National Taiwan University (
Guo2 li4 tai2 wan1 da4 xue2, aka NTU or 'Tai Da') is the top university in
Taiwan and one of the best in
Asia. Located in
Taipei, it was founded in
1928 by the
Japanese during their occupation of Taiwan, and came under the control of the
Republic of China government in
1945. Most of the interesting buildings, as well as the stately palm trees, were Japanese efforts. (The modern buildings aren't much to look at.) It is a full-fledged university with dozens of departments, a highly developed graduate studies program, major research efforts, and around 25-30,000 students. It also participates in joint research projects with
Academia Sinica, a major research institution.
The grounds of Tai Da are somewhat park-like with lots of trees and plants. The campus also has large stadium/gym complex, several libraries, a market, a post office, and a bank. The surrounding neighborhood,
Gongguan, is a lively area with lots of bookstores, coffeeshops, restaurants, and
night-market-style shopping. The
MRT has two stops nearby: Technology Building on the Mucha line, and Gongguan on the Hsientien line. The main gate is at 1 Roosevelt Rd. Sec. 4.
Previously, Tai Da was home to the
Inter-University Program in foreign language and the
Stanford Center, but most foreign universities now deal with the
People's Republic of China (the mainland) instead. Tai Da does have the
International Chinese Language Program, one of the best year and/or summer programs for learning
Mandarin Chinese.
Tai Da's website is available in English and Chinese at http://www.ntu.edu.tw/