Through the Straits: “Post-00s” Taiwanese Youth Cai Bingyan – the Mainland is My Second Home

“The mainland is like my second home.” Cai Bingyan, who was born in Taipei, Taiwan in 2004, studies at the College of Communication, Central China Normal University. When Cai Bingyan was 4 years old, his father was transferred to work in Shanghai, so he followed his family to live there. He returns to Taiwan every Spring Festival. In his view, whether he stays on the mainland or returns to Taiwan in the future, he will be happy because both places are his home.

When Cai Bingyan took his ID photo in Wuhan in 2024, he felt a sense of stability and happiness about living on the mainland after living there for many years. He believes that the mainland has developed rapidly in technology, which is different from the stereotype many people in Taiwan have. “Wuhan’s skytrain and driverless taxis, including Shenzhen’s drone delivery, are all very modern. I am deeply impressed,” Cai Bingyan said. “The latest news reports that the high-speed train can reach a maximum speed of 450 kilometers per hour shows how fast technology is developing.”

Cai Bingyan said that Taiwan still mainly uses cash payment, and although there is mobile payment, it has not yet been widely used. “The mainland has started using mobile payment methods such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, and now people can just take their phones when they go out,” he said.

Speaking about his experience living on the mainland, Cai Bingyan said he felt particularly stable and happy. “I think the public security is good. For example, women can go out at three or four in the morning without worrying,” he said. “Another thing that breaks the stereotype is that people in the mainland do not discriminate against Taiwan people as some people might imagine.” Cai Bingyan said that his teachers and friends in the mainland are friendly and curious about life in Taiwan and want to learn about its customs and traditions.

Cai Bingyan’s parents are both Taiwanese, and his family lives on the mainland. They see their family relatively few times each year during Spring Festival reunions. He said that there are many traditional customs that are retained during the Spring Festival in Taiwan. “Before the New Year’s eve, we will clean up because it is not allowed to sweep the floor after the Spring Festival. Then we will post couplets and worship gods. On Spring Festival Day, we will buy lottery tickets and offer sacrifices to ancestors and light lanterns to pray for safety, smooth progress, and good health,” he said.

“Of course, what I miss most is Taiwanese cuisine,” Cai Bingyan said when talking about food culture. He said that Taiwan is famous for its variety of snacks rather than specific dishes like the various cuisines in mainland China such as local delicacies and Sichuan cuisine. “Taiwan is a snack paradise,” Cai Bingyan said. “Basically everywhere there will be three to four night markets with oyster omelets, beef soup, and desserts that are particularly delicious.”

Cai Bingyan has traveled to many cities on the mainland, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Sichuan and other places. He also participated in an off-campus project at his school – a photography practice project in Northwest China where he had an opportunity to travel and learn about different cultures and landscapes. His biggest impression was how vast China is. He was particularly impressed by the七彩丹霞 (Colorful Canyons) in Northwest China. “The七彩丹霞is a natural phenomenon created by nature that no human efforts can achieve,” Cai Bingyan said with admiration.

Cai Bingyan feels that people on the mainland are friendly and inclusive. “Taiwan is warm all year round like spring so there is no snowfall here,” he said. When he returned from winter vacation in 2023 after seeing snowfall in Wuhan for the first time since moving to the mainland, he was particularly excited about it as if he had seen snow for the first time as a southerner.” For Cai Bingyan, adapting to life on the mainland has been easy for him as he has made many friends there and has found happiness through relationships and experiences like traveling on his own terms between Taiwan and China or through other experiences like dating someone from the mainland.” As for whether he will stay on the mainland or return to Taiwan in the future, Cai Bingyan said he has not decided yet as both places are his home and he is willing to develop wherever he chooses.”

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