Chinese occupation has been saturating Taiwan for many hundreds of years, including today's present time. It was the expansion of the Ch'ing Dynasty that brought bonsai appreciation into families residing in Wanhua and Taipei. Bonsai were viewed and enjoyed by the masses as they were often displays of art in Taiwan temples.
Taiwan produced and continues to produce some of the most spectacular bonsai trees and manufacturing of bonsai tools. The Chinese found a place where because of the climate, new and improved techniques could be tested. The climate zones varied and created some perfect environments for a variety of different specimens. Taiwan has high humidity, but also mountainous ranges. They have rich soil and plenty of wind. In some areas there are spans of sub-tropical and tropical climates. Moreover, they have hundreds of acres of wild trees to discover. These advantages enabled less cultivating and spawned the hunt for wild bonsai trees. The beneficial weather and soil made way to rapid growth and cut healing. The expense of having to shelter bonsai during winter was eliminated in Taiwan. However, because of such tropical conditions, more disease and insects were problematic, thus the daily maintenance of bonsai was born.
Large trunk cutting took place in Taiwan because of the real wild trees that were used. Using trunk splitters came in handy with the Taiwanese. Similar to the Lingnan School of southern China, the trunk cutting and branch growing method was popular. Many large bonsai with heavy branches and leaf density come from Taiwan.
