The tourism industry in Taiwan started to develop during the Japanese colonial era, and the variety of tourist products available at the time reflect the growth of the industry and the design trends of the time. (courtesy of Spring Grass Arts Academy)

"Tourism" refers to making a trip to another place to see the sights, traveling with a planned itinerary under the guidance of an organization, and then returning to work and everyday life. The concept of tourism appeared after the Industrial Revolution, when work and leisure time became separated. It was then that modern tourist infrastructure such as trains and hotels began to develop.

In 1868, the Meiji Restoration began in Japan, and the Japanese began to look toward Europe for ways to "modernize." The Western, capitalist notion of tourism arrived in Taiwan in 1895, when the Japanese took Taiwan from Qing China and made it a colony.

In the early days of Japanese rule, Taiwan was known as "the island of savages and malaria." It was only after social order came into being and the armed Taiwanese resistance to Japanese rule gave up their weapons in favor of negotiations that systematized travel infrastructure came into place and a tourism industry developed.

In 1896, the Japanese governor-general ordered two companies, Osaka Merchant Ship and Coastal Ferry, to begin regular scheduled service between Taiwan and Japan. These became the earliest bridge between the two. At the time, most lines departed from Japan's Honshu island and arrived in Keelung via Okinawa. The trip from Kobe to Keelung took nine days. In the 1920s, there was a boat every two or three days.

1908 was a critical juncture in the Taiwan tourism industry. In that year, connecting train service from Keelung to Kaohsiung opened, making the island's entire west coast accessible. It was then that Taiwan travel entered a new age. The Governor-General's Railway Bureau designated lodging houses throughout the island. The most luxurious was the Taiwan Railway Hotel, which was on the site of what is now the Asiaworld Department Store building across from the Taipei Railway Station. Only Japanese officials and a few Taiwanese gentry could stay there. When famed cultural figure Lin Hsien-tang came north on business he often stayed there. By 1935, there were more than 300 lodging houses around Taiwan.

The most important tourist event of the Japanese colonial period has to be the Taiwan Expo. The event was organized to show off official achievements, educate citizens, and provide leisure activities, and attracted 3.3 million visitors from Taiwan and abroad in just 50 days--that's 50% more than Taiwan's total population at the time.

What were the top attractions in Taiwan during the Japanese colonial era? In 1927, the Taiwan Nichinichi Shimpo newspaper held a poll to choose the top eight sights in Taiwan. People were asked to send in their choices on postcards, and then the top eight were chosen by experts from the 20 finalists. In just one month's time, 360 million votes came in from Taiwan and abroad--testament to the amount of interest in the subject people held.

The top ten finalists in the voting were: Oluanpi and Shoushan, Kaohsiung Province; Pahsienshan, Taichung Province; Alishan, Tainan Province; Keelung Harbor and Taipingshan, Taipei Province; Wuchihshan, Hsinchu Province; Taiwan Shrine and Tanshui Harbor, Taipei Province; and Taroko Gorge, Hualien Province. The results are a bit different from those of recent polls of Japanese favorite spots. Shoushan, for example, was popular then as it was where Hirohito would stay when visiting Taiwan. Now, it has lost its fame among Japanese tourists.

Lu Shao-li, a history professor at National Chengchi University, says that the colonial government's motivation in developing tourism in Taiwan was self-interest and because of that, initially only high government officials had the right to enjoy tourist facilities. With time, the industry broadened and became open to commoners. The colonizers left Taiwan in 1945, but they left behind the transportation and tourism infrastructure that became the roots of today's leisure travel industry.