Traffic for Meixian

I travelled to Meizhou about two years ago and it was quite comfortable to go with the train. As far as I know, the way to Meizhou is still very peaceful because robberies were mainly reported only near Haifeng and Lufeng section of the highway, which one must pass through if one wants to go to Chaozhou (but not Meixian). There is no highway to Meixian.

As a matter of fact, the cost for train is RMB110 for a seat, and 198 for a bedplace (Yingwo). the trip last for about 6 1/2 hours. There are two trains from Shenzhen going there, one in the morning (0935hr) and one in the afternoon (1610hr). The afternoon train terminates at Meizhou at 2245hr, and I think that it is not good for one who is a stranger there. The railway station is realtively far away from the town center and one should call a taxi downtown. If one cannot speak Chinese (Hakka or Mandarin, or even Cantonese works), one may have difficulties upon arrival in the night. The morning train will go further to Shantou and it reaches Meizhou in the afternoon. The only thing to care about is that one must get off at the right station.

A through bus starts from Kowloon (at railway terminal) at 0730hr. But the bus goes through winding roads when it go through the hilly regions and many people vomit on the way although it is much cheaper. There is no need to go to Guangzhou if one has no intention to visit the city, because the traffic cost for Hong Kong to Guangzhou is very expensive and it takes at least two hours more than starting from Shenzhen to go to Meizhou. Travel by air is also a good choice but it is very expensive (about US$100 one way pro person) and of course one cannot enjoy looking outside as in a bus or train.

I was surprised by the fact that many young people speak fluent Cantonese in Meizhou, a dangerous sign for the survival of our language. On the other hand, most also master Putonghua, albeit with strong accent. The older people tell me that learning to speak Cantonese was even more important than PTH. They feel proud when they can speak accent free cantonese, but they won't care if their PTH sounds well or not. Cantonese TV from Hong Kong is also received by every family. This is the reason why I want to promote a Jiaying Province to save our culture.