Bade District (八德區) is one of the districts of Taoyuan City in northwestern Taiwan. Although it isn't as well known to international visitors as Taipei or nearby Taoyuan International Airport, Bade has grown rapidly from a rural settlement into a busy suburban district with a population of over 200,000 people. The area's history goes back to the Qing Dynasty, when it was known as Bakuaicuo, meaning "Eight Houses." According to local tradition, the name came from the first eight families who settled there. After World War II, the name was changed to Bade, meaning "Eight Virtues," referring to the Confucian virtues of loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, love, trustworthiness, justice, harmony, and peace. It became part of Taoyuan City in 2014 when Taoyuan was upgraded to a special municipality. Today, Bade is known as a residential and manufacturing district, with good transport links to the rest of northern Taiwan. Despite its urban growth, it still has green...

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 ...

Yilan City is a city of almost 100 000 people located in north-east Taiwan. I want to share what the sender wrote on the card: Right now, my town is experiencing record breaking rain from Typhoon Phoenix - more than 1000 mm in 24 hours! Some areas were flooded, but the good news is that the drainage system worked wonderfully, and the water quickly went down once the rain ended. 

Taichung was home to the Taichung Suns , a professional basketball team that played in the T1 League . The T1 League was one of several recent attempts to establish a stable professional men’s basketball league in Taiwan and operated from 2021 to 2024. The Suns were one of the original teams in the league. They played for two seasons before folding due to financial difficulties, finishing with losing records in both seasons. It’s a reminder of how quickly teams can come and go, even in major cities.

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. 

I can't tell if the sender hand drew this herself, or it is a bought card. Regardless, I love the simplicity of this card. 

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 photo of the Shifen Waterfall ( 十分瀑布) located in Pingxi District on the upper reaches of the Keelung River. The falls are 20 meters high and 40 meters wide.  In 2014, New Taipei's Tourism and Travel Department purchased the land around the falls and created a municipal park. In the summer, the park is open from 0900 to 1800. In the winter, closing time is 1700. 

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!

This is one of Taiwan's most famous tourist attractions - the footbridge at Sanxiantai  三仙台 . The footbridge is in the shape of a sea dragon. It connects the coast to the largest island. 

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...

A beautiful card from Taroko National Park    太魯閣國家公園. It is located in east central Taiwan. It is one of nine national parks in Taiwan. It covers 92 000 square hectares. There are unique geological and natural resources, including 27 peaks over 3000 metres located in and around the Qilai and Nanhu Mountain Ranges. There is the marble gorge of Taroko, the Qingshui Cliff, the trail along the Shakadang River, and the waterfalls of the Baiyang trail.  In 2024, a magnitude 7 earthquake struck Taiwan's eastern coast and caused widespread devastation and significant loss of life. Landslides obstructed the provincial highway at Taroko Gorge, trapping hundreds of people. Taroko Gorge's landscape was scarred by the aftermath of the earthquake mainly due to landslides that occurred. Because of the earthquake, and floods later in 2024, much of the park remains closed. 

A great Chinese zodiac card that shows the Pig 豬 - the twelfth of the 12-year cycle of animals. There are five types of Pigs and they are named after Chinese elements Metal 辛亥  (xīnhài) ,  Water 癸亥  (guǐhài), Wood  乙亥  (yǐhài) , Fire  丁亥  (dīnghài);  and  Earth  己亥  (jǐhài) .  From 5 February 2019 to 24 January 2020 was Earth Pig. According to the myths, the Pig was the last to arrive when the Jade Emperor called for the great meeting. Other sources said that Buddha called for a great meeting when he was about to leave the Earth. The Pig arrived last. Yet another legend has it that The Emperor organized a race to ascertain the order of the animals in the Zodiac. The pig not having arrived long after all of the other animals, he was about to call it a day when an oink and squeal were heard. The term "lazy pig" comes from this incident; the Pig had become hungry during the ra...

A great Year of the Snake first day cover. The Year of the Snake  蛇  is the sixth of the twelve-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac. Snakes have a long and complicated place in Chinese mythology and culture.  In Chinese symbology, snakes are regarded as intelligent, with a tendency to lack scruples. 

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

I always appreciate handmade cards. People always put in a lot of effort with ink stamps, stickers, decorative tape, and even hand drawn. 

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. 

This card comes from south west Taiwan, and the photo is found in Kenting National Park  墾丁國家公園. It was established in 1984 and is Taiwan's oldest and southernmost national park on the main island. It covers 333 square kilometres.  This card was sent on World Postcard Day in 2024.