Over the past few years, an impressive collection of old photos related to Hakka lives has been curated. As Hakka scholar Chiu Yen-kuei (邱彥貴) recalls, the push to officially archive such photos first started in 2006.

The Sultanate of Oman celebrates today its 41st national day under His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, who successfully opened up the country, embarked on economic reforms and boosted spending on health, education and welfare.

Living in an unfamiliar environment and not knowing the local languages is sometimes inconvenient, if not intimidating.

Having attracted huge crowds since opening on Friday, the 2011 Taipei International Travel Fair (Taipei ITF, 臺北國際旅展) enters its third day, expecting to draw close to 200,000 visitors by the end of the weekend as students, families, couples, and just about everyone take advantage of the agreeable weather to go out and rake great deals and fantastic giveaways.

As the 2011 Taipei International Travel Fair prepares for its final day of excitement, two seminars discussing the strategies and future of the tourism industry will be held on Monday, Nov. 14.

Only two draws are left but bargain-hunters at the Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF) can bag a good deal even if they pay for nothing more than admission.

For Christopher Hsu (徐家瑜), Taipei ITF couldn't be a bigger success. “Look at these people in line. It's hard to tell but you're really seeing two lines,” he said, waving his arm to the left and right of a circling kiosk. “We get a crowd like this every year,” he added.

The 2011 Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF, 2011台北國際旅展) yesterday welcomed guests and enthusiastic travelers from around the globe at its grand opening ceremony, which rang with applauses as officials and performers spoke of the potential of Taiwan's tourism industry.

We all look forward to the next generations carrying on the world's livelihood, preferably with the cultural essence kept from previous eras and the wisdom of our ancestors.

To welcome foreign and local guests as well as tourism businesses to the 2011 Taipei International Travel Fair (ITF, 2011台北國際旅展), Taiwan's Tourism Bureau (觀光局) held a dinner banquet at the Chang Yung-fa Foundation (張榮發基金會) yesterday evening, providing the travelers and traveling experts with a taste of Taiwan.