The thought of settling in
Shanghai had not occurred to Zhang Meifang, a native Taiwanese, when she came here four years ago to help her brother with his business.
But Zhang found she could not tear herself away from this lovely city when her brother went back to Taiwan.
Living in
Shanghai alone is not a problem for Zhang. Her previous ten-years experience in the insurance industry soon earned her a position at the
Shanghai branch of the American International Assurance Company Ltd.
She even bought her own accommodation -- a 130-square-meter apartment on the city's outskirts, driven by the desire to settle down and being fed up meanwhile with high rentals in a densely packed Taiwanese community where she used to live.
"Life in
Shanghai is very pleasant," said Zhang. "It offers many opportunities, too."
Zhang has several close friends in Shanghai, who meet for barbecues or tea parties at weekends. During holidays, she often travels around the mainland, from snow-covered Tibet on the roof of the world to the ancient
Lijiang City in southwestern Yunnan Province.
An avid reader, Zhang has developed a strong interest in local publications. At present she is reading a book on Bora Milutinovic,the Serbian coach who led China to the World Cup for the first time.
The exact number of Taiwanese in
Shanghai is unknown even to officials in charge of Taiwan affairs, who state that 220,000 have been staying in
Shanghai for more than three months, and 470,000 entered or left the mainland through
Shanghai last year.
Among Taiwanese living in
Shanghai are white-collar workers like Zhang, and entrepreneurs who have come to start up businesses in the mainland.
Huang Jianlin and his wife were running a big Chinese restaurant in Paris before they decided to start a business in
Shanghai last year.
Their Vietnamese restaurant in downtown
Shanghai has been such a success that they do not even have the time to visit their family in Taiwan.
Many Shanghaiers who left for Taiwan in late 1940s have come back to their birthplace and enjoy life here.
Cao Chenping, 63, settled down in Taiwan in 1984. Though he left Shanghai, his birthplace, as a five-year old, the
Shanghai dialect rings a bell even today, he said.
Shanghai was Cao's first choice when he decided 14 years ago to invest on the Chinese mainland. "It feels like coming back home again," he said.
In a recent survey by Taiwan's Business Weekly, over half the Taiwanese in
Shanghai say they are happy with their life in this mainland city. Nearly 30 percent say they have bought apartments in
Shanghai and another 40 percent say they will be ready to buy one in a year.
"Children's education and medical issues are two major concerns for most Taiwanese in Shanghai," said Zhang Zhiqun, an official in charge of Taiwan affairs in Shanghai, "We're trying our best to solve these problems."
Figures from the municipal government show that more than 1,300 Taiwan students are studying in Shanghai, mostly at the city's best schools.
