What's on in Tainan, Taiwan through the year

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in Taiwan, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Still on: Black-faced spoonbills at Qigu (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), The dry half of the year (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Winter break (around Chinese New Year) in Taiwan, school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Yanshui Beehive Fireworks

  5 Feb – 10 Mar · usuallyMajor festivalRisk

  Racks of bottle rockets fired horizontally into the crowd at Yanshui on Lantern Festival night. Helmet, thick jacket and a towel round the neck are the standard kit, not a joke. Source ↗

Still on: Black-faced spoonbills at Qigu (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), The dry half of the year (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Yanshui Beehive Fireworks (5 Feb – 10 Mar (usually)), Black-faced spoonbills at Qigu (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), The dry half of the year (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: The dry half of the year (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Plum rain season

  1 May – 15 Jun · usuallyMonsoon

  The front that breaks the long southern dry spell, in heavy blocks rather than steady rain. It is also what fills the reservoirs this city argues about every spring.

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Mango season

  1 Jun – 15 Aug · usuallyHarvest

  Yujing up the valley is the mango capital of Taiwan and the shaved-ice shops in the old city run on it for ten weeks. Irwin first, then the yellow ones later in the summer.

Still on: Plum rain season (1 May – 15 Jun (usually))

Busy — Summer break in Taiwan, school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it

• Hazard

  Typhoon season

  1 Jul – 15 Oct · usuallyClosures

  Fewer direct hits than the east coast, but the flooding is the problem here rather than the wind. A declared typhoon day closes everything, including the temples. Source ↗

Still on: Mango season (1 Jun – 15 Aug (usually))

Busy — Summer break in Taiwan, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Mango season (1 Jun – 15 Aug (usually)), Typhoon season (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in September.

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Black-faced spoonbills at Qigu

  1 Oct – 31 Mar · usuallyBirdlife season

  The lagoons and old salt pans north of the city hold the largest share of the world's black-faced spoonbills every winter. They arrive in October and are gone by the end of March. Source ↗

• Season

  The dry half of the year

  15 Oct – 15 Apr · usuallyDry season

  Southern Taiwan barely rains for six months, and this is when the old capital is at its best for walking between temples. The catch is the air, which stagnates in the same months.

Still on: Typhoon season (1 Jul – 15 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Black-faced spoonbills at Qigu (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), The dry half of the year (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 5 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Black-faced spoonbills at Qigu (1 Oct – 31 Mar (usually)), The dry half of the year (15 Oct – 15 Apr (usually))