Five of us will be going to visit Taisan, what is the best way to get there? I was thinking take the bus to toto Taisan and from there hire a taxi for a few hours to visit the old village. Can the Taxi in China seat 5 plus the driver?  How about a van driver?  Any brother have any experience going there. Is a day trip from Hong Kong possible? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[ Last edited by  kaka at 10-9-2011 08:20 ]

Weelock is 141's expert on Kaiping/Taishan.

Search his posts and you'll find a lot of info on this - e.g.
Report on Sauna in Kaiping , Guangdong [ with many pictures ]
http://forum.sex141.com/eforum/v ... 1796&highlight=

GARDEN HOTEL SAUNA / Kaiping
http://forum.sex141.com/eforum/v ... 0908&highlight=

Lots of travel to info on these 2 threads.

Alternatively, why don't you PM him; he's a helpful sort.

SEAJ

[ Last edited by  SEAJ at 4-9-2011 20:54 ]

Thanks Seaj, nice info about Taishan and Kaiping by brother weelock, he seems to be an expert in that area. I should've done some search before I post, I did not think Taishan is a mongering town, so I did not bother to do a search. I'll PM him. Thanks again!

there are a number of ways to get to Taishan.

1) by ship - from HK from the HK ferry terminal to Gong Yi, takes about 3 hours

2) by bus - if you get out the airport, there are many mainland coaches that go to various parts of Guangdong province.  They'll all be fighting for your business. Go Go Bus and Eternal East has buses that go to Taishan.

Also, there is a Trans-Link bus that goes from the Metro Park hotel in Prince Edward (and also other points in New Territories) to Taishan - takes 4.5 hours.  http://www.trans-island.com.hk/eng/china-line.html#taishan

Driving - from SZ to Taishan used to take a hell of a long time, mainly because you had to go all the way up to Guangzhou and come back down.  Now with the Humen Toll Road, that cuts the time in half, to probably around say 2 hours or so (never have tried the new toll road).

Day trip - not possible unless you are driving.

Thanks JeSun, how about rental a car with driver from Shanzhen to Taishan. Do you know any car rental companies in Shanzhen or from Hongkong that can go to Taishan?

A cross border rental car is going to cost you an arm and a leg - something like HK$3,000 ++ for the day as one that just takes you to SZ one way is already +- HK$1,200.
You could take the bus/train to SZ and bargain with a private car driver hanging around - and try to make sure that its not criminal element you're dealing with (don't ask me how!!) PLUS make sure that he agrees to drive you himself up and down instead of "selling" you to another driver at the SZ outer border - a common practice of these drivers as there are a lot of these drivers hanging around at the SZ borders waiting for passengers from where they came from originally, taking a passenger down to SZ.

Huanggang would be closer to the highway to Taishan i/o Luohu - but I'd still advise you against going by private cars as above for their driving leaves a lot to be desired/I personally do not like taking a chance with these PRC drivers on longer journeys.

Why not just go on the Ferry or the bus all the way from Hong Kong.  Easier, more comfortable, cheaper and probably a lot safer.

Just IMHO

SEAJ

[ Last edited by  SEAJ at 6-9-2011 13:31 ]

Large tour bus is best. I don't think mini vans go to Taishan.  See directions by JeSun.  The airport also has buses that go directly to Taishan.

I was thinking take the bus to to Taishan and from there hire a taxi for a few hours to visit the old village ?

Great and possible.

Can the Taxi in China seat 5 plus the driver?

NO, the driver will get into trouble if they do. Max is 4. One in the front and three behind. If you are hiring a taxi for the day, ask a few drivers for their rates.

How about a van driver?  

Yes, private van driver recommended ONLY from hotels are fine or reliable source.  I don't recommend hiring private vans that hang around in bus stations.  I could ask around for you about the van...

Any brother have any experience going there ?

Yes....I have been Taishan several time.  There are a few BBS, KTV, and saunas in Taishan.  I can't give you any names of places since my Chinese is really bad.  I do have a business card of a KTV I went to years ago, but I have to find it.  The prices are far cheaper than Shenzhen or Hong Kong.  Taishan and Kaiping are about 25 minutes apart.  It will cost about 70 rmb by taxi one way.


Is a day trip from Hong Kong possible?

Yes a day trip is possible if you leave very, very early in the morning. It will take you able 5-6 hours from HK International airport to get to Taishan.  It's about 1 hours from HKA to the border. Then 30 mins to cross the border.  Then 4 hours on bus.  I have map of where is Taishan in one of my threads. Then only 4-5 hours to look around and you have to find out when is the last bus for SZ or HK, there is not enough time.  IMHO, I would stay over night for 1 to 2 days.  A one day trip is too much of a rush.  Hotels are cheap in Taishan....Be prepared in some hotels, you will get a phone call, or a knock on the door late at night.  

One time I took the bus from Taishan to CP.  It dropped me off at the other bus station in CP. I didn't even know that there was another CP bus station. I was totally lost. I said it wasn't CP to the driver but he said it was the last stop and it was CP. Then I saw some yellow buses which I recognized that were from CP. Took a bus to my hotel that was about 15 minutes away.

Warnings:


If you have cousins and you are single male, be prepared to get setup.  

If you have relatives, it's a small town and you might see other people that you know oin the streets. So becareful going into BBS. saunas and KTV.

Send me a PM if you want more info on monger.

Edit: A few typos and added "So be careful going into BBS, saunas and KTV".

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 7-9-2011 12:45 ]

>> If you have cousins and you are single male, be prepared to get setup.   

