Source: China Daily
Recently, more than a dozen Taiwan compatriots living on the mainland were invited to participate in the 2021 joint interview activity of "Meeting the Beautiful Jiangsu • Star-Seeking Purple And Golden Peak" to understand the local culture and enhance cross-strait friendship. At the first stop of the trip, in Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, several Taiwan compatriots were interviewed by China Daily. They expressed the hope that mutual understanding between the people on both sides of the strait will be enhanced and the distance between the two sides will be brought closer.
Wei Huini, 30, is a singer-songwriter and actor from Taipei. She had a brief stay in Nanjing for work, but this was the time she really started to make contact with the city.
For nanjing's attractions, Wei Huini was most impressed by the "Presidential Palace" and the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. Since she was a child, she has seen pictures of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in school classrooms, and the Three People's Principles are also compulsory. Since then, she has been looking forward to the opportunity to visit Nanjing. This time, she took NT$100 with the head of Dr. Sun Yat-sen and climbed 392 steps at the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum.
On her first night in Nanjing, Wei Huini rode a bicycle along a boulevard lined with plane trees. This reminded her of the scene when she was riding in Taipei, and she immediately felt closer to Nanjing.
Wei Huini developed in the mainland in 2016, and for a while she could not adapt to the new environment. Although both sides of the strait speak Mandarin, there are differences in living habits and ways of thinking. Fortunately, she met many kind people and gradually became herself in a new environment. Looking back, she was glad she had made the decision to go to Beijing.
In recent years, she has spent a lot of time with friends on the mainland and opened her heart to communicate with them. Last year, she visited Sichuan Province and northeast China for hosting television locations. In two months, she met more than 400 people, stepped into their lives, and felt multicultural. She found herself in love with life here.
As a public figure, Wei Huini hopes that he can exert greater influence and narrow the distance between the people on both sides of the strait through his own efforts. She loves her hometown and the mainland, and believes that love can bring the two sides of the strait closer together.
Chen Yujun, 23, is from Taoyuan and is currently studying for a graduate student in the literature department at the Beijing Film Academy. Since elementary school, she has been with her parents to visit relatives in Xiamen, Fujian Province, every year.
This was Chen Yujun's first visit to Nanjing. She knew that Nanjing had a long history and was worried that due to her lack of knowledge reserves, the trip would become a sloppy one.
Her first impression of Nanjing was that it was particularly hot at noon. But when she walked out of the hotel at five o'clock in the afternoon, she felt the comfort of the city. The humid air, warm sunshine and the shade of the plane trees on the side of the road made her feel very comfortable here. She went out to take many photos, one of which was of a grandfather reading a book in a recliner. At that moment, she felt like she had fallen in love with the city.
Chen Yujun likes the leisurely life and retro atmosphere of Taiwan, and also likes the vibrant life of the mainland. In her opinion, the mainland offers more job opportunities, where you can meet like-minded people, and life is very colorful.
Next, she will continue her journey in Nanjing and more cities to enrich her life.
Wang Zijing, from New Taipei, has been working in the mainland since 2018 and is currently working for a company in Xiamen, Fujian Province.
On this trip to Nanjing, she was most impressed by the night tour of the Qinhuai River, with brilliant lights, small bridges flowing water, and painting boats running through it, which was beautiful. There are historical allusions on both sides of the Qinhuai River, accompanied by classic poems by ancient literati, which give people a feeling of crossing time and space.
When it comes to Nanjing's cuisine, Wang Zijing said that she likes duck blood vermicelli soup the most. She said that duck blood vermicelli soup lives up to the reputation of "Jinling Duck Cuisine World".
She often talks to relatives and friends in Taiwan about her work and life on the mainland. Since living in Xiamen, she has not felt strange. On the one hand, the local language and customs are similar to those of Taiwan. On the other hand, her company is also very concerned about employees from Taiwan.
In Wang Zijing's view, it is easy to make friends on the mainland, and young people have many common hobbies and it is easy to have a common language. She wants to continue to work on the mainland and find new breakthroughs in a stable life.
Wang Chenyi is from Taoyuan and currently lives in Dongguan City, Guangdong Province. This time in Nanjing, she was pleased to see the endless stream of tourists at major attractions, especially in the Confucius Temple. She hadn't seen this in a long time since the COVID-19 outbreak.
At well-known tourist attractions, she saw rows of food and craft stalls, some of which were lined up in front of them. On the recommendation of the locals, Wang Chenyi went to taste the crab yellow soup bun. In her opinion, this snack is worthy of the name and fully meets expectations. She made a special video to record her first taste of Nanjing's delicious snacks.
Wang Chenyi took a walk in a nearby alley after eating enough. She sincerely lamented that the mainland has controlled the epidemic very well, so that people can travel around, enjoy food, and everyone can communicate and do business face-to-face.
She was vaccinated against COVID-19 in April and persuaded more than 50 Taiwanese compatriots around her to be vaccinated. At the moment, everything seems to be going well and she feels more secure. She called for vaccinations to better protect themselves and others.
Looking forward to the future, Wang Chenyi hopes to do a good job in cultural dissemination through his own efforts, so that Taiwan compatriots can better understand the mainland and build bridges for cross-strait peace.
Chen Haoqun is from New Taipei Tamsui and has been living on the mainland for ten years, but this is his first time in Nanjing.
When he thinks of the city of Nanjing, he thinks of the Nanjing Massacre. He said that this is a historical pain for us, and all Chinese are bitter and indignant about it. When he came to Nanjing this time, he visited the Memorial Hall of the Compatriots Killed in the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese Army Invading China. The rich historical materials and the detailed description of the tour guide gave him a profound history lesson. In his view, this is a history that we can never forget, and it should be used as a warning against atrocities and wars.
Director Zhang Jianjun told Chen Haoqun and other visitors that this is not only the memory of Nanjing, but also the memory of the entire Chinese nation and the whole world. We should firmly remember history and cherish the hard-won peace.
In the past ten years of living in the mainland, Chen Haoqun has often recorded his life in the form of words and videos on social media, so that more Taiwan compatriots can understand the mainland.
In the next three years, Chen Haoqun plans to shoot more videos of Taiwan compatriots living on the mainland and contribute to enhancing mutual understanding between the people on both sides of the strait. He also hopes to contribute to the Project of Hope Primary School in remote mountainous areas so that more children can receive better education.