What an embarrassing mistake.
So glad I don’t rely on my ping ying abilities for a pay check.
Considering the prevalence of s/sh errors, I don’t think you really need to feel that bad. Just do it the other way around (sh to s) and you can easily pass for a native Mandarin speaker, even a high-ranking politician. 
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Was this mistake deliberate? 
Why would you want to do that?
I’ll take a shot at this, but only because there might be some validity in our own intuition.
…unless, this question is based on the premise that China and Taiwan are one people, and there’s no way to tell them apart. Then it’s political and perhaps someone is itching for a squabble. And I’m about to waste 15 minutes.
How do I differentiate Chinese and Taiwanese people?
You can’t, really. Until you see them, meet them, talk to them, observe how they behave in public and private as well. Talking (or listening) to them is the most obvious giveaway. Anybody who doesn’t speak with a Taiwanese accent is probably not Taiwanese. Just a hunch.
Are their certain things to look for from a “people-watching” perspective? Absolutely. Is it scientific? Nope.
Now, in my travels there are times when I come across another foreigner and I say to myself, “That’s an American” without hearing them speak. How do I know this? Haircut, complexion, clothing, shoes, posture, mannerisms, etc. How can I be sure? As an American, it’s instinctive. You know one when you see one. A Supreme Court judge said almost the same thing about pornography.
Anyway, there are plenty of ways I could attempt to rationalize this, mainly because I’m in airports and whatnot all the time. So I happen to be there when flights come in from all over the world. At this point, it would be futile to generalize. But there are certain places - mostly tourist destinations - where you can clearly see that these are mainlanders following the guy with the flag.
As for @GooseEgg’s query, why would you want to?
You know, there are times when I see somebody do something, like obnoxiously cough up a huge hocker and spit it onto the curb, and I think, “The fuck is wrong with that guy?” And then I look at his clothing, and his expression, and I just get the sense that, “Oh, he’s not from around here.” Cuz most folks who don’t chew betel nut don’t behave that way - and the spittle is usually red. And I’ve never seen or heard of the brand name that’s emblazoned across the polo shirt with the collar sticking straight up. Oh, and he just lit up a Double Happiness Gold, and you never see people smoking that shit here - unless someone brought it over as a gift.
Give you another example. There are Asians of all sorts running around Manila, but my wife and I can kinda-sorta tell the Koreans from the Japanese. We can’t really say why with any credibility. But you know what, we’re usually right.
Again, this is not scientific.
This is funny.
Brother super_lucky sees the question and interprets it as “How do I differentiate (between) Chinese (citizens of the PRC) and Taiwanese people (citizens of the ROC)?”.
I, on the other hand (and similarly, I expect, brother tempogain) see your question as “How do I differentiate (between) ethnically Chinese and Taiwanese people (in Taiwan)?”
Which is, needless to say, a completely 'nother ball of ear wax.
Perhaps the poster could elucidate further.
Yeah, brother. I didn’t want to go there.
Nor I, obviously.
You know the guy who eagerly tells you about the big pile of dog crap in the middle of your kitchen floor but doesn’t do anything about cleaning it up?
Yeah, I’m that guy.
hair styles are a good way to differentiate. bowl cuts(xi gua pi) are pretty common in taiwan. i don’t think any other nation would find that fashionable.
This has me a bit freaking out - buying a train ticket is really that hard? Might you provide some tips that will ease my heart?
I would appreciate this doc as I arrive in 11 days and am planning out my itinerary. I am not sure how to PM you. Thanks! Christine
Click on the user’s avatar and then click on Message. 
Seems obvious but when I click on the Avatar I get this and do not see messaage icon. Thank you in advance for your help. Christine
Hi ChristineCJ
Just seeing this now. I have to make some minor edits to the Google doc, but I’ll send it your way via PM shortly.
In the mean time, could you do me a favor and check if the pop up shows up for other members when you click their avatar? Odd that clicking my avatar takes you straight to my user activity page.
It could be a new user lock, but don’t quote me on that.