Hah!  funny you mentioned that.  I went one time (circa 16 years ago) at the insistence of my mom to "meet" a cousin.  Yep, a setup.  Damn good looking too, but about 10 years apart in age.  Looked very similar to HK actress Anita Yuen (袁詠儀) back when she was popular 15 years ago.  Even took her to Guangzhou once, where one time I got into some difficulty getting upstairs at a hotel (Holiday Inn) when she was with me because the security thought she was a hooker.  Anyhow, I didn't go any further with her because she literally was my 2nd cousin (mother's niece's daughter).

Weelock, great advice! I was wondering about the private taxi service as I have not heard any good thing about them. We probably will take the bus to Taishan and hire a taxi to the old village, it should not take too long from there. We are not going there for mongering as we have mixed companies, thanks for the offer anyway.

"Hotels are cheap in Taishan....Be prepared in some hotels, you will get a phone call, or a knock on the door late at night. "

I was wondering, it's a bit strange getting a phone call or knock on the door at night. Is that from some WG or the hotel staffs?

[ Last edited by  moming at 7-9-2011 12:57 ]

>> I was wondering, it's a bit strange getting a phone call or knock on the door at night. Is that from some WG or the hotel staffs?

doesn't sound like you've stayed at many China hotels in your life.  Yes, calls in the middle of the night are quite common.  "Would you like a warm blanket?" is a pretty common question.  Yes, it's WGs calling.

Yes, JeSun is corrected, GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS......

JeSun is also corrected about unknowingly getting setup with a girl by your cousins.  

Usually it's someone working inside the hotel.  If they see anyone coming into the hotel, alone, a male, and especially a foreigner, he is a prime target.   He / she will notify someone who has girls. He / she will give the person your room number.     You will get a call, or a girl will knock on your door. It all depends on the hotel and security guards.  It was very, very common before. It's less common now, and less common if you are staying at 5 stars hotels. It is because management at 5 star hotels doesn't like it. ( higher standards ).  Someone once wrote management wants you to try y their in house KTV, saunas for girls which is somewhat true.  They don't want competition.  

You need to edit the your thread's title and change the name of the city from Taisan to Taishan. Ask the mod if time ran out for any modification to your post.

[ Last edited by  Weelock at 7-9-2011 16:04 ]

It seems I can't edit my original post, time ran out. Can one of the mods do it? If you are really from Taishan, it should be Toyshan, I think Taishan is a mandarin spelling.

Is it true that most of the original settlers in the Big North American China-towns come from this particular part of GD province?

In fact, a friend of mines' Bo-bo is a 70+ Y.O. Toishan Grand Dame who's lived in Vancouver China town for over 50 years and who does NOT speak a word of English, nor have been anywhere outside of her immediate surroundings all that time. She never even became a Canadian citizen!

She was married off in China at 17 YO, shipped over to Vancouver by her husband, gave birth to and raised a whole family and is content to just live out her life in her own little world; don't know whether I'm in awe of her, pity her or ???

SEAJ

the history of many of the Chinatowns throughout the world has traditionally been that the Chinese originally came from the greater Pearl Delta region centered around the county of Taishan (Toi-saan in Cantonese and Hoi-san in the native Toishan-ese dialect).  

In the U.S., many left China during the Gold Rush area and throughout the 19th century.

The notion of many Toishanese older folks living in Chinatowns and not speaking any English even though they've been here for 50+ years is quite common.  Though nowadays, many Chinatowns are transforming into newer immigrants - for example, the traditional Los Angeles Chinatown is primarily Vietnamese, and New York's Chinatown has a majority Fujianese populatio.

Interesting and timely subject for me. I've been wanting to go to Taishan for quite some time. After reading these posts may give me the courage to venture there.

My family came from there but according to my dad the ancestral house was torn down long ago. I may go there just to tell my dad that I've visited the place where my family came from.  A little fun along the way wouldn't hurt either.

I am heading to HK in about a week. Hopefully I can find time to get this accomplished.

There are Chinese all over the world, the ones in North and South American are mainly from Taishan in the early century. My grandfather who migrated to NYC and worked there until he retired and he came back to Taishan. The Chinese who live in Chinatowns are the ones who most likely newer immigrants, but the second generations who have better jobs are more spread out into the suburbs. I know Chinese who were born in many different countries, many from USA, Australia,  England, and Canada. Also so less known places like Cuba, Peru, Brazil and even Porto Rico and suriname. Here is a good read about overseas Chinese:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Chinese

Hey rwjs60, I'll be going there soon, may be I'll run into you! How are you getting there? many of the villages are hard to find if you don't have the exact directions.

[ Last edited by  moming at 9-9-2011 14:03 ]

for those who haven't been to to Taishan, surprisingly the county capital city of Taisheng is relatively speaking quite clean and quite modern for an area considered to be out in the countryside.  Mainly because of all the money that has come from overseas over the years.  As a matter of fact, quite a few factories and industries have gone over to Taisheng and it is somewhat of a flourishing city.  Of course, not in the manner of a SZ or ZH or DG, but better than 99% of the "heung ha" places that I've been to.

I last went to my parent's place (20 minute drive south of Taisheng in a small village) about 8 years ago and the place is huge (lot is probably 2 acres) but the main housing itself should be condemned and is full of squatters.  Holding out for the inevitablility that there'll be new housing there one day and that we'll get reimbursed for it.

I haven't given it much thought. I guess I'll look into the boat option when I get to HK. Like you said I don't really expect to find the village my family was from but just getting to the city may be close enough to cross off another item off the bucket list.