4.1.1.1. Topography overview
Taipei is located in the northerm part of Taiwan Island, including the northeast of the Taipei Basin and neighboring hilly areas. It is surrounded by New Taipei City; on the north and east its hilly areas and the Keelung Valley, it's are adjoined by Danshui, Sanzhi, Jinshan, Wanli, Xizhi, Shiding and Shenkeng in New Taipei City; on the west and south, the Tamsui River and its tributaries the Xindian River and the Jingmei River, are its borders with Xindian, Zhonghe, Yonghe, Banqiao, Sanchong, Luzhou and Wugu. The City reaches northernmost to the Little Peak-south of Zhuzi Volcano, bordering the Beitou District, Sanzhi and Jinshan Townships; the eastern edge is the border between Nangang District, Xizhi and Shiding; the southern rim marks the border between Wenshan District and Xindian City; Guandu faces Beitou District and Wugu as the City’s westernmost edge . The length from north to south is 27.655 km, the width from east to west is measured at 20.754 km; the perimeter of the city is 216 km for a total area of 271.7997 square kilometers, making it the largest city on the island.
The terrain of Taipei city is higher in the northeast and southeast regions, consisting mostly of volcani mountains and hills that occupy more than half of the city. The northern Datun volcanic region is high and vast. The terrain is low and flat and mostly basin/river valley land flanked by the north and south hilly areas slanting slightly towards the northwest. (Taipei yearbook ,2010)
45 Figure 4.1. The Geographical location map of Taipei city
4.1.1.2. Climate and weather
Taipei has a monsoon-influenced humid subtropical climate. Summers are long, hot and humid, accompanied by occasional heavy rain storms and typhoons, while winters are short, generally warm and generally very foggy due to the northeasterly winds from the vast Siberian High being intensified by the pooling of this cooler air in the Taipei Basin. As of the rest of Northern Taiwan, daytime temperatures of Taipei can often peek above 26 degrees Celsius during a warm winter day, while it can dip below 26 degrees Celsius during a rainy summer's afternoon. Occasional cold fronts during the winter months can drop the daily temperature by 3 to 5 degrees Celsius, though temperatures rarely drop below 10 degrees Celsius. Extreme temperatures ranged from −0.2 °C (31.6 °F) on February 13, 1901 to 39.3 °C (102.7 °F) on August 8, 2013, while snow has never been recorded in the city besides on mountains located
46 within the city limit such as Mount Yangmingshan. Due to Taiwan's location in the Pacific Ocean, it is affected by the Pacific typhoon season, which occurs between June and October. (Southeast Asia Travel Climate Tour , 2015)
4.1.2. Socioeconomic conditions in Taipei city
4.1.2.1 . Population
One year after Taiwan Retrocession in 1945, a national census was conducted.
The population at that time was 271,754. In 1968, the six districts of Neihu, Nangang, Muzha, Jingmei, Shilin and Beitou were incorporated into Taipei City, and the population at the end of that year totaled 1,604,543. By the end of 2010, the population reached 2,618,772 (males 1,262,554; females 1,356,218). Compared with 2009, the total population increased by 11,344 (males up by 2,104; females up by 9,240). (Taipei yearbook ,2010)
The indicators related to population density or births and deaths are quantitatively evaluated as the followings:
+ The first indicator about population density : By the end of 2010, the population density was 9,635 people per square kilometer. By district, Daan was the most densely populated with 27,423 people per square kilometer, whereas Beitou was the least populated with 4,386 people per square kilometer
+ The second indicator about births and deaths: The crude birth rate in 2010 was 7.09%, a 0.33% decrease over the previous year. The crude death rate was 5.89%, an increase of 0.05% from the previous year. Social environment and economic factors have affected people’s willingness to give birth.The increasingly flagging birth rate has caused a continuous increase in the elderly population in the last decade. To
47 prevent the problems of a rapid decline in population and the overly aging population from affecting economic development in the future, encouraging reasonable population growth is an issue to be tackled at present. (Taipei yearbook ,2010)
4.1.2.2. Economic growth and revenue
As the center of Taiwan's largest conurbation, Taipei has been at the center of rapid economic development in the country and has now become one of the global cities in the production of high technology and its components. This is part of the so- called Taiwan Miracle which has seen dramatic growth in the city following foreign direct investment in the 1960s. Taiwan is now a creditor economy, holding one of the world's largest foreign exchange reserves of over US$403 billion as of December 2012. (National Statistics, Republic of China , 2015)
Despite the Asian financial crisis, the economy continues to expand at about 5% per year, with virtually full employment and low inflation. As of 2007, the nominal GDP of the core city of Taipei has accrued to nearly US$160 billion, while the metro region of Taipei has a GDP (nominal) of around US$260 billion, a record that would rank it 13th among world cities by GDP. The GDP per capita of Taipei is US$48,400, and the second highest in Asia behind Tokyo, which has a GDP per capita of US$65,453. (Taipei City Has Second-highest Per Capita GDP in Asia: TIER, 2009) Taipei and its environs have long been the foremost industrial area of Taiwan, consisting of industries of the secondary and tertiary sectors. Most of the country's important factories producing textiles and apparel are located there; other industries include the manufacture of electronic products and components, electrical machinery and equipment, printed materials, precision equipment, and foods and beverages. Such
48 companies include Shihlin Electric, CipherLab and Insyde Software. Shipbuilding, including yachts and other pleasure craft, is done in the port of Keelung northeast of the city.
Services, including those related to commerce, transportation, and banking, have become increasingly important. Tourism is a small but significant component of the local economy with international visitors totaling almost 3 million in 2008. Taipei has many top tourist attractions and contributes a significant amount to the US$6.8 billion tourism industry in Taiwan. (Taiwan's tourism revenue on the rise, 2010)