January | 2024 | Into the Middle Kingdom

My colleague and friend, Professor Henrietta Yang at tthe University of Mississippi, and I have been working on this book for the past 4+ years. It was finally published a couple weeks ago by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. It is available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever else you get your books.

I directed a study program at Nanjing University in the Mainland for 20+ years. With the political situation deteriorating and the Covid pandemic, we, along with many other American universities pulled our students out of Mainland China and discontinued our program there. We hope to go back in the future. We have since established programs in Taiwan. In recent years there has been renewed interest in studying and workling in Taiwan and many Chinese language programs have relocated to the island.

Campus of Naitonal Taiwan University in Taipei

Before Mainland China opened up to foreigners in the early ’80’s nearly all the Chinese language programs were in Taiwan and the vast majority of Chinese scholars before that time have spent time in Taiwan, either initially studying Chinese or doing research. Taiwan has world-class Chinese language programs and has a vibrant, modern, sophisticated , and open society. The first chapter of the book presents several good reasons why you should consider traveling, studying, or working in Taiwan.

We also cover who lives in Taiwan and how they self identify, how to get around, the food scene, living in Taiwan including how to find housing, studying, with tips and strategies to make your time worthwhile, working and interning in Taiwan, and final chapter on Taiwan’s diverse geography with some suggestions on what you should see while you are there. This isn’t a typical travel guidebook listing names of hotels and so on. It is intended for the individual who plans to spend time there and go deeper. It is sprinkled with Chinese (both pinyin and characters) for those who know Chinese or are learning. That way, you learn how to identify food items, place names, and so on.

Taiwan has deep roots with traditional Chinese values. It is a free and open society. The country has countless temples, almost in every neighborhood, and they are used as places of worship and not tourist sites.

The food scene in Taiwan is spectacular. With so much outside influence in Taiwanese cuisine (Japanese, Korean, Mainland China, the West), much of the food is a really interesting fusion.

Finally, Taiwan is a beautiful and diverse place, from the bustling cities to surfing in the far south. There is a great deal of outdoor activities to enjoy.

So, go to Taiwan. You won’t regret it. And the book will help you navigate the intricacies of life in Taiwan.

Noodles are a big deal in the Chinese world. We simply call noodles miàn 麵 or miàntiáo 麵條 and noodles in soup is called tāngmiàn 湯麵. There is a huge variety of noodles in China, all shapes and sizes. Noodles and other wheat-based food, like dumplings and breads, have been around in China for most of it’s history. Though we often associate China with rice, noodles are just as ubiquitous and are more popular in northern, western, and southwestern parts of China. In this post I’ll only being showing long noodles served dry or in soup. A couple of the more popular kinds are called lāmiàn 拉麵 or pulled noodles, and dāoxiāomiàn 刀削麵 or hand cut noodles. The thing about noodles in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc. is that they are usually very fresh. In fact, most decent places make their own noodles daily. For example, this guy below is making pulled noodles outside a small noodle shop in Guiyang.

I love a good bowl of noodles and always look forward to eating when I travel to China or Taiwan. Different regions have their own specialty bowls of noodles. For example, Taiwan is well known for it’s famous beef noodles niúròumiàn 牛肉麵, and western parts of China, particularly Sichuan, Guizhou, and Yunnan are known for their dàndànmiàn 擔擔麵.

A version of Taiwan’s beef noodles, with hand cut noodles, in Taipei

I’ve eaten delicious bowls of noodles all over China and Taiwan and I’m rarely disappointed. Noodle shops in Mainland China are often very simple affairs, typically with just a few tables inside. For Dandan noodles, there is usually a variety of toppings that you can specify to top your noodles. Once you have it in front of you, you stir it all together and enjoy.

The above bowl of noodles all stirred up.

Another typical small noodle shop in Sichuan.

Below I present a variety of bowls of noodles I have eaten all over China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

Cold noodle dish in Chengdu, popular street food

One more cold noodle dish from Sichuan, with shredded chicken

A version of Dandan noodles with meat floss, Sichuan

féichángfěn 肥腸粉 Pig intestines noodles, Sichuan

Notice the somewhat irregular edges of these hand cut noodles from Guizhou.

Kunming’s famous “cross the bridge noodles” guòqiáomiàn 過橋面; everything is served separately and you assemble it all at your table.

Another version of Taiwan’s beef noodles, Taipei

And finally, instant noodles (pàomiàn 泡麵 or fāngbiànmiàn 方便麵) are a popular choice for travelers. Train stations, airports, bus stations, and convenience stores all carry a wide selection of instant noodles. There are always hot water stations where you can reconstitute the dried noodles. They can’t compare with fresh noodles, but the instant noodles over there are far better than what you get at the grocery store here in the U.S.