Quanzhou: The Mainland City That's Basically Taiwan.
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Many Taiwanese people, including celebrities like Jay Chou, Nicky Wu, Jam Hsiao, and Jolin Tsai, trace their ancestry back to Quanzhou. So, it's more accurate to say Taiwan resembles Quanzhou, not the other way around. Also, if you travel to Southeast Asia, to places like Singapore or Penang, you'll find that the Minnan dialect (Hokkien) is widely spoken there too.
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I really like Quanzhou too, but the traffic is just chaotic with electric scooters zipping all over the streets.
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Once you immerse yourself and get used to it, you'll understand why it's like that.
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Actually, I feel Quanzhou is more like Tainan, while Xiamen is more similar to Taipei.
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The Minnan (Hokkien) accent in some parts of northern Taiwan sounds a lot like the one in Xiamen.
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Spot on! That's like saying the father resembles the son – it's completely backward. Who ever says the father is like the son?
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Hahahahahahaha (that slightly awkward feeling).
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But most of the things you mentioned—the delicious food, architecture, Western-style villas, cultural and creative products, etc.—are predominantly found within the old city area.
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Do you understand what 'most' means? I can communicate effortlessly in the Quanzhou dialect; it's basically the same as my hometown's dialect.
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As someone from Hefei who's lived in Quanzhou for over a decade, I have to say I still haven't grown to like the local culture, climate, food, or even the dialect.
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But isn't winter there much warmer than in Anhui? And summer isn't as hot as Anhui either. So why the dislike?
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Quanzhou is so boring...
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Fuzhou is even more boring.
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So, where would you recommend going, dear?
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Don't go to Xi Street; it's always incredibly crowded. It's just like those touristy snack streets you find all over the country. Locals rarely go to Xi Street; we prefer exploring the smaller alleyways.
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Let me save up a bit first.
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Quanzhou is essentially the ancestor of Taiwan. Think about it: how many years of history does Quanzhou have compared to Taiwan's relatively recent history?