Culture, dress and weather

On the metro and the bus

• The law The Mass Rapid Transit Act (大眾捷運法, art. 50) fines NT$1,500 to NT$7,500 for eating or drinking in an MRT no-food zone (禁止飲食區), chewing gum or betel nut (檳榔), or littering, spitting included.
• Also fined Lying across seats after being asked to stop, crossing the platform's yellow safety line, and blocking or forcing the doors. The Act is national, so it covers every MRT system, not only Taipei's.
• Kaohsiung NSYSU's guide asks riders to keep MRT carriages "clean and quiet", to give priority seats on buses to people who need them, and to press the stop button before your stop.
• Queues A student handbook that cites the Ministry of Education (MOE) says people line up on their own for buses, and drivers and passengers thank each other as people get off.

Manners, by source

• Greetings: an NTU Student Counseling Center article for international students (2024) gives waving to greet people "instead of shaking" hands as an example of a local custom. This is one school's example, not a national rule.
• Homes: the same NTU article says to take your shoes off before entering someone's home.
• Values: a Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) handbook (2025) says respecting elders, being polite and "avoiding direct confrontation" are important values in Taiwanese society.
• Thanks: the MOE-cited handbook says shop owners and customers often thank each other when handing over change, and that most people will give directions if asked politely.
• At the table: the KMU handbook says chopsticks go together on the table or a chopstick rest after eating, and never stand upright in a bowl. It says toasting (乾杯, gānbēi, "cheers") is common before and during meals.
• Tipping: the Taiwan Tourism Administration says a 10% service charge is customary in hotels and restaurants. It says nothing more about tipping.
• Privacy: a KMU notice describes Taiwan as a society that "values human rights, gender equality, and personal privacy", and warns that taking intimate images of someone without consent is a crime that can affect your visa. → Dating, consent and the law

Inside Taichung's small things that surprise visitors and Inside Hsinchu's everyday Taiwan, home life and transit etiquette cover more of daily life.

Festivals and gifts

• Lunar New Year: the National Immigration Agency's (NIA) pre-arrival handbook lists cleaning before the new year, the New Year's Eve family dinner (圍爐), red envelopes, spring couplets (春聯), worshipping gods and ancestors, firecrackers, and visiting relatives from the first day. The busiest stretch is the first to fifth day of the first lunar month.
• Red envelopes: a Taipei City Government magazine feature (2019) says parents and older relatives give red envelopes to children, that amounts containing 4 are avoided (it sounds like "death") and that a small gift, not an envelope, suits co-workers and friends.
• New Year gifts: the same feature lists gifts to avoid at New Year because of how their names sound: pears, clocks and watches, books, knives and umbrellas. It suggests boxed cookies, cakes, candies and fruit. It is a signed magazine feature, not a rule.
• Ghost Month: the Tourism Administration says the seventh lunar month is when the gates of the netherworld open, with the peak on the 15th (Zhongyuan Festival, 中元節), when households set out food for "hungry ghosts" at temples or outside their homes. The NIA handbook says the spirits are commonly called "good brothers" (好兄弟).
• Religion: the Tourism Administration says belief in Taiwan is highly diverse. Buddhism, Taoism and folk religion are the main traditional faiths, and most traditional temples combine all three.

Inside Tainan explains temple etiquette in one list, and Inside Kaohsiung covers temples, firecrackers and Ghost Month.

Language: Mandarin, English and how people write

• Mandarin first: Mandarin is the main language of teaching and daily life. Taiwan uses traditional characters, with standard forms set by the MOE. Taiwan also uses Zhuyin (注音符號, also called Bopomofo), a set of 37 phonetic symbols. Hanyu Pinyin is the official romanization, with names written surname first.
• English policy: the government's Bilingual 2030 blueprint (issued by the Executive Yuan in 2018, coordinated by the National Development Council) aims to raise English skills and make public services bilingual, including front-line counters, hotlines such as 110 and 119, and laws that concern foreigners. These were targets, not reported results.
• English at university: the MOE's BEST program, started in fall 2021, funds English-taught (EMI, 全英語授課) courses. Its 2030 target for "beacon" schools is at least half of sophomores taking more than half their credits in English. That is a target, not a result.
• On trains: a 2000 law requires public transport announcements in Taiwanese Hokkien (閩南語) and Hakka as well as Mandarin. It does not require English. Taipei Metro announces in six languages, English among them, according to a 2024 news report.
• Learning Mandarin: many universities offer degree students free Mandarin courses, with different rules: NTU's General Chinese is free, NYCU's international students take Chinese classes free, and NCKU gives up to three free semesters. Some schools require Mandarin credits to graduate.

Addressing teachers and classmates: we found no university handbook or official guide on how to address teachers or older students, classroom manners or emailing professors, so we don't state any rule here. NTU's counseling article for international students suggests building relationships with professors and classmates.

