Happy April Fools' Day
During the Easter holiday, I went to Taiwan for a short trip of two or three days. I want to talk about a few impressions of Taiwan from the perspective of a mainlander and a student in Hong Kong. My stay was very short, far from enough to understand a region, so my views and observations may be biased. Please forgive that.
On the way there I flew Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong to Taipei; on the way back I took low-cost carrier HK Express from Taichung back to Hong Kong. A one-way trip was about one hour, very fast. Before takeoff on the return trip, I unexpectedly saw many helicopters and fighter jets.
After Googling, I found that Taichung Ching Chuan Kang Airport, where my return flight departed, was opened during the Japanese colonial period, expanded by the U.S. military during the Cold War, and later converted for both military and civilian use. It is still managed by the military today.
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Taiwan's public transportation is relatively backward compared with other Chinese-speaking countries or regions. This mainly shows in the following points:
1. Airport - Urban Area
When I landed in Taipei, it was midnight. I waited half an hour for the bus, spent one hour on the road, and arrived at the hotel at 3 a.m. From the airport to the city center, the roads were consistently rather old, worn, and narrow, which to some extent lengthened travel time. The development along the route from airport to city is not as good as Kuala Lumpur (International), Singapore (Changi), or Hong Kong (International), and of course not as good as mainland airports such as Beijing (Capital and Daxing) or Shanghai (Pudong and Hongqiao).
2. Transportation Within Cities
In the two large cities I visited, which can be understood as Taiwan's "first-tier cities," urban transportation includes the "MRT" (subway) and "bus," but most small and medium-sized cities do not have an MRT.
In cities with MRT systems, the areas covered by the MRT are still limited. For example, famous attractions such as the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the National Revolutionary Martyrs' Shrine both require transfers between MRT and bus, with buses taking up a relatively large share of time. This lags behind Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and mainland first-tier cities.
Taxi prices in Taipei are high. Whether Uber or a hailed taxi, the price is about twice that on the mainland. From Taoyuan Airport to the urban area costs more than RMB 300, while for a similar distance, about 40 km, Daxing Airport to Beijing's Fourth Ring Road costs just over RMB 100.
3. Intercity Transportation
Taiwan was once known for its round-the-island railway, but today it has long suffered from lack of maintenance. The Puyuma train I took was introduced from Japan in 2012; its stability is not as good as the Hexie train, much less the Fuxing train, and it is also not as good as Kuala Lumpur's intercity express. But the carriage was very clean. The 2x2 layout made the carriage more spacious, and Taiwanese passengers are of higher quality than mainland passengers; even the children were very quiet, and one could see the parents' sense of responsibility.
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Taiwan's payment methods are relatively close to those of Hong Kong, Singapore, and Kuala Lumpur, and rather different from the mainland.
My personal experience: Singapore > Hong Kong = Taiwan > Kuala Lumpur = Mainland China
Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan all have transport cards that can be bought immediately after getting off the plane, such as Singapore's ezlink, Hong Kong's Octopus, and Taiwan's EasyCard.
Among these, Hong Kong's Octopus and Taiwan's EasyCard can be used outside transportation settings, for example in convenience stores. Octopus can even be used in school cafeterias. Kuala Lumpur seems to have a similar card, but its scope of use is limited.
As for why Singapore ranks first: the first time I took the Singapore MRT, I tried tapping my Bank of China Visa card, and the gate actually opened...
Compared with recent years, when many foreigners have complained that it is difficult to spend money on the mainland, that they have money but cannot get it out, Singapore has basically achieved equal convenience for foreigners and citizens alike, which deserves recognition.
In the regions mentioned above, except for the mainland, cash is still a major means of consumption.
On the mainland, consumption is dominated by QR codes and the digital payments derived from them, such as facial recognition and NFC. In the past few years, some shops even illegally "refused to accept cash."
Online, many people believe the convenience of digital consumption is the mainland's advantage. But in reality, aside from NFC, which can barely rival a physical card in convenience, QR-code and face payments both require taking out a phone, opening a payment app, and a series of other preliminary operations. They carry a very high hidden time cost, and the overall experience is worse than a physical card. With NFC support, a physical card can be topped up on a phone at any time, which in practice makes it equivalent to a WeChat or Alipay payment code that is already open.
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Taiwan's cultural atmosphere is free and open. The buses I passed had all kinds of campaign advertisements, and shop signs were of every description.
On the MRT, the mental state of young people in Taipei felt more relaxed than in Hong Kong and mainland first-tier cities. The overall atmosphere was more like that of mainland second- and third-tier cities. In fact, Taipei's living pressure is not small: rent is close to mainland first-tier levels, while average income is not much higher than in mainland first-tier cities. It is just that, compared with the pressure facing mainland young people, the difference is still enormous.
Taiwan's famous attractions have many foreigners, similar to Hong Kong and Singapore. By contrast, mainland scenic areas are mainly driven by domestic visitors. Foreigners in Taiwan are mostly Japanese and Korean.
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Taiwan's natural scenery is not as good as its cultural and historical attractions. I had always viewed Sun Moon Lake through the filter of an elementary-school textbook, but in reality it is only an ordinary freshwater lake. By comparison, Guilin on the mainland is much more beautiful and magnificent.
Putting aside the childhood filter, Sun Moon Lake is still worth visiting. There are not many tourists, and its strength lies in its quietness. Taking a leisurely walk by the lake is a good choice.
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While waiting at the airport for my return flight, I looked back on this trip and felt there had not been too many new things. Before coming, I had thought that every slogan and every symbol would attract my attention and stimulate my nerves. After seeing them with my own eyes, it was only so-so; there was not much worth getting excited about.
Just then, I boarded the plane. My seat was 8A, a window seat on the left. Counting along the aisle one row at a time, when I reached row 8, I found a little girl sitting in the window seat. She looked about eleven or twelve, with long flowing hair and a black mask, her side profile turned toward the window. In seat 8C sat a middle-aged woman. I glanced at her and was fairly sure she was the girl's mother. Seat 8B in the middle was empty, and the mother was gazing affectionately at her daughter.
I later learned that they were a Taiwanese mother and daughter, preparing to travel to Hong Kong. At the time I went around through row 9, tapped the girl's seatback, and asked, "Hello, are you in 8A?"
The girl turned her head, her hair moving. Her large watery eyes stared at me, but she did not speak. The woman beside her said to her in a Taiwanese accent, "Hey, you took someone else's seat. Hurry and give it back."
The girl stood up, but still looked at me. I asked whether she wanted to sit by the window.
"Can I?" Her young voice was full of surprise and delight.
"Of course."
I asked the woman to sit in 8B to look after the girl, and mother and daughter thanked me repeatedly. After a brief exchange, they learned I was a tourist from the mainland. The plane took off, and the girl excitedly filmed the scenery outside the window with her phone.
April Fools' Day, April Fools' Day. A little Taiwanese girl, for adult me, in terms of knowledge, might count as a "fool," right? She does not understand politics, ideology, or partisan struggle. In her memory, there will only be an elder brother from the mainland who gave her his seat on the plane.
But do I truly understand the things that supposedly make me "not foolish"?
Girl, oh girl, happy April Fools' Day. This fool's eyes, uselessly, filled with tears.
My journey ended perfectly.