The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area (Chinese: 臺北基隆都會區; pinyin: Táiběi-Jīlóng Dūhùiqū) also commonly known as Greater Taipei Area (Chinese: 大臺北地區; pinyin: Dà Táiběi Dìqū) is the largest metropolitan area in Taiwan. It is composed of 3 administrative divisions: Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung. The region encompasses an area of 2,457.13 square kilometers (948.70 sq mi) and a population of 7,034,084 as of 2019. It is the most populous and the most densely populated metropolitan area in Taiwan, with one-third of Taiwanese people living and working there. In some sources Taoyuan City is occasionally considered as part of the metropolitan area on a broader extent, or as an adjacent metropolitan area of its own.

The region is the epicenter of Taiwanese culture, economy, education and government. Designated as a global city, the region exerts a significant impact on commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, both locally and internationally. As a diplomatic center, it is the home to all consulates and embassies in Taiwan. Its economic power makes the region the country's premier commercial and financial center as well as in the region of East Asia. Considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha - City by GaWC,[1] Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area.[2] Railways, highways, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The metropolitan area is served by two airports – Songshan and Taoyuan.

Definition

Division name Population
(31 January 2019)[3]
Area
(km²)
Density
(per km²)
Taipei City 2,666,908 271.80 9,812.0
New Taipei City 3,997,189 2,052.57 1,947.4
Keelung City 369,987 132.76 2,786.9
Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area 7,034,084 2,457.13 2,862.7
Taoyuan City 2,223,733 1,220.95 1,821.3
Taipei–Keelung–Taoyuan metropolitan area 9,257,817 3,678.08 2,517.0

Some international reports consider Taipei–Keelung–Taoyuan (臺北基隆桃園都會區; Táiběi–Jīlóng–Táoyuán Dūhùiqū) as a real complete metropolitan area.[3][4][5]

Geography

Due to the geographical characteristics of the area, the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area roughly corresponds to areas located within the Taipei Basin. Taipei City serves as the core of the metropolitan area where the government of Taiwan and major commercial districts are located.

Geographical Subdivision

The metropolitan area contains Taipei City, Keelung City, and New Taipei City (surrounding the two previous cities). The geographical subdivisions are listed as follows:

Northwest

in New Taipei City:

North

in New Taipei City:

in Taipei City:

East

in Keelung City:

in Taipei City:

in New Taipei City:

Center

in Taipei City:

Southwest

in New Taipei City:

South

in Taipei City:

in New Taipei City:

GDP

2014 Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area's GDP per capita(PPP) was US$46,102.[6]

Transportation

Rail

Platform of the Taipei City Hall Station on the Taipei Metro system.

The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area is served by routes of the Taiwan Railway Administration (Western Line) and Taiwan High Speed Rail which connect the area with all parts of the island.

Mass Rapid Transit

For rapid transit, Taipei and New Taipei are served by the Taipei Metro with daily trips of over 2 million passengers. And only Danhai light rail is operated by New Taipei Metro. Also Taoyuan Airport MRT connects Taipei City, New Taipei City, and Taoyuan with Taoyuan International Airport.

Air

The area is served by Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for international flights while Songshan Airport is primarily for domestic flights, international flights to Tokyo and Seoul; and also cross-strait flights.

Bus

An extensive bus system serves the metropolitan area.

See also

References

  1. ^ "The World According to GaWC 2020". GaWC - Research Network. Globalization and World Cities. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Taiwan tech industry faces up to South Korea's Samsung". The Seattle Times. April 2013. Archived from the original on 25 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b 鄉鎮市區人口及按都會區統計. Taiwan Ministry of Interior. 2013.
  4. ^ World: metropolitan areas Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine World Gazetteer, 2010
  5. ^ Taipei: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population[dead link] World Gazetteer, 2010
  6. ^ "Global Metro Monitor". 30 November 2001.
  1. ^ Sarah Shair-Rosenfield (November 2020). "Taiwan combined" (PDF). The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 29 May 2021.