CHINA PROUD

HelloChina

Walk the mainland, starting with one train

Fourteen cities, six routes, and the practical notes that change if you are coming from Taiwan. Station names, the Taiwan compatriot permit, and what the region actually eats.

Build my route See the map

PROUD

From Taiwan, and from farther away

Same language family. Different road.

ChinaProud is the mainland field guide: where to sleep, which train to book, and which habits from Taiwan do not transfer. WeChat instead of LINE. 12306 instead of one stored-value card. Simplified characters on every sign.

Routes

Six routes you can follow

See routes

Places

Fourteen places worth stopping

See places

Before the first train

Three habits that do not come with you

The document is a 台胞证

Most travelers from Taiwan enter on a Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents, not on a passport visa stamp. Hotels, rail, and timed tickets expect that card. Endorsement rules have changed more than once — confirm the current requirement with the airline when you book, before you pick non-refundable trains.

WeChat, not LINE

WeChat is how people message, share a hotel pin, and often pay. Alipay is the other half of daily life. LINE groups will not help you reach a driver. Set both apps up on a network that can still load their registration screens.

Simplified characters, everywhere

Menus, stations, and street signs are simplified. If you read traditional Chinese you will manage, and you will still hesitate on a few high-frequency characters. Save hotel names and restaurant names in simplified before you are standing in the street.

Open field notes

This season

The numbers, said plainly

places worth a night

routes already strung

seasons, different menus

Pick a stop. Add it to your route.

The outline is mainland China. Each name sits on the city itself. Tap one to add it — the order stays on this device.

North

Beijing 北京

Courtyards, coal-scented lanes, and a palace that still sets the clock for the rest of the country.

This stop

Or start from a finished route

Six itineraries already have the long train days written in.

See six routes

Routes

All routes

10 days · 初巡回

The first circuit

Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai — the route that teaches the rail map, the document checks, and three completely different dinners.

6 days · 江南水程

Water towns

Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou on short hops. Gardens, a lake, and enough train rides to feel easy rather than epic.

9 days · 辣与云

Chili and cloud

Chengdu's teahouses, Chongqing's cliffs, then a short flight to Zhangjiajie's pillars. Three textures of the interior.