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• Spring Scream. A three day outdoor rock concert in Kenting held on 5, 6 & 7 April 2007. Tickets NT$1,400 for all days, all venues. NT$650 for one day, one venue. [14]
• Buddha's Birthday. Colorful but simple ceremonies are held at Buddhist monasteries that generally consist of washing a statue of the Buddha and a vegetarian feast. It is appropriate to make offerings to the monks and nuns at this time, though it is not mandatory. 24 May 2007.
• Dragon Boat Festival. A festival to commemorate the death of the Chinese patriotic poet Qu Yuan (born 340 BC), who drowned himself in a river out of despair that his beloved country, Chu, was being plundered by a neighboring country as a result of betrayal by his own people. The festival falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month (19 June 2007), and is marked by races of colorful dragon boats at various locations throughout the island.
• Cherry Blossom Season
• Hot Springs. Taiwan's geographical location between an oceanic trench and volcanic system makes it an ideal hot springs vacation spot. There are several hot springs destinations throughout the country, including Wulai (??) and Yangmingshan (???).

Undoubtedly the most infamous Taiwanese delicacy, stinky tofu (??? chòudòufu) is fermented tofu with a strong odor often likened to rotting garbage. It's usually sold only by outdoor stalls, as the smell would overwhelm most restaurants, but if you can hold your nose long enough to eat it, the taste is quite mild — but with distinct earthy overtones that many visitors find offputting. It's most commonly eaten fried, but for extra Fear Factor points, find some mala hotpot with stinky tofu and duck blood.

Generally speaking, the foods of Taiwan are derived from mainland Chinese cuisines. It is possible to find Szechuan food, Hunan food, Beifang food, Cantonese food and almost every other Chinese cuisine on the island. Taiwanese renditions of these cuisines tend to be somewhat greasy, though, and completely authentic mainland cuisines are rare. This is especially true for the Cantonese cuisine, as demonstrated by the lack of Cantonese speakers on the island. The Taiwanese are also passionately in love with eggs and seafood, as you will discover during your stay on the island.

Taiwan also has many of its own local specialties. A few found islandwide include:

• Beef noodles (??? niúròu miàn), noodle soup with chunks of meltingly soft stewed beef and a dash of pickles
• Oyster omelette (??? kézai jian), made from eggs, oysters and the leaves of a local chrysanthemum, topped with sweet red sauce
• Aiyu jelly (?? àiyù), made from the seeds of a local fig and usually served on ice — sweet, cool and refreshing on a hot day

Most cities and towns in Taiwan are famous for special foods, because of their passion for food and influences from many different countries. For example, Ilan is famous for its mochi, a sticky rice snack often flavored with sesame, peanuts or other flavorings. Yonghe, a suburb of Taipei, is famous for its soy milk and breakfast foods. Taichung is famous for its sun cakes, a kind of sweet stuffed pastry. In Chiayi, it's square cookies, also called cubic pastry, crispy layered cookies cut into squares and sprinkled liberally with sesame seeds. Virtually every city has its famous specialties; many Taiwanese tourists will go visit other cities on the island only to try the local foods, then return home.

Taiwan also has remarkably good bakery items. Most specialize in sweet Chinese pastries or Western pastries adjusted to local tastes, but look out for We Care bakeries which also offer Western options such as whole wheat loaves, sour breads and ciabatta.