Field notes
Before the first train.
Practical notes for Mainland China, written so a reader who knows Taiwan can see exactly what changes. Rules move. Check them again before you fly.
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.
12306, not Taiwan Railways
High-speed trains are 复兴号 and the ticket system is 12306. Trip.com is the easier English door to many of the same seats. Stations are named by direction and function: 北京南, 上海虹桥, 广州南. The city name alone is not the address.
No single EasyCard
Transit is a QR code inside Alipay or WeChat, or a local metro card, city by city. There is no island-wide stored-value card that opens every gate. Enable the transit QR before you need it, ideally on hotel wifi.
Night markets are not the default dinner
You can eat late — barbecue, malls, hotpot — but the Taiwan habit of a night-market crawl as the evening plan does not map cleanly. In most of these cities the memorable meal is a regional restaurant or a serious breakfast.