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[Mr GZPF]

There's a Taizhou in Zhejiang too. This isn't about that Taizhou.

I've been to Taizhou in Fujian several times. Perhaps spent 10 days total there. The only time I see foreigners is at the train station. There's an English First franchise there so I know you must be about but where are you guys hiding and at which bar do you go to drink?

For those who have never been... there are Chinese cities where you can easily get around without a car. Taizhou is not one of them. Aside from a couple of areas the city isn't very dense. If you are lucky enough to live near English First (which is a decent walk away from a Tesco, a decent consumer electronics mall, a bunch of clothing stores, and even a couple of used car "lemon lots") you might be able to live sticking to just a few square kilometers. Anyone else is going to want a method of travel that does not involve walking. There is some sort of bus system. It looks like it isn't a priority for whomever runs the city.

Taxis are cheapish, but at times near impossible to find. Hope you like VW Jettas!

Recently a public bike system has started up. Orange bikes that you check out of a locked rack using a smartcard, which is then debited when you check the bike in at another rack / return it to the original rack. I can't speak for how widespread these are and suspect the system is a boondoggle. The city is flat enough that riding a bike won't be too much of a chore, but dealing with the cars on streets without segregated bike lanes will be. And then there's the distance, I did mention Taizhou is spread out, right?

There's at least one Pizza Hut, a few decent booze retailers that stock Jameson and Tsingtao (again down the street from EF, closer to the Tesco). Chinese style night clubs, karst-type hills for hiking up, and enough of the local population with a decent enough income that it shouldn't be too hard to meet up with a group or organize one yourself for most recreational activity.

Overall the residents seem nice. You won't hear whispers of "laowai!" when entering a room. For the goods / services I purchased there was no attempt to collect a laowai tax.

So you don't think I am shilling for EF: It is my humble opinion that most English First operators in China are shysters with corporate backing and an advertising campaign based on bondage fantasies involving Caucasian men and Chinese women.

[MK]

There's also a Taizhou in Zhejiang province which is very spread out...are you sure you don't mean Taizhou in Zhejiang?

[Mr GZPF]

There's also a Taizhou in Zhejiang province which is very spread out...are you sure you don't mean Taizhou in Zhejiang?

My mistake, that's the other Taizhou I was trying to say this post was not about. I've been to that Taizhou a few times and without means of private transport I was able to only see a very small portion of the city and therefore can't comment much on it aside to say I really wish I'd had even a moped at my disposal and on the rare occasion I found a taxi at one of the intersections was a police checkpoint where they wanted a glimpse inside every vehicle. It did not look like a temporary one-day-only setup.