The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area () also commonly known as Greater Taipei Area () is the largest

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. It is composed of 3

administrative divisions Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

New Taipei City New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

and

Keelung Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port Provincial city (Taiwan), city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan a ...

. The region encompasses an area of and a population of 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 Taoyuan () is a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in northwestern Taiwan, neighboring New Taipei City to the north-east, Yilan County to the south-east, and Hsinchu County to the south-west. Taoyuan Distr ...

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 Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

economy An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

and

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...

. 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 A financial centre ( BE), financial center ( AE), or financial hub, is a location with a concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance or financial markets with venues and supporting services for these activities to tak ...

as well as in the region of

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea ...

. Considered to be a global city and rated as an Alpha - City by

GaWC The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershir ...

, Taipei is part of a major high-tech industrial area.

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

highways A highway is any public or private road or other public way on land. It is used for major roads, but also includes other public roads and public tracks. In some areas of the United States, it is used as an equivalent term to controlled-access ...

, airports, and bus lines connect Taipei with all parts of the island. The metropolitan area is served by two airports – Songshan and Taoyuan.

Definition

Some international reports consider Taipei–Keelung–Taoyuan () as a real complete metropolitan area.

Geography

Due to the geographical characteristics of the area, the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area roughly corresponds to areas located within the

Taipei Basin The Taipei Basin () is a geographic region in northern Taiwan. It is the largest basin in Taiwan. The basin is bounded by the Yangmingshan to the north, the Linkou Plateau to the west, and the Ridge of Xueshan Range to the southeast. The shape ...

. 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 Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Keelung City Keelung () or Jilong () (; Hokkien POJ: '), officially known as Keelung City, is a major port city situated in the northeastern part of Taiwan. The city is a part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, along with its neighbors, New Tai ...

, and

(surrounding the two previous cities). The geographical subdivisions are listed as follows:

GDP

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

Transportation

Rail

The Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area is served by routes of the

Taiwan Railway Administration Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) is a railway operator in Taiwan. It is an agency of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, responsible for managing, maintaining, and running conventional passenger and freight railway services ...

(

Western Trunk line Western Trunk line () is a railway line of the Taiwan Railways Administration in western Taiwan. It is by far the busiest line, having served over 171 million passengers in 2016. The total length of the line is 404.5 km. The line is an offi ...

Yilan line The Yilan Line () is the northern section of the Eastern Line of the Taiwan Railways Administration in Taiwan. It has a length of 95 km. History This railroad was completed in 1924 as the Giran-sen during Imperial Japanese rule over Taiwan. ...

, Pingxi line,

Shen'ao line The Shen'ao line () is a 4.6 km long, single-track railway branch line of the Taiwan Railways Administration. It runs through Ruifang in New Taipei and Zhongzheng in Keelung. History The railroad was originally built on 25 August 1967. T ...

) and

Taiwan High Speed Rail Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the high-speed railway of Taiwan consisting of one line that runs approximately along the west coast, from the capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaohsiung. With construction and operations managed by a pri ...

which connect the area with all parts of the island.

Mass Rapid Transit

For rapid transit,

and

New Taipei New Taipei City is a special municipality located in northern Taiwan. The city is home to an estimated population of 3,974,683 as of 2022, making it the most populous city of Taiwan, and also the second largest special municipality by area, b ...

are served by the

Taipei Metro Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), branded as Metro Taipei, is a rapid transit system serving the areas of Taipei and New Taipei in Taiwan, operated by the government-owned Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation, which also operates the Maokong Gondo ...

with daily trips of over 2 million passengers. And only Danhai light rail is operated by

New Taipei Metro New Taipei Metro () is a transit system serving New Taipei, Taiwan, operated by . The Danhai light rail is under operation, while the Ankeng light rail and the Sanying line under construction. There are many other lines in various stages of pl ...

. Also

Taoyuan Airport MRT Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT (Mass Rapid Transit), commonly known as the Airport MRT, is a rapid transit line of Taoyuan Metro that connects the municipalities of Taipei, New Taipei, and Taoyuan with Taoyuan International Airport ...

connects

, and

with

Taoyuan International Airport Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is an international airport serving Taipei and northern Taiwan. Located about west of Taipei in Dayuan District, Taoyuan, the airport is Taiwan's largest. It was also the busiest airport in Taiwan before ...

Air

The area is served by Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport for international flights while

Songshan Airport Taipei Songshan Airport is a regional airport and military airbase located in Songshan District, Taipei, Taiwan. The airport covers an area of . The civilian section of Songshan Airport has scheduled flights to domestic destinations in Taiwa ...

is primarily for domestic flights, international flights to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

and

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the Capital city, capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the North Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea ...

; and also cross-strait flights.

Bus

An extensive bus system serves the metropolitan area.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taipei-Keelung Metropolitan Area Metropolitan areas of Taiwan Geography of New Taipei Geography of Taipei Geography of Keelung