No department stores, all loyal to Taichung, and meat rice for all three meals a day — one sentence that can instantly anger people from Changhua

Every county and city in Taiwan has its own characteristics, delicacies, lifestyle habits, and flaws — things people love to complain about. Recently, a netizen, annoyed with a friend living in Changhua, wanted to roast them but didn’t know what to say. So they asked on PTT, “How can you piss off someone from Changhua with just one sentence?” The post received an enthusiastic response. Some replied with lines like “Changhua meatballs are so nasty,” “Do you ride your meat to work?”, and “There’s a high-speed rail station in Tianzhong — literally in the middle of a field.” Compiling various comments, things that can really get under the skin of Changhua locals fall into five categories:

1. Zero department stores

Changhua doesn’t have any department stores — just the Changhua Department Store, which sells items similar to those at “Xiao Bei Department Store.” There have often been rumors that Costco would open a branch in Changhua, but none have materialized. Even Pingtung City, which has a smaller population than Changhua, has four or five department stores, while Changhua has none.

2. Taichung Loyalists

People from Changhua frequently head to Taichung for shopping and dining. Even the county magistrate lives in Taichung. Some netizens joke, “Is the magistrate of Changhua actually Lin Chia-lung?”, “Taichung folks say they want nothing to do with Changhua — there's literally nothing there,” and “Only high schoolers or younger shop in Changhua — most take the bus to Zhongshan Street in Taichung.”

3. Desolate High-Speed Rail Station

The Changhua High-Speed Rail Station is located in “Tianzhong” — and it really is in the middle of a field. Its awkward location means the platforms are super empty with barely anyone around. Some locals even choose to go to Taichung to take the high-speed rail. Netizens joke, “How many trains a day stop at the Changhua HSR station anyway?”

4. Changhua = Meat Rice All Day

There are so many meat rice shops in Changhua City that you could eat a different one for every meal. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and even late-night snacks — meat rice joints are open all day. Netizens roasted, “Are you really eating meat rice for all three meals?”, “Do you ride your meat to work?”, and “Breakfast with Dongpo pork sounds great.”

5. Food safety scandal brands all started in Changhua

Changhua is a hub for food processing, and major food safety scandals involving companies like Tzu Yeh, Ting Hsin, and Fuwei Farm all originated there. One netizen quipped, “Changhua specializes in producing toxic stuff,” and “Isn’t Changhua the capital of illegal factories?”