A mountainous island roughly the size of Vermont, Taiwan lies just 50 miles off the southeast coast of mainland China, but is politically worlds apart. Many Western visitors will arrive for business reasons, but the densely forested country outside of Taipei, with its sulphur springs and roving bands of monkeys, is well worth an excursion. Taipei could be charitably described as not the most pedestrian-friendly city in the world, but it's full of surprises – try a stroll down Snake Alley for starters. If you only have a day to spare, be sure to visit the National Palace Museum, which houses the world's finest collection of classical Chinese art. Many of its holdings were carried out of the Forbidden City during Chiang Kai-shek's flight from the mainland in 1949.