Opportunities thrive at Fujian's Taiwan Town

Tourism face-lift

Taiwan Town began as a small commodity trading market. It opened in 2014 as a duty-free marketplace for Taiwan goods, giving merchants from Taiwan a place to sell small commodities while offering mainland consumers a convenient place to buy them.

For years, that business model shaped the life of the market.

Visitors came for snacks, tea, household goods and other Taiwan products, while merchants from Taiwan opened stores and built businesses around the demand. Once the shopping was done, however, the town offered few reasons for visitors to stay.

When the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone Culture and Tourism Development Group took over the operation of Taiwan Town in April 2025, many stores were idle. Only a small percentage of the registered Taiwan businesses were actually operating, said Lin Yan, the group's general manager.

Rather than simply filling empty shops with more merchandise, the group studied ways to make the town part of a broader tourism experience. Teams visited projects in Beijing, Chongqing and Tianjin before work began on the streets and buildings in Pingtan, with a focus on combining commercial activity with tourism, culture and leisure.

Streets were refurbished and idle buildings put back into use. Night lighting created a different evening atmosphere, while plazas, landscaped water features, restaurants and leisure spaces gave visitors more places to linger.

Liu Sunhui, deputy manager of the business development department at the Pingtan Tourism Operation Management Co, said the Taiwan Town operator has taken over some of the businesses. "We don't just bring in merchants. We also operate some stores ourselves," he said.

One example is an outlet selling officially licensed products of Taiwan pop star Jay Chou, including trendy figures, blind boxes, souvenirs and fridge magnets as well as Pingtan-themed products. The complex operator has also opened a plant museum and themed cafes and restaurants.

Preparation is underway for Gui Shan Hai (Return to the Mountains and Sea), an immersive production to be staged in a 3,000-square-meter space that combines live performance, dance, martial arts, acrobatics and projection. The production draws on the history of the banbing system in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), under which troops from Fujian and other mainland garrisons took turns serving in Taiwan as part of the island's defense and security.

The operator has also been encouraging established Taiwan Town merchants to help recruit new businesses from Taiwan through introductions and by explaining incentives the complex offers, such as preferential rents.

After Taiwan Town began to attract more visitors, the outlook of businesses changed, Lin, the general manager, said. "People need to see things moving before they can have confidence," he said.