The postcard I received today is part of a set issued by Taiwan Post depicting different sports. According to the sender, rock climbing is not especially popular in Taiwan, making its inclusion in the series seem a little surprising. Taiwan didn't have any athletes participating in the climbing events.  I wonder if the choice was influenced by the Olympic Games. Sport climbing made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in 2021 and returned for its second appearance at the Paris Olympics in 2024. As the sport continues to grow internationally, it makes sense that postal administrations would feature it as part of a collection celebrating modern sports. The Paris Olympics featured four medal events in sport climbing: men's and women's speed climbing, and men's and women's combined boulder and lead climbing. In the combined events, Toby Roberts of Great Britain claimed the men's gold medal, while Janja Garnbret of Slovenia successfully defended her Olympic title in ...

The Alishan Forest Railway is an 86 kilometre network of narrow gauge (762 mm) railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County. It was originally constructed for logging, but is know for tourism. It consists of Z-shaped switchbacks, over 50 tunnels, and 77 wooden bridges. 

A cool card of a couple of cats having tea and snacks. The sender says the Mandarin on the front says "Slow down and savour your food." Good advice. 

I'm going to copy out what the sender wrote: Greeting from Taiwan. In the Chinese zodiac, the snake represents wisdom, intuition, and transformation. People often see it as a symbol of elegance and insight, guiding us to make thoughtful decisions and embrace new opportunities. As we step into the Year of the Snake, I wish you a smooth journey, good health, and success in everything you do. May this year bring you wisdom to overcome challenges and good fortune in all aspects of life. 

This is a World Postcard Day card from 2021. It looks like there were six or seven people at this one. He also put a stamp on the front of the card and gave it a special postmark. I don't know if that is from the post office or their own creation. 

A cute card from Taipei. I don't know if it is a cartoon, or book character. Maybe you can help me out!

Taipei is home to Ximending  西門町 , a neighbourhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District 萬華區 of  Taipei. In the 1930s, Ximending became a well known theatre street in Taipei. At one point there were over ten theatres on Wuchang Street Section 1. In the 1990s the area began to lose business as Taipei City developed away from Ximending. A pedestrian area was created in 1999, prohibiting motor vehicles on weekends and national holidays. This move attracted young shoppers and business began to return to the area.  Today there are over 20 theatres and over 6000 venders. It is a popular area for small concerts, album launches, and street performances.  The area around the Red House Theatre is considered the centre of Taipei's LGBTQ culture. Ximending has featured prominently in Taiwan Pride marches and parades.  Ximending is home to several historical sites including the Mazu Temple  西門町媽祖廟 . Mazu is a sea goddess in Chinese folk religion, Chinese Buddhis...

This card was sent from Japan while the sender was on vacation there. She writes that she is on a solo trip. 

Scene from a Studio Ghibli film entitled When Marnie Was There.  It is based on a book of the same name writen by English author Joan G. Robinson in 1967.  In the Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animated psychological drama and is set in Kushiro, Hokkaido. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and a Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation of the Year. 

The sender brought this card back from holidaying in Cambodia. This card is from Siem Reap  ក្រុងសៀមរាប , the second largest city in Cambodia and the capital city of Siem Reap Province. Siem Reap is full of French colonial and Chinese style architecture, especially in the Old French Quarter and around the Old Market. It is also close to many of the ancient temples of Angkor. The city was named the Association of Southeast Asian Nations City of Culture (ASEAN) for 2021-2022 by the ASEAN Ministers Responsible of Culture and Arts. 

I think about a quarter of the cards I get from Taiwan have a photo of Taipei 101 building on it. On the back, though, it give information about Taipei Municipal Datong High School  臺北市立大同高级中學 . Datong has its own Wikipedia page. There are about 2500 students that attend.  It was established in 1935. Over the years it has been a junior/senior high, just a junior high, and back to just a high school.  The page notes there are two notable alumni: Lee Teng-hui, president of Taiwan from 1988-2000, and Henry Lee, a forensic scientist and Chief Emeritus for Scientific Services for the State of Connecticut, in the United States.  The sender of this card only had four cards registered, while he didn't receive any. He hasn't been seen on Postcrossing for a year. 

The sender wanted me to share a ritual or relaxation song. I don't really have a specific song but if I need to lie down and relax, I like to find a blues playlist, or soft jazz playlist to listen to. I've also turned an opera playlist on, or something classical. Usually when I lie down, one of the cats will lie on my chest and their purring often times slows things down for me. 

Jellyfish have been around for about 700 million years and can be found all over the world, including to the deepest parts of our oceans.  The jellyfish pictured on the front are bioluminescene, caused by green florescent protein.  Jellyfish tentacles having stinging cells on them which they use to subdue their prey. These can also injure humans, and in some cases, kill them. Some cultures consider jellyfish a delicacy.

Just days after Postcrossing notified me that it was my Postcrossing birthday - 8 years - I received my 3000th card from Taiwan.  This card is unique in that it is from a high school senior and she and her classmates made a short YouTube video about their school. I have included the QR code so you can watch it, too!

Layla from Taipei sent me a care with words of advice on the front. On the back she has written a message in Mandarin. A friend of mine translated the message on the back and it said, "There is no need to find the meaning of life, because it is waiting to be defined by you."

Pyramid lives in Taipei and is a self-described "Disney Child." She was brought up watching Disney cartoons and music and learned some English early on by watching them. On her bucket list is to visit all the Disneylands in the world. She has already check-marked the three Disneylands in Asia - Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. 

Lily sent me a card from Pingxi. It was an important coal mining area in the early 20th century. It is the smallest district in New Taipei. 

Debby from Taipei sent me a card of the Great Buddha of Baguashan, found in Changhua. It is a huge statue of the Buddha and stands at 24 meters high and was the world's largest Buddha statue when it was completed in 1961. The interior of the statue is separated into six different floors, where visitors are allowed to climb the steps to reach the very top. Each floor contains a series of life-size statues that tell the story of the Buddha. This ink stamp was on the back of the card.

Aka explains on his card about the naming of Taiwan "Formosa" by the Portuguese. This dates back to 1542 when Portuguese sailors sighted an uncharted island and noted it in their maps as Ilha Formost  "Beautiful Island." Formosa remained in common usage by English speakers well into the 20th century. In the 1600s the Dutch East India Company established a commercial port called Fort Zeelandia, where the modern day city of Anping is today. They called the area Tayouan, which Taiwan is derived from. The official name of Taiwan is the Republic of China. However, the People's Republic of China sees Taiwan as a province of theirs, and not a separate country. Because of this and to keep the People's Republic of China happy, Taiwan uses Chinese Taipei at all international forums, organizations, and at sporting events. The PRC will not have diplomatic relations with countries who establish diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Only 14 countries and the Vatican have dipl...