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ContemporaryDog
Joined: 21 May 2003
Posts: 1477
Location: Wuhan, China
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 Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 1:40 am Post subject: Getting from Taiwan to PRC |
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A friend of mine has just come to Wuhan visiting/for a friend's wedding. He's got this unbelievably complicated tale of woe involving flying to Hong Kong, getting a ferry to Shenzhen, getting a 150 rmb taxi to Shenzhen train station, and then an overnight train to Wuhan. At first, he was told there was no tickets. He searched Shenzhen for a decent hotel before going back to the booth where he managed to get the last ticket! On the train it was standing only (and the train was packed) but then his luck changed and he upgraded to a sleeper. The remaining hours went fine.
This does seem unbelievably complicated (especially when you take communication problems into account). Is it really true that it is impossible to fly from Taiwan to anywhere in the PRC? My wife reckons it should be possible to fly directly from Taiwan to Wuhan.
Does anyone know any easier way to do this? |
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phil82
Joined: 25 Apr 2003
Posts: 37
Location: Taoyuan
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| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 4:16 am Post subject: |
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Yes, it's true. Unbelievably you can't fly to China (with the exception of Hong Kong) direct from Taiwan. There is talk of New Year flights that have made some progress and may even be happening.
But generally you have to from Taipei to Hong Kong then into Mainland China, which, as anyone who has done this will know, is a pain in the arse.  |
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junkmail
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 377
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| Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 8:14 am Post subject: |
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Found this:
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Taiwan and China reached a landmark deal on Saturday to allow non-stop charter flights over the Chinese New Year holiday, a move which could ease tensions between the bitter political rivals.
The one-off deal will allow the first direct flights since 1949 and could mark a step towards ending a decades-old ban on direct air links.
"In a very short time, in a cordial atmosphere, we have come to an agreement," Pu Zhaozhou, executive director of China's Civil Aviation Association, told a joint news conference after talks in Macau.
However, while the flights will be non-stop, they will still have to go through Hong Kong or Macau airspace.
Forty-eight flights will be allowed under the agreement, beginning on January 29 and ending on February 20, Pu said. He did not specify whether the first would take off from China or Taiwan.
Taiwan has banned direct air and shipping links with the mainland since the Nationalists lost the Chinese civil war to the communists in 1949 and fled to the island.
Travellers between Taiwan and the mainland must now fly via a third destination, usually Hong Kong or Macau on China's southern coast, adding four hours to what should be a one hour flight.
China considers Taiwan a renegade province and has threatened to invade the self-governing, democratic island of 23 million people if it formally declares statehood. Taiwan officials responded positively to the agreement and expressed hope that the flights could mark the beginning of greater interaction after years of stalled talks.
"We hope that the smooth negotiations on New Year charter flights will pave the way for further cross-strait talks, and be a turning point for positive interaction," Joseph Wu, chairman of the Mainland Affairs Council told reporters in Taipei.
Wu, whose council charts the government's China policy, said the successful outcome of the discussions guided by the government and assisted by the private sector, had formed a basis for mutual trust between the two sides.
Despite often highly charged political tensions, trade and investment across the narrow Taiwan Strait has boomed since the late 1980s, with about one million Taiwanese now living and working in China.
Taiwan business people, who have poured up to USD$100 billion into China, have long requested direct flights. Millions of Chinese return home for family reunions at the start of the Lunar New Year, which falls on February 9 this year.
During the 2003 Lunar New Year holidays, charter flights between Shanghai and Taipei were commissioned to Taiwan airlines only and they had to fly empty to Shanghai to pick up passengers.
At the time, Taipei did not allow planes to fly directly between Taiwan and China, requiring them to make stops at an intermediate destination.
China refused to allow similar flights last year, fearing it could help win re-election for Taiwan's pro-independence president, Chen Shui-bian.
The new agreement will allow flights from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou on the mainland and Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan, with each side allowed to select six airlines for the routes.
Taiwan airlines could include China Airlines, EVA Air, Trans Asia Airways, Far East Air Transport, Mandarin Airlines and UNI Airways.
From the mainland, airline executives have listed Air China, China Southern Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and China Eastern Airlines as possible candidates. |
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Mysterious Mark
Joined: 15 Dec 2004
Posts: 121
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| Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Is there a ferry service between Taiwan and the mainland? |
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Girl Scout
Joined: 13 Jan 2005
Posts: 525
Location: Inbetween worlds
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| Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 2:56 am Post subject: |
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No, there is no ferry service to Taiwan.
And, it is not a pain in the "arse" to fly to HK. It's a simple stop-over in one of the most modern and well laid out airports in the world. Changing planes or airlines is easy and stream-lined. Taking a long lay-over, if you desire, is relaxing and not boring. |
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Aristotle
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Posts: 1388
Location: Taiwan
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| Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 6:10 am Post subject: |
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Is it really true that it is impossible to fly from Taiwan to anywhere in the PRC? My wife reckons it should be possible to fly directly from Taiwan to Wuhan.
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"You" can not travel directly from China to Taiwan. The only people allowed to do so are Taiwanese business people with the right connections.
Direct links are a pipe dream that the pro China group on Taiwan uses to try encourage re-unification. Should direct links be established, the economic benefit to the local population on Taiwan would be tremendous.
Unfortunately it looks like the two sides prefer an arms race as opposed to diplomacy. It will be 5 to 10 years before direct links are even discussed seriously.
Good luck and don't fall asleep on the train.
A. |
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junkmail
Joined: 19 Dec 2004
Posts: 377
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| Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2005 6:34 pm Post subject: |
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You might be right Aristotle, this isn't unprecedented. Some flights were allowed last year and a ferry or two a few years back. So far it's all come to nothing.
But those charter flights basically represent potentially lucrative routes for airlines, particularly Taiwanese and mainland Chinese ones. So far they've had to watch Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines make all that cash.
I don't know if these charter flights are a feasibility study or a publicity stunt.
Where there's money there's often a way.
It'll be interesting to see it plays out. |
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