→ English-taught programs

What students wear

• Every day: NTOU (National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung) says almost all students dress informally, in jeans, shorts and t-shirts. It suggests bringing some formal and traditional clothes for formal occasions.
• Culture events: NCCU suggests bringing traditional clothing from home to share your culture, for example at its annual Culture Night.
• Clinical work: NCKU's College of Medicine asks exchange students on clinical electives for business casual, plus a white coat and scrubs where needed.
• Don't over-pack: NTOU says dorm closet space is "a big issue", and daily needs can be bought in town. NCKU's dorms don't provide hangers.

What to pack for the weather

• Umbrella: NTUT (Taipei) calls an umbrella "a necessity around the year". NCNU (Puli, Nantou) says it could rain at any moment, and also suggests a rain jacket, rain boots and flip flops.
• Layers: NTOU says a thick coat may not be needed, but bring sweaters and a jacket, and clothes you can layer, because Keelung's weather changes a lot within a day.
• Heat and sun: NCKU suggests lightweight clothes for hot, humid weather. KMU (Kaohsiung) suggests sunglasses and sunscreen in summer, and says a light jacket is enough in winter.
• No heating: KMU says department stores, hospitals and schools are air-conditioned but have no heating in winter.
• Insects: NCNU says light clothing does not stop the small black biting midges (小黑蚊) and recommends repellent.

The climate by region

Averages from the Central Weather Administration (CWA, 中央氣象署), 1991 to 2020 (Hsinchu 1992 to 2020). Temperatures in °C. Hengchun stands in for Pingtung County.

"Low" and "high" are the average daily minimum and maximum for the month. Rain days are days with at least 0.1 mm.

• Plum rain The plum rain (梅雨) usually comes in May and June, mostly on the western side of the mountains, and gets heavier further south (CWA).
• Typhoons July to September is typhoon season. On the 1991 to 2020 average, 3.2 typhoons a year hit Taiwan, about 91% of them from July to October.
• Winter in the north and east The winter northeast monsoon (東北季風) brings cold air, and its rain falls mostly on the north and northeast. Keelung's north coast and Yilan have the most rain days in Taiwan, especially from September to February (CWA).
• Winter in the south The centre and south are in their dry season from autumn to early spring. Tainan and Kaohsiung average only about 2 to 4 rain days a month from October to March.
• Cold surges CWA counts a cold surge (寒流) when Taipei's daily low falls below 10°C, about 6.6 days a winter on the 1981 to 2010 average.

Inside Hsinchu describes Hsinchu's wind, rain, typhoons and heat by month, and Inside Taipei has Taipei weather by month. What to do in a typhoon: → Safety

Questions

Can I wear shorts to class?

NTOU says almost all its students dress informally, in jeans, shorts and t-shirts. We found no school-wide dress code, apart from NCKU's College of Medicine asking for business casual on clinical electives.

Do I tip in Taiwan?

The Taiwan Tourism Administration says a 10% service charge is customary in hotels and restaurants. It says nothing more about tipping, and we found no other official source on it.

How cold does it get in winter?

January averages range from about 16°C in Taipei, Keelung and Hsinchu to about 20°C in Kaohsiung (CWA, 1991 to 2020). KMU notes that buildings are air-conditioned but not heated, and NTOU suggests sweaters and a jacket rather than a thick coat.

Can I get by without Mandarin?

Mandarin is the main language of teaching and daily life. The government's Bilingual 2030 policy and the MOE's BEST program aim to expand English in public services and university courses, but those are targets, not results. Many universities offer degree students free Mandarin courses.

→ Before you arrive · Going out and the law · Arrive and live

Sources (30)

Checked November 2026.Show

Law: Mass Rapid Transit Act, art. 50, Mass Transportation Broadcasting Language Equality Act. Government: Taiwan Tourism Administration, Useful Tips, Traditional Festivals, Religion; NIA pre-arrival handbook (2019); Taipei City Government, TAIPEI magazine, Lunar New Year etiquette (2019); Bilingual 2030 Blueprint (2018); MOE, BEST program; MOE standard characters and Zhuyin; MOE Chinese Romanization Guidelines; CWA, monthly mean climate statistics and Climate Q&A, typhoon Q&A. News: Liberty Times on Taipei Metro announcements (2024). Schools: NTU Student Counseling Center (2024), NTU Chinese courses, NYCU LTRC, NCKU Chinese courses, handbook for international and overseas Chinese students (cites the MOE), NSYSU public transportation, KMU handbook (2025), KMU privacy notice, KMU clothing, NTOU pre-arrival checklist, NTUT weather, NCCU before you leave home, NCNU handbook (2026), NCKU pre-arrival guidebook (Fall 2026), NCKU College of Medicine handbook.