Taishan City

Taishan (台山; Táishān in Mandarin, Hoi3san1 in Taishanese) is a city in Guangdong Province in China. The "First Home of the Overseas Chinese", Taishan is the ancestral homeland of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Chinese in North America.

Understand


Taishan County-level City falls under the administration of Jiangmen Prefecture. It is divided into 20 townships.

The mainland townships are Baisha, Beidou, Chixi, Chonglou, Diajiang, Doushan, Duanfen, Duhu, Guanghai, Haiyan, Nafu, Sanba, Sanhe, Shenjing, Shuibu, Sijiu, Taicheng and Wencun. The island townships are Shangchuan and Xiachuan.

Sanba was merged into Baisha and Nafu into Shenjing in 2006. Shangchuan and Xiachun on the Chuandao Islands are governed as a single entity. Taicheng, or Toising, is the administrative capital and the largest township by far with the most of the civilized amenities.

By train
is served by high-speed trains from Guangzhou and other cities in Guangdong, which connections from Hong Kong and many other cities.

From Macau, cross the border to Zhuhai and take the train from Zhuhai Station. You may have to transfer in Guangzhou or Xinhui.

From Guangzhou, take the metro to Guangzhou South Railway metro station. Then take one of the Guangzhou-Maoming or Guangzhou-Zhanjiang trains to Taishan Station, which is located some 7 km north of downtown Taishan (Taicheng). As of 2018, about a dozen trains a day in each direction stop at Taishan station, and the train ride from Guangzhou South to Taishan takes a bit under 1 hour; the second-class fare is ¥65. In terms of moving vehicle time, this is the fastest option as the trains hits 200-225 km/h. But after adding transfer wait time, total trip might be even longer. However, if you haven't ridden high speed rail before, it may be worth the experience although this is only medium speed compared to the 350 km/h lines sprouting up between the major cities of China.

If you are at Guangzhou South Station, and the last train for Taishan has already left, you can take a train to a closer station, Xinhui, which has more service than Taishan. (Besides the D trains, it also has the "intercity" C trains). After a 15 minute walk (or a 3 minute motorcycle taxi ride) from the Xinhui train station to the next door bus station, you can take a local bus to Taicheng (about 60 km by road).

By bus
From most major cities in Guangdong province, you can take direct buses to the main city of Taicheng.

From Hong Kong, you can take a cross-border bus direct to Taicheng. This trip costs roughly HK$250 and takes 3 hours. You will have to get off the bus to cross into Shenzhen and then get back on. Buses are available at the Airport and in Mongkok. Alternatively, first take the ferry to Zhuhai, then taxi to Gongbei bus station where you can book a 2-hour bus ride to Taicheng (with a stop in Duhu Town).

From Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, there is a direct bus from the airport, costing about &yen;100.

From Guangzhou, you can also book a direct bus from the bus stations outside Kengkou metro station and Tianhe Coach Terminal metro station. Both will cost about &yen;65. The Kengkou buses take 2 hours while the Tianhe buses take 3 hours as Tianhe buses make more stops.

Get around


To travel between the towns of Taishan, local buses go everywhere. The two main bus stations in Taicheng are Taishan Central "Juong Cheh Jaam" and "Top Saan" stations.

Within any of the towns in Taishan, expect to use taxis whether 4-wheel cars, motorcycles or 3-wheelers. In the smaller towns, motorcycle and 3-wheel taxis will be the only option.

Taishan towns are relatively small and flat so biking is a good way to get around. At &yen;200 to purchase a 1-speed commuter bicycle, it may be cheaper and easier to buy and sell it afterwards at a loss than to find a fancier rental.

Finally, you can hire a van taxi to drive you around both within the local cities and between them.

Talk
The local language of Taishan is Taishanese "Hoisanwah" (99% similar to the local languages of Kaiping and Enping), which is a Yue Chinese language like Cantonese and often considered a dialect of it even though it's truly not, and has low mutual intelligibility with it. However, Cantonese is the lingua franca of Guangdong province (outside of Shenzhen where Mandarin dominates) while Mandarin is the national official language, so most non-elderly locals would also be able to speak Cantonese and Mandarin at least decently.

As in most of China, English is, long story short, non-existent.

See


The word "shan" in Mandarin (saan in Cantonese) means mountain and Taishan is chock full of them. Almost any small village you visit with have a picturesque landscape towering above fields of rice. Most of the time, these mountains are not hikeable but during tomb sweeping month (see below in the Do section), trails will be cleared.



Do


Many areas around the world are famous for exporting foods and goods from the local area. Taishan is famous for exporting people. Everybody in Taishan has a relative who just emigrated to another "country" (whether developed in North America/Europe/Hong Kong/Singapore or developing ones in Latin America/Africa). Some are waiting their turns for their parents/off-spring/siblings to sponsor them and many more get money sent to them from overseas.

Hence Taishan's primary industry is leisure for not only vacationing overseas Taishanese but for the many locals who don't need to work. What you will find are scores of karaoke clubs, hair salons, foot massage parlors, facial treatment parlors, hotspring spas (outside Taicheng), internet bars.



Go to Miniso. It's a high-end Japanese discount store where you can find many small cute soft things. Their baskets will not be big enough for you to hold all the stuff you want so you will have to make a trip there everyday you are in the city.

Buy




Eat


The primary cuisine in Taishan is Cantonese with an emphasis on simpler fares. For example, you will not find much of the deep fried dim sum found in larger Guangdong cities. Likewise, instead of fried rice/noodles common in Chinatowns around the world, steaming in stainless steel cabinets is the cooking style of choice.

