Taipei

Location o Taipei in Taiwan

Taipei Ceety (traditional Cheenese: 臺北市Template:; ; literally "Northren Taiwan Ceety") is the seicont lairgest ceety o Taiwan an the caipital o the Republic o Cheenae (commonly kent as "Taiwan"). Situatit at the tip o the island, Taipei is locatit on the Danshui River, an is aboot 25 km soothwast o Keelung, its port on the Paceefic Ocean. Anither coastal ceety, Danshui, is aboot 20 km northwast at the river's mooth on the Taiwan Strait. It lies in the twa relatively narrow valleys o the Keelung (基隆河) an Xindian (新店溪) rivers, which join tae form the Danshui River alang the ceety's wastren border. The ceety proper (Taipei Ceety) is hame tae an estimated 2,607,428 fowk. Taipei Ceety, New Taipei, an Keelung Ceety thegither form the Taipei metropolitan aurie wi a population o 6,776,264. Housomeivver, they are admeenistered unner different local govrenin bodies. "Taipei" sometimes refers tae the whole metropolitan aurie, while "Taipei Ceety" refers tae the ceety proper.

Taipei is the poleetical, economic, an cultural center o Taiwan. The Naitional Taiwan University is locatit in Taipei, as well as the Naitional Palace Museum, which haes ane o the lairgest collections o Chinese airtifacts an airtwirks in the warld. Considered tae be a global ceety, Taipei is pairt o a major industrial aurie. Railways, hicht speed rail, hichtways, airports, an bus lines connect Taipei wi aw pairts o the island. The ceety is served bi twa airports - Taipei Songshan an Taiwan Taoyuan.

Taipei wis foondit in the early 18t century an became an important center for owerseas trade in the 19t century. The Cheenese govrenment, then the Qing Dynasty, made Taipei the provincial caipital o Taiwan in 1886. When the Japanese acquired Taiwan in 1895 efter the First Sino-Japanese War, they retained Taipei as the caipital o the island. The Republic o Cheenae teuk ower the island in 1945 efter Japan's defeat in Warld War II. Efter losin the Cheenese Ceevil War tae the Communists, Chiang Kai-shek an his govrenment retreatit tae Taiwan an declared Taipei the proveesional caipital o the Republic o Cheenae in December 1949.

[edit] Romanization

See an aw: Romanization o Cheenese in the Republic o Cheenae

The spellin "Taipei" derives frae the Wade-Giles romanization T'ai-pei, which is pronounced Template:IPA2 in Inglis.

In Mandarin Cheenese, housomeivver, the pronunciation is slichtly different (Template:IPA-cmn). Unner the offeecial New Phonetic System (an' a' kent as Hanyu Pinyin) romanization seestem, which is uised tae romanize all street signage in Taipei, an the formerly offeecial Tongyong Pinyin seestem, the ceety's name is romanized as Táiběi. Housomeivver, the familiarity o the langstandin "Taipei" spellin led government authorities tae retain it as ane o several exceptions tae the general staundart.