Editor's note: The Taiwan question is a key focus for China and the international community. China Daily is publishing a series of reports to track hot Taiwan-related topics and address disinformation from the Democratic Progressive Party administration.

A growing number of Taiwan social media influencers are crossing the Strait to document the Chinese mainland's rapid development, sparking a "reality-check" trend that has caught the Democratic Progressive Party off guard despite its tightened restrictions on exchanges.

In February, Fan Chi-fei, a former correspondent for several Taiwan media outlets, shared her experience of traveling to Chengdu, Sichuan province, on her YouTube channel, describing the trip as "very interesting" and praising the local cuisine and giant pandas.

Speaking about the motivation behind the trip, Fan said in the video that "after reporting on the mainland for so long, it would make little sense not to visit and see it for myself".

Her trip has caught attention on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, as she was previously labeled as a "pro-green" figure who supported the DPP's political stance and made negative reports about the mainland.

Fan joins a number of Taiwan social media influencers who have visited the mainland for the first time in recent years. Other prominent online influencers, including Chen Chih-han, known as "Guan Zhang", and Chung Ming-hsuan, both of whom have more than 1.3 million YouTube followers, and have also made their first trips to the mainland over the past two years.

Through livestreams and vlogs, these content creators have presented the mainland's actual conditions, leading some viewers to reassess narratives on the island and realize that the reality differs from the image portrayed by the DPP authorities.

Out of the 'cocoon'

Chen, born in 1979 and formerly a supporter of the DPP, first visited the mainland in June last year to see it for himself. He livestreamed his six-day trip to Shanghai and Hangzhou in Zhejiang province.

Before departure on the first day, he admitted that he had felt uneasy, saying that many people on the island had tried to discourage and intimidate him.

Upon arrival, Chen said: "I had been influenced by the narratives on the island my whole life, believing whatever others told me. It wasn't until I came here in person today that I realized I had been completely misled."

Some narratives promoted on the island by certain media outlets have attempted to portray the mainland as "backward", including claims such as the "high-speed rail seats have no backrests" and the "toilets have no doors".

Chen challenged these claims through firsthand experiences shared during his livestreams, describing them as "lies spread by the DPP". During his trip, he used high-speed rail and mobile payment services in multiple cities while showcasing authentic street scenes and the daily lives of ordinary people.

To his surprise, he was warmly welcomed by people on the mainland, with some even politely asking to take photos with him.

"The trip completely overturned my negative impression of the mainland," Chen said, adding that he was astonished by the mainland's rapid development. Online, some who watched the livestream commented that they had misunderstood the mainland as well, and Chen's trip gave them a chance to know the realities.

Four months later, Chen made his second visit to the mainland, covering stops including Beijing, Shenyang in Liaoning province and Xiamen in Fujian province. This time, he offered a more direct acknowledgment of the mainland's progress, along with outspoken criticism of disinformation spread by the DPP.

"I originally thought I would never come to the mainland in my lifetime," the 47-year-old said, while encouraging young people in Taiwan to come and see the mainland for themselves.

Since taking office in 2016, the DPP authorities have steadily tightened restrictions on cross-Strait people-to-people exchanges. In 2024, the Lai Ching-te authorities raised the travel alert for the mainland to an "orange" level, advising people to avoid nonessential travel while highlighting what they described as the risks of visiting the mainland.

Fan, who visited the mainland for the first time in December last year, said many people tried to discourage her from making the trip. "They were worried that I might be detained and unable to return," she said.

The stark contrast between the DPP's portrayal of the mainland and what these influencers experienced firsthand led to a noticeable shift in their attitudes toward the mainland.

The DPP authorities have scaremongered and intimidated influencers who have visited the mainland, saying such trips are part of a "united front trap" or "cognitive warfare", while intensifying scrutiny of the funding sources and backgrounds of related groups.

Those who shared positive impressions after traveling to the mainland have faced personal attacks from DPP supporters and have been accused of engaging in "cognitive warfare".

Public reactions to these trips have therefore been polarized, with some expressing support while others criticizing them as being "brainwashed" by the mainland.

"I will continue to visit the mainland and bring the actual conditions back to Taiwan in an effort to help more people gain a more direct understanding," Chen said after his second visit.

