City history
From its origins as an indigenous Ketagalan trading post to a modern high-tech metropolis, Taipei evolved through shifting colonial time zones before settling on permanent standard time.
Chapter one
Indigenous name
"Canoe"
Derived from the Austronesian Ketagalan word for canoe, referencing the indigenous settlement where wooden dugouts docked along the Tamsui River in the Taipei Basin.
Canoe in Ketagalan
The original indigenous Ketagalan trading settlement along the Tamsui River, later transliterated into Taiwanese Hokkien as Bangka or Mangka.
North of Taiwan
Established during the late Qing Dynasty when the administrative prefecture of northern Taiwan was created and walled Taipei City was built.
North of Taiwan (Japanese reading)
The official Japanese pronunciation and administrative name for the city throughout fifty years of Japanese colonial rule.
North of Taiwan
Restored following World War II under Republic of China administration, becoming Taiwan's political, financial, and cultural capital.
Chapter two
Japan established Western Standard Time at UTC+8 for Taiwan based on the 120th meridian east, replacing local solar time in Taipei.
Japan unified Taiwan's clocks with Tokyo Central Standard Time (UTC+9) during wartime mobilization.
Following World War II, Taipei reverted to UTC+8 standard time, later known as National Standard Time or Taipei Time.
Taiwan initiated summer daylight saving time (+1 hour to UTC+9) to conserve electricity during post-war reconstruction.
Taiwan permanently abolished seasonal daylight saving time due to minimal energy savings and public opposition from agricultural communities.
Chapter three
Qing Dynasty officials completed the stone walls and five gates of Taipei, organizing daily civic routines around official bell and drum signals.
The completion of the Taipei-Keelung railway line established Taipei's first train station, introducing standardized railway timetables.
Taipei opened the Yuanshan Astronomical Observatory, creating a public center for celestial tracking and timekeeping that later expanded into the Taipei Astronomical Museum.
Taiwan's first metro line opened in Taipei, introducing synchronized automated digital clocks across transit stations.
The opening of Taipei 101 established the world-famous annual midnight countdown, illuminating the skyscraper with light and pyrotechnic time displays.