national carrier, China Airlines and its subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, have announced plans to fly a larger aircraft between Taipei and mainland China. This move follows growing demand from travellers seeking more cross-strait flights.
China Airlines and Mandarin Airlines will now fly an Airbus A330-300 on all flights from Taoyuan International Airport to Xian, Shenyang, Changsha and Zhengzhou in China. This increased capacity will present further opportunities for UK tourists to enjoy twin holidays between the two destinations in Asia.
As well as providing a fascinating insight into two Asian cultures, travellers will also have the chance to explore the connection between Taiwan’s National Palace Museum and China’s Forbidden City. The National Palace Museum is home to 650,000 treasures and is regularly voted one of the best museums in the world. Many of the museum’s Chinese relics were originally from China’s Forbidden City and were moved to Taiwan when the Kuomintang lost the civil war to the communists in 1949.