Affinity and curiosity

"If you haven't visited a place, then you have no right to criticize it," said Chung, the 26-year-old travel YouTuber. Since first visiting the mainland in 2024, he has traveled to destinations including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, and the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

During his latest trip to Xinjiang in February, Chung drove alone for more than 1,600 kilometers across the region, visiting Sayram Lake and sharing a meal with a local family. In the video, he described Xinjiang's scenery as very beautiful and said the people there were "warm and kind". The video has attracted more than 1.4 million views on YouTube.

Chung also praised the mainland's convenience and well-developed infrastructure in his travel videos, a contrast that drew attention given his previously perceived pro-DPP stance. A video interview he conducted with Tsai Ing-wen, the former Taiwan leader from the DPP, remains featured on the front page of his channel.

Another Taiwan YouTuber, known online as "Boboyu", used his trip to Hangzhou to explain why more people in Taiwan are becoming interested in traveling to the mainland, citing affordable taxis and accommodation, as well as the convenience of a shared language across the two sides.

He said that while the shared language makes the trip much easier, the use of simplified characters, different payment methods and distinct accents still provide the sense of novelty that Taiwan travelers look for.

Notably, compared with travel videos filmed in other destinations, content about the mainland tends to attract far greater attention. Chen's livestreams during his mainland tour set multiple YouTube records in the Taiwan region, including the platform's highest livestream viewership, with total views reaching as high as 20 million.

Cai Zhuofeng, general manager of the Haixi multichannel network base in Xiamen and a veteran livestreaming industry practitioner, said people in Taiwan are eager to learn what the mainland is really like, while audiences on the mainland are interested in seeing how Taiwan visitors experience life there. "This has made content created by Taiwan visitors receive significantly more attention," Cai said.

More mainland-related content has been emerging across Taiwan's social media landscape, following a growing trend of influencers such as Chung and Chen visiting the mainland. Fan has expressed the hope of traveling to Yunnan province in the future.

As accessible online content has offered a more direct view of life on the mainland, the DPP authorities have not only tightened restrictions on cross-Strait personnel exchanges, but also moved to curb the social media app RedNote, or Xiaohongshu, which features genuine content related to the mainland.

In December last year, Taiwan's "interior affairs department" announced a one-year ban on the app. The mainland-based lifestyle-sharing platform has more than 3 million users in Taiwan, around 70 percent of whom were born after 1990.

Jhuang Yi-chang, founder of an online gaming startup in Taiwan, who took part in a digital media training camp held in Wuhan, Hubei province, in March, said: "Because so many positive stories and experiences continue to circulate on Xiaohongshu, people in Taiwan who come across them begin to realize that the mainland may not be as it is portrayed by the DPP authorities. As a result, more of them become interested in visiting the mainland to see it for themselves."

Gradually, Jhuang said, people in Taiwan, regardless of their political stance, are becoming more inclined to see the mainland's realities for themselves.

Despite restrictions and warnings issued by the DPP authorities, 306,900 Taiwan residents made their first trips to the mainland last year, up 34.6 percent year-on-year.

According to the National Immigration Administration, in the first quarter, applications for mainland travel permits by Taiwan residents increased 11.8 percent year-on-year, while the number of Taiwan residents entering the mainland rose 27.6 percent.

The mainland has introduced measures aimed at facilitating cross-Strait exchanges. From July 1, 2025, to Dec 31, 2027, Taiwan residents applying for mainland travel permits for the first time will be exempt from application fees. Since 2024, first-time permit holders from Taiwan have also been eligible for free or discounted admission to scenic areas and tourist attractions on the mainland within one year of entry.

Among the 10 policy measures introduced by the mainland in April are steps to promote the full resumption of cross-Strait passenger flights to further facilitate personnel exchanges. The mainland has also called on Taiwan to restore direct cross-Strait passenger flights.

At a news conference in March, Zhu Fenglian, a spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, welcomed Taiwan compatriots, including influencers and media practitioners, to come to the mainland, saying that the mainland will continue to create favorable conditions for their travel and exchanges.

Shi Xuefan contributed to this story.