Taiwan is an island in East Asia that lies between the Philippines and Japan. It is very close to mainland China. Taiwan and China are separated by the Taiwan Strait, which is only 220 kilometers at its widest point and 130 kilometers at its narrowest point. Taiwan measures about 36,000 square kilometers, which is roughly the same size as the Netherlands. It is made up of one main island and several other smaller islands, such as the Penghu Islands, Orchid Island, and Green Island. When people say "Taiwan," they usually mean all of these islands put together. The main island is also known as Formosa. When Portuguese sailors first discovered the island nearly five hundred years ago, they called it "Ilha Formosa," which means "beautiful island."

The island is very mountainous. Yushan (Mount Jade) is 3,952 meters tall, making it the highest mountain in Northeast Asia. The middle part of the island is covered by the Central Mountain Range. This massive range of mountains is 340 kilometers in length. Taiwan's mountain roads have lots of beautiful scenery. However, drivers must be careful on these roads as there are sometimes landslides.

Many of Taiwan's mountains are covered in thick forests. These forests are home to many interesting plants and animals. There are several different kinds of snakes. Some of them are very poisonous. But, visitors are unlikely to see them. It is also very hard to catch a glimpse of Taiwan's black bears. Visitors may have a better chance of seeing birds. There are many bird species which are only found in Taiwan. The Taiwan Blue Magpie, for example, can now be seen in some scenic spots. It has a very long tail. Some can be about 65 centimeters in length. Because they aren't afraid of people, visitors may have a chance to encounter these beautiful birds.

Many millions of years ago, Taiwan was home to active volcanoes. Today, they are either
extinct or dormant. But, that doesn't mean that they can't provide hot water for Taiwan's hot springs! Most of Taiwan's hot springs are found in the mountains. Taiwanese people like to soak in hot spring waters because they are good for your health.

台灣是個島嶼，位處東亞，介於菲律賓與日本之間。台灣鄰近中國大陸，中隔台灣海峽，海峽最寬處僅220 公里，最窄處則為130 公里。台灣的面積約36,000 平方公里，與荷蘭相當。台灣由一個大島與其他幾個小島組成，這些小島包含澎湖群島、蘭嶼和綠島。一般人提到「台灣」時，指的通常是這些島嶼的總稱，其中最主要的大島又名福爾摩沙。將近五百年前，葡萄牙水手最早發現這個島嶼時，把這個島取名為「福爾摩沙」，意思就是「美麗的島嶼」。

台灣島山巒起伏，玉山高達3,952 公尺，是東北亞第一高峰。貫穿全島中央的則是綿長的中央山脈，全長340 公里。台灣的山路風景優美，但駕駛經過這些路段時，要小心謹慎，因為有時會有土崩的狀況出現。

台灣的山川大都林木蓊鬱，林中有許多有趣的動植物。其中蛇類就有很多種，有些蛇有毒，但遊客不容易看見這些蛇。要想瞥見台灣黑熊的身影也很困難，比較容易看見的，應該是鳥類。許多鳥類是台灣特有品種，例如台灣藍鵲現在經常現身觀光景點， 牠的尾巴很長。有些身長可達65 公分。這些美麗的鳥類因為不怕人，遊客可能有機會遇到牠們。

數百萬年前，台灣有許多活火山，而今都成了死火山或休火山，但是它們仍然是台灣溫泉的來源！台灣大多數溫泉都在山裡，這裡的人也喜歡泡溫泉，因為這對健康有益。