The most famous dish in Taishan is Stone Bowl Eel Rice "Wong Seen Fon". In Guangdong's major cities, a scattering of restaurants will have "Toisan Wong Seen Fon" as a specialty but Taishan is the place to go to experience the original, especially Shuibu Town. Rice is first cooked halfway before being mixed with precooked eel in a clay pot. The clay pot is then fired up to finish cooking the rice. Where the rice touches the clay pot, oil from the precooked eel drips down and makes a crispy layer called "fon jil". (Taishanese call this layer "nuong" which is also the word for burnt.)

Also popular amongst Taishan locals are restaurants that serve western, Cantonese and coffee and tea. In the local language, this is referred to as "Cha Chaan Teang" which roughly translates to Tea Cuisine. If you have a hankering for sandwiches, steaks, pizza or spaghetti, you can halfway satisfy your need. The Western foods are cooked in a style similar to "Hong Kong style fast food" you might find in Chinatowns around the world.

Finally, Taishanese love late night dining. After dinner at 6PM, it is common for locals to head out at about 9PM-10PM to fill their stomachs with everything from dim sum to street vendor fare to breakfast foods to desserts.

There are three main fruits that are grown locally:
 * Cavendish and latundan bananas available year round. Local "boon day" bananas sell for &yen;3/lb, Hainan's for &yen;5/lb and Thailand for &yen;7/lb.
 * Sugar cane available from January to March. During this period, street vendors with carts of sugar cane are everywhere.  For &yen;1.5-2/lb, they will peel and chop a 7 foot tall stalk of cane for you.  If your teeth are not up to chomping down on tough fiber, either choose the softer black variety or find a vendor who will squeeze a cup of juice for &yen;1/cup.
 * Durian is available from May to August. The variety grown is Taishan is somewhat less fragrant than those in other parts of Southeast Asia -- but for some people, even that's too much to take.

Connect
The following places have free Wi-fi for customers. Some will be password protected but don't be shy to ask for the password -- say "serng mong mut mah" and point to your smartphone/tablet/laptop.
 * Hotel Gaoye (entire building including the Western Buffet and Chinese restaurants)
 * Cu San
 * Hua Yuan Ka Fei
 * Tian Meng Yuan -- 2nd location at Fucheng Ave near Huanshi East Rd (1st location near Pedestrian St does not have Wi-fi)
 * Xin Da Di -- confirmed at Gaoye Shopping Center location
 * He Lan Ka Fei (Holland Coffee) -- near east end of Pedestrian St on 2nd fl above a clothing retailer
 * Chabel Snacks
 * Young Station Snacks
 * Vinroy Coffee at Caolang St and Jiankang Rd (near Tian Liang back entrance)

There are also numerous internet cafes "mong bahr". Near Pedestrian St, you will find one at:
 * Tian Liang Shopping Center (back entrance to the right of a bedding store)

Cope


Pharmacies are plentiful in Taicheng. Here are two listings:
 * Gaoye Shopping Center, outside level (to the right of Hotel Gaoye's entrance)
 * Tian Liang Shopping Center, outside level (to the left of KFC)

Stay healthy
When it gets warmer (over 80°F/25°C), mosquitoes come out in droves. Unlike more modern cities, there are plenty of streams, ponds and rice paddies for these blood sucking insects to breed. Many locals don't show much reaction to bites but if you have no such resistance, you may soon be sporting ugly welts. Pick up mosquito repellent "mun pah suoy" and avoid shorts even though it can get scorching hot during summer days.

And did we mention scorching hot? Temperatures over 90°F (32°C) are pretty common during the summer with an extra +10°F/+5°C for humidity. Apply sunscreen generously and carry an umbrella to keep the sun off your head. The umbrella also will be useful for the summer thunderstorms that roll through without warning.

Men in China smoke like fiends and Taishan is no different. (Females rarely smoke in mainland China.) If you can't handle the smell of second-hand smoke, stick with either outdoors restaurants or places with private rooms. Luckily, almost every medium/large restaurant will have private rooms. The key words to say are "law fong" which in this context means "get me a room".

Stay safe
In Taicheng's outer neighborhoods, streets with have either wide sidewalks or separate roadways for bikes/mopeds. But inside the shopping core around Pedestrian street, sidewalks will often be blocked by motorcycles/mopeds or vendor wares. Hence expect to be walking alongside car traffic while hugging parked cars. Obviously if you can find stop lights to cross at, walk the extra block instead of saving the few minutes. Where not available, you will need to follow locals in crossing to the middle of the street and then waiting for traffic on the other side to subside. Luckily, drivers in Taishan are not as psychotic as in other parts of China -- you don't see the absolute blatant disregard of traffic lights and laws common in Hainan. While most won't stop to let pedestrians cross, they at least won't purposely try to endanger you. No sudden moves, let cars work their way around you and keep alert.

Traffic is mostly light except for 4 commute periods. For a less chaotic walking experience, avoid these times:
 * 7.30AM-8AM -- people going to school/work
 * 11.30AM-noon -- people going home for lunch
 * 1.30PM-2PM -- people going back to school/work
 * 5.30PM-6PM -- people going home

Go next

 * A 15 minute bus ride north will bring you to the neighboring town of Kaiping "Hoi Ping" and its historic diaolous.
 * 45 minutes west are the numerous hot springs of Enping "Yun Ping".
 * Further west (40-50 min by train, or 2 hours by bus) is Yangjiang "Yerng Gong", the knife manufacturing capital of China.
 * 1 hour north on the way to Guangzhou is Heshan "Hawk saan" with its temples in the mountains overlooking the highway.
 * The closest major city (1M+ population) is Jiangmen "Gong Moon".