Taiwan-themed song a goodwill tune for a cross-Strait rail link
A recent hit song titled "Visit Taiwan in 2035" reflects the goodwill of people from across the Strait for a high-speed rail link from Fujian to Taipei, a Chinese mainland spokesman said.
The song showed a long-term vision for more convenient and frequent exchanges between the two sides and "I believe the goal will be achieved," said Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, at a press briefing yesterday.
Zhu made the comments when asked by a Taiwan reporter whether the hit song, which he claimed made Taiwan people anxious, was an indication of unification.
Written and sung by Meng Xudong and released in September, the song talks about riding bullet trains to visit Taiwan and Beijing. The music video shows iconic scenic spots and local delicacies from both places.
A blueprint of the national highway network includes a route from Beijing to Taipei.
Traffic links across the Taiwan Strait exist in the central government's urban planning. According to a blueprint of China's highway network, released in September 2005 by the National Development and Reform Committee, the top economic planner, one of the seven major highway routes departing from Beijing is a link to Taipei.
The blueprint was approved by the State Council in 2004 and was considered the "ultimate" goal of the nationwide traffic network which would be completed within 30 years.
In a rail route planning map released by the NDRC in 2008, a railway line between Fujian Province and Taiwan was marked with a red dash line, meaning it was under research and planning.
The railway between Fujian and Taiwan is marked with a red dash line.
Pingtan Strait Highway-Railway Bridge
In December 2020 another major construction project, Pingtan Strait Highway-Railway Bridge, opened to traffic.
The bridge starts from Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, and ends in Pingtan County, the closest place on the mainland to Taiwan, only 68 nautical miles from Hsinchu City, a major industrial city in northwest Taiwan.
The Pingtan railway has shortened the travel time from Fuzhou to Pingtan to only 29 minutes.
Pingtan County is only 68 nautical miles from Hsinchu City in Taiwan.
Lyrics of "Visit Taiwan in 2035'"
坐上那动车去台湾
Take a bullet train to Taiwan
就在那2035年
Just in 2035
去看看那外婆澎湖湾
To see Grandma's Penghu Bay
还有那脚印两对半
And that two-and-a-half pairs of footprints
去看看那情歌阿里山
To see the Alishan Mountain
还有那神奇的日月潭
And the amazing Sun Moon Lake
嘟嘟嘟^^…
Dududu…
坐上那动车去北京
Take a bullet train to Beijing
日夜思念啊在心中
Which is missed day and night in the heart
去看看那天安门上太阳升
To see the sun rising above the Tian'anmen Square
还有那雄伟的万里长城
And the majestic Great Wallz
去看看那红旗漫卷映山红
To see red flags coloring mountains
还有那伟大复兴的中国梦
And the great Chinese Dream of rejuvenation
