Taipei, officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of Taiwan (officially the Republic of China, ROC). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about 25 km (16 mi) southwest of the northern port city of Keelung. Most of the city rests on the Taipei Basin, an ancient lakebed. The basin is bounded by the relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers, which join to form the Tamsui River along the city’s western border.
The city proper is home to an estimated population of 2,646,204 (2019), forming the core part of the Taipei–Keelung metropolitan area, which includes the nearby cities of New Taipei and Keelung with a population of 7,047,559, the 40th most-populous urban area in the world—roughly one-third of Taiwanese citizens live in the metro district. The name “Taipei” can refer either to the whole metropolitan area or the city proper.[citation needed]
Taipei is the political, economic, educational and cultural center of Taiwan. It is also a part of a major high-tech industrial area. Railways, highways, airports and bus lines connect Taipei with the rest of the island. The city is served by two airports – Songshan and Taoyuan. Taipei is home to various architectural or cultural landmarks, such as Taipei 101, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Dalongdong Baoan Temple, Hsing Tian Kong, Lungshan Temple of Manka, National Palace Museum, Presidential Office Building, Taipei Guest House, Ximending and several night markets dispersed throughout the city. Natural features such as Maokong, Yangmingshan and hot springs are also well known to the citizens of Taiwan.
In English-language news reports, the name Taipei often serves as a synecdoche referring to central government of Taiwan, similar to Beijing when referring to the central government on the mainland. Due to the ambiguous political status of Taiwan internationally, the term Chinese Taipei is also frequently used as a synonym for the entire country, as when Taiwan’s governmental representatives participate in international organizations or Taiwan’s athletes participate in international sporting events such as the Olympic Games.
