Taiwan is an island located in East Asia off the coast of China. It is bound to the east by the Pacific Ocean. The island is approximately 245 miles long and 90 miles wide. When the Portuguese explorers first saw the island, they were impressed by its beauty. Therefore, they named the island formosa. Oolong tea is mostly produced in Taiwan, Southeast China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Among them, Taiwan is the most important oolong production area. Taiwan Oolong tea has been popular worldwide for over 150 years.

It is also known as Formosa oolong. The finest quality and grade of oolongs are mostly high mountain oolong which means the tea that grows from 1000 meters above sea level to approximately 2600 meters. As a matter of fact, growing tea on high mountain areas costs much more than planting on low altitudes. It is one of the reasons why prices of high mountain teas are proportional to its plantation altitude.

There are certain advantages for high mountain plantations such as great amount of sun light, sufficient amount of rain, extreme temperature difference between day and night and heavily fertilized soils perfect to grow tea. Also, the high potential of foggy afternoons hinders and makes the production of first grade high altitude tea difficult.

During regular days, it does not take extra efforts for farmers to take care of plantations. However, things are a lot tougher during the harvest seasons. Farmers often need to hire pickers which are paid by case by case basis with transportation included. Higher wages are paid as the higher the altitude of plantations. Normally, experienced pickers can collect around 3 to 5 Taiwanese kg of raw tea leaves per hour by hands. Tea picking begin really early in the morning. It is the best time for the pickers since raw leaves weigh more due to morning dew.

First grade high altitude tea is not abundant because planting skills, processing skills, weather, location of plantation and seasons all affect the taste of tea. In the high mountain areas, the afternoon weather usually becomes foggy. This allows for the withering of raw leaves, which is one of tea processing steps, to be more difficult and causes the leaves to be less fragrant.

The goal of growing tea in high altitude mountain locations is to produce richer and smoother quality teas. Even with the high labor costs and limited amount of quantities which seem unavoidable, the teas produced and picked from the high altitude locations is worth the added expense for the enjoyment and relaxation of the everyday drinker.

A construction group in Taiwan has recently launched several upscale construction projects. These properties for sale in Taiwan will be some of the most innovative and luxurious available in the country, and a market with lower real estate prices than in neighbouring countries like South Korea and Japan should mean that there is healthy demand for the projects.

Farglory’s property for sale in Taiwan consists of homes in the Yale community in Sanxia, a suburb of Taipei. This development is noteworthy for its artistic landscape and community garden. The DHF Digital Fiber Home in Linkou is touted as a vanguard technological community in Taiwan. The Asia Trend is another development; situated in the Xinyi district and offering the amenities of a five-star hotel to ordinary residents. The SKY mansion in Neihu is another, and is located in the fastest growing area in Taipei.

Planning is the key difference between these developments and many other properties for lease in Taiwan. Lack of community and residential planning has made much of the city a ‘hodge-podge’ of public spaces and buildings, commerce and residential areas mixing. The chairman of the company responsible, Chao Teng-hsiung, believes that the only way forward is to start from scratch. The company is putting its money where its mouth is, with more construction projects to come in Linkou and Sanxia in suburban Taipei. Thousands of families will benefit from the planning and perfection that go into these developments.

Taiwan has been keen to promote property development opportunities in Asia, with a new president that is looking to promote closer economic ties with China, cashing in on the economic growth on the mainland. Other property developments in Taiwan that are receiving attention include a commercial leisure complex in the city of Taichung, and a yachting-theme park complex near a bay in the southern city of Pingtung. These developments, along with the new sites, are expected to not only improve the standard of living for Taiwanese, but to boost tourism to the country and help a flagging economy.

Taiwan has some exciting new developments on the horizon, including some innovative solutions by a pioneer group that should make a first step towards resolving planning issues in the country. The new president is receptive to these developments, however, all companies with property for sale in Taiwan should be aware of the delicate balance of demand and pricing, currently on such a knife-edge in this country.