Taipei (redirected from T'aipei)

Taipei (tībā`), city (1995 est. pop. 2,632,863), N Taiwan, capital of Taiwan and provisional capital of the Republic of China. Taiwan's largest city, it is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the island. The major industries produce electrical and electronic equipment, textiles, metals, machinery, chemicals, food products, ships, and motorcycles. The city has a subway/elevated light-rail system, and is connected by high-speed rail to Kaohsiung. Three universities, the National Palace Museum and other cultural institutions, and Taipei 101, the world's tallest building, are there.

Founded in the 18th cent. by immigrants from Fujian prov. on the China mainland, Taipei began its modern development only after 1885, when it replaced Tainan as the capital of Taiwan prov. It continued to serve as a political center and underwent considerable enlargement and modernization under Japanese rule (1895–1945). In 1949, when the Communists forced the government of Chiang Kai-shek to flee from the mainland of China, Taipei became the headquarters of the Nationalists. In 1967 the city became a special municipality with a status equal to that of a province. Taipei suffered minor damage in the 1999 Taiwan earthquake.

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Taipei

City, special (province-level) municipality (pop., 2005 est.: 2,622,472), and seat of government of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Founded in the early 18th century, it became an important centre of overseas trade in the mid-19th century. When Taiwan was proclaimed a province of China in 1886, Taipei was later made the capital, and it retained that designation under Japanese rule (1895–1945). In 1949 it became the administrative centre of the Chinese Nationalist government. It was designated a special municipality in 1967. Taipei is the commercial, financial, industrial, and transportation centre of Taiwan. Its many educational institutions include the National Taiwan University (1928). The city's National Palace Museum houses one of the world's largest collections of Chinese artifacts. The Taipei 101 building became the world's tallest building upon completion of its framework in 2003.

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Taipei, T'ai-pei

the capital of Taiwan (the Republic of China), at the N tip of the island: became capital in 1885; industrial centre; two universities. Pop.: 2 473 000 (2005 est.)