Taipei is the capital and largest city of Taiwan, in the north of the island. It sits in a basin — flat land ringed by mountains and the Tamsui river system — which is why the air can sit still and hot in summer, and why you can reach a mountain trail in half an hour from the city centre.

Taipei is the capital and largest city of Taiwan台北是台灣的首都、也是最大的城市， in the north of the island位在這座島的北部。 It sits in a basin它座落在一個盆地裡—— flat land ringed by mountains and the Tamsui river system被山脈和淡水河系統圍繞的平地—— which is why the air can sit still and hot in summer這就是為什麼夏天空氣會悶熱不流通的原因， and why you can reach a mountain trail in half an hour from the city centre也是為什麼你從市中心出發，半小時內就能到登山步道的原因。

Dictionaries written abroad still describe its main industries as textiles, clothing, machinery and shipbuilding; that description is decades out of date. Those factories moved out long ago, and today the city runs on electronics, finance, information technology, design and government, with heavy manufacturing sitting outside the city in places like Hsinchu.

Dictionaries written abroad still describe its main industries as textiles, clothing, machinery and shipbuilding國外編寫的字典還是把它的主要產業描述成紡織、成衣、機械和造船； that description is decades out of date這種描述已經過時好幾十年了。 Those factories moved out long ago那些工廠早就搬走了， and today the city runs on electronics, finance, information technology, design and government今天這座城市靠的是電子、金融、資訊科技、設計和政府機關， with heavy manufacturing sitting outside the city in places like Hsinchu而重工業則落在像新竹這樣的城市外圍。

Two things about the name are worth knowing. First, in English the city is spelled Taipei but said "tai-PAY" — the p sounds like an English b to most learners' ears, because the spelling comes from an old romanization system, not from English sounds.

Two things about the name are worth knowing關於這個名字，有兩件事值得知道。 First, in English the city is spelled Taipei but said "tai-PAY"第一，英文把這座城市拼成Taipei，但唸成"tai-PAY"—— the p sounds like an English b to most learners' ears對大多數學習者的耳朵來說，那個p聽起來像英文的b， because the spelling comes from an old romanization system, not from English sounds因為這個拼法來自一套舊的羅馬拼音系統，不是根據英文的發音。

Second, English uses "Taipei" for the city, but Taiwanese people distinguish 臺北市 (Taipei City) from 新北市 (New Taipei City) around it, and casual English does not always keep them apart. You will also meet "Chinese Taipei", which is the name Taiwan competes under at the Olympics — a political name, not a place.

Second, English uses "Taipei" for the city第二，英文用"Taipei"指這座城市， but Taiwanese people distinguish 臺北市 (Taipei City) from 新北市 (New Taipei City) around it但台灣人會區分臺北市（Taipei City）和周圍的新北市（New Taipei City）， and casual English does not always keep them apart而隨意的英文不一定會把這兩個分開。 You will also meet "Chinese Taipei"你也會遇到"Chinese Taipei"這個說法， which is the name Taiwan competes under at the Olympics這是台灣在奧運上使用的名稱—— a political name, not a place是一個政治名稱，不是一個地方。