Yes - seems that clicking on the avatar takes to the user activity page. Right click does not get me there, either.
Thank you for responding but I do not want you to go to any trouble; I am sure what you have already put together is very good.
I have the Lonely Planet book, of course. There will in the end be too many things to do for just this short business/culture trip.
For a short trip, go to the first floor of Taipei Train Station. There are several travel agencies, Easy Travel for example, Lion Travel is a favorite of mine. They will hook you up with tickets and I’d dare to say 90% of the time they have someone who speaks Englishee there.
No hassle, no lines, no biggie.
Google docs is freezing and won’t let me send the e-mail link. Here you go!
Things to do/buy/prep before you embark on your journey
- Pack a pro-biotic like Biofermin. Don’t be scared, the food is good, but it may not agree with your stomach!
- Mosquito repellant/bug bite ointment (Mosquitos love foreign blood)
- Waterproof and warm shoes for non-summer months and breathable (hiking sandals) footwear for summer months.
Your main means of transportation will be the MRT (mass rail transportation), taxi and Uber is available as well (as of Aug 2016 they are still in Taipei). Taipei BusTracker is my suggested app for Bus/MRT (please let me know if you can not figure out how to change the language to English)
iOS https://itunes.apple.com/tw/app/bustracker-taipei/id511832182?mt=8
Android https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nexti.android.bustaipei&hl=en
Yelp is young in Taipei, but has plenty of English reviews by locals and visiting Taiwanese from abroad. Check it out if you’re out of ideas for places to go and don’t forget to write a review if you have time!
Place to visit:
- 饒河觀光夜市 Rao He Night Market(捷運松山站Song Shan MRT)
- 士林觀光夜市(劍潭捷運站 Jian Tan MRT)
- 寧夏夜市 Ning Xia Night Market (捷運雙連站Shuang Lian MRT)
- 基隆夜市 Keelung Night Market (基隆轉運站Keelung Bus Station)
Things to eat:
- 永和豆醬大王 Yong He Soy Milk Breakfast shop (everywhere) - Taiwanese style breakfast that can get you full for under 100NT
- 春水堂 Chuen Shui Tang (multiple locations) - Inventor of bubble tea. They didn’t invent the bubbles or Taiwanese style milk tea, but they were first to combine the two.
- 鼎泰豐 Din Tai Feng - If you come to Taiwan and don’t eat here, you’ve missed out!
Place to see:
- 台北101/Taipei 101 (台北世貿/101捷運站 Taipei World Trace Center/Taipei 101 MRT)
- 象山 Elephant Mountain (象山捷運站Xiang Shan MRT)
- 九份老街 Jiu Fen Old Street (瑞芳火車站 Rui Fang Train Station) - Some scenes in the Haoyao Miyazaki film, Sprited Away, is based off of Jiu Fen Old Street
- Taipei Zoo (動物園決運站Taipei Zoo MRT)
- 小油坑 Xiao You Keng - bus from Jian Tan MRT towards Yang Ming Shan
- Chang Kai Shek Memorial Hall/Freedom Square (CKS Memorial Hall MRT station)
- Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall (SYS Memorial Hall MRT station)
- National Palace Museum (bus from Jian Tan MRT towards National Palace Museum)
Where can I buy medicine?
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Costco sells some over the counter medicine. If you have a costco card, you can visit one.
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Shanghai Pharmacy (Shanghai Union Dispensary) has a good reputation for genuine (not fake) medicine and some medicine that may require a prescription back home. Just make sure you know the brand, the generic name (like Acetaminophen) in case they don’t have they brand, and the dosage.
Address:No. 32 Hengyang Road, Zhongzheng District, Taipei (台北市中正區衡陽路32號) -
There are some smaller shops all over the place that sell medicine. I’m not too familiar with these, so I don’t know if you need a prescription of you can just buy it without one.
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Go to a doctor or doctor located in a hospital and get a prescription.
Kunts. I never apologise. NEVER. DEATH before dishonour.
Where is that ‘nominate this post to the classic post category’ option?