- published: 22 Jul 2013
- views: 36770
Taipei (/ˌtaɪˈpeɪ/, literally means "North of Tai(wan)"), officially known as Taipei City (Chinese: 臺北市 or 台北市; pinyin: Táiběi Shì; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tâi-pak Chhī), is the capital city and a special municipality of Taiwan. Sitting at the northern tip of Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City. It is about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city Keelung. The city is mostly located on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed bounded by the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city's western border.
The city proper is home to an estimated population of 2,693,672 in 2009, forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 6,900,273, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world. The name "Taipei" can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or the city proper.
Taipei is the political, economic, educational, and cultural center of Taiwan, and one of the major hubs of the Chinese-speaking world. Considered to be a global city, Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area.Railways, high-speed rail, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The city is served by two airports – Taipei Songshan and Taiwan Taoyuan. Taipei is home to various world-famous architectural or cultural landmarks which include Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dalongdong Baoan Temple, Hsing Tian Kong, Mengjia Longshan Temple, National Palace Museum, Presidential Office Building, Taipei Guest House, Ximending, and several night markets dispersing over the city. Its natural features such as Maokong, Yangmingshan, and hot springs are also well known to international visitors.
An international airport is an airport that offers customs and immigration facilities for passengers travelling between countries. International airports are typically larger than domestic airports and often feature longer runways and facilities to accommodate the heavier aircraft commonly used for international and intercontinental travel. International airports often also host domestic flights. Some, such as Frankfurt Airport in Germany are very large; others such as Fa'a'ā International Airport in Tahiti, are quite small.
Buildings, operations and management have become increasingly sophisticated since the mid 20th century, when international airports began to provide infrastructure for international civilian flights. Detailed technical standards have been developed to ensure safety and common coding systems implemented to provide global consistency. The physical structures that serve millions of individual passengers and flights are among the most complex and interconnected in the world. By the second decade of the 21st century, there were over 1,200 international airports and almost two billion international passengers along with 50 million metric tonnes of cargo were passing through them annually.
Wide awake
I'm on a plane out of town
Fly away
From the weight of the world
On the ground
I'm international
But I don't know where to go
Hopefully where summer days
Can melt these winter bones
I'm international
And you're orbiting my brain
I'm reduced to writing nothing
All over napkins on the plane
Wide awake
I'm on a plane out of town
Taking pictures of myself
In the mirror on wall
Trying hard not to make my space
The loneliest place of all
Early warning all across the sky
Clouds are rolling in on your light
Any change from here would be
The wisest change of all
Any place from here up here
Would be the finest place to fall
Wide awake
I'm on a plane out of town
I'm losing track of myself
On all the time zone lines
And if I daylight save
Do I jump ahead or fall behind?
And I'm fine 'cause I know
Any plane I ride
Can fly me home
And I'm fine 'cause I know
You know, I know
It's easy to see
Clouds were built for dreams
Because nothing up there
Is as easy as it seems
I step out
And try to walk around
As I fall, I look up
And wonder why it let me down
I'm international
That's twice the speed of sound
I just hope I take off from here
Before I hit the ground
If I could get to heaven
By an airplane in the sky
We would always be in love
And we would always love to fly
Wide awake
I'm on a plane out of town
Taking pictures of myself
In the mirror on wall
Trying hard not to make my space
The loneliest place of all
And I'm fine 'cause I know
Any plane I ride
Can fly me home
And I'm fine 'cause I know
You know, I know
And I'm fine 'cause I know
Any plane I ride
Can fly me home
And I'm fine 'cause I know
Any plane I ride
Can fly me home
You know, I know