The third annual Hakka National Day (全國客家日活動), themed "Live Healthy; Love the Earth" (環保，樂活，愛地球), kicks off its two-day celebration today with a jubilant array of events, including of dancing, music, deity worship, DIY paper crafts and walking campaigns. By

The annual Hakka Tung Blossom Festival (客家桐花祭) is the biggest and most famous floral festival in Taiwan. In 2010, the organizer, Cabinet-level Council for Hakka Affairs (行政院客家委員會).

So where is the coolest part of town nowadays? The answer is one of the last places in Taipei City to be developed: the Xinyi District.

Danshui is the perfect spot for a short bike ride alongside the river and a stroll down beautiful walkways. It also offers visitors an enjoyable moment as the sun descends into the water.

Our capital city doesn't have the international reputation of cultural capitals like London or Paris, but a closer look at Taipei reveals delightful hidden corners just the same.

Gold was not just discovered in Egypt or Africa; the precious element was once buried on this little island, too. The two mountain villages on the northeastern tip of the island bustled with gold fever - Jioufen and Jinguashih – boomed through the 1960s, when the region's ores were depleted and inhabitants moved away.

It's not a very well-known fact that the Chinese name given to the northern Taipei suburb of Beitou is a corruption of an old aboriginal word meaning something like "witch's den," but it's easy enough to work out why the area's original inhabitants gave it this unusual name.

Just over a decade ago I went to Sanxia (三峽) in Taipei County (臺北縣) for the first time. I wrote about that trip for this newspaper, and I don't need to refer to my old article to recall what struck me during that visit: the rainy, blustery weather; the magnificence of the town's major temple; and the dilapidated yet picturesque redbrick houses along what was then called Minquan Street (民權街).

Taiwan is often referred to as one of the most underrated adventure sport destinations in Asia if not the world. With a large portion of the island covered in huge mountains filled with hidden lakes, thousand year old forests, cascading waterfalls, and memorizing scenery it's hard to see why.

The lush, rugged and incident-packed landscape lining the upper reaches of the Keelung River Valley makes this a stunningly beautiful area, and one which deservedly attracts crowds on weekends to enjoy its scenic riches.