Ttech-savvy economic powerhouse Taiwan does have a softer side. To see it, travel offshore. Taiwan's offshore islands offer visitors a tropical escape from the congestion of the cities. The excellent beaches, rich history and colourful culture of these islands provide an alternative five-day excursion plan.
To start, take a one-hour flight from Taipei to Kinmen Island, a former military outpost just 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen. For decades, Kinmen served as the first line of defence against China's attempts to retake Taiwan. Now, as cross-strait ties warm, the only battles that still exist on Kinmen are between mobile phone signals from the two sides.
Much of the military history of the island remains. It is dotted with bunkers, tunnels, and underground ship repair docks ripe for exploration. Two museums, the Guningtou War Museum and the 823 Artillery Museum, commemorate battles over the tiny island, with each containing vehicles, weapons and documents from that bygone era.
'Going to Kinmen is key to understanding the Chinese Civil War, and Taiwan's experience under the Kuomintang, including martial law and the general feeling of being caught up in a war zone,' says Trista di Genova, the editor-in-chief of Wild East magazine.
The mainland fired about 450,000 artillery shells on Kinmen from 1958 to 1979. You can take a piece of that history home by visiting Maestro Wu, a local business famed for turning these shells into kitchen knives. Shop workers say one shell can produce 60 knives, so their supply will last for quite a while.
After spending a night in Kinmen, take a 40-minute flight to Magong, the largest town in the Penghu archipelago. Known as the Pescadores to colonial Portuguese explorers, Penghu is Taiwan's version of a tropical island paradise.