Taipei is a city.
Taipei ( [ ˌtaɪˈpeɪ ] ) , officially known as Taipei City , is the capital city and a special municipality of Taiwan . Sitting at the northern tip of the island , Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City . Most of the city is located on the Taipei Basin , an ancient lakebed bounded by the two relatively narrow valleys of the Keelung and Xindian rivers , which join to form the Tamsui River along the city 's western border . As the capital city , `` Taipei '' is sometimes used as a synecdoche for Taiwan .