hi folks,
does anybody know what is the cheapest way to reach taiwan without flying? long distance train rides don't scare me.
thank you very much!

This page talks about it a lot: www.seat61.com/Taiwan.htm#Ferries to Taiwan

I would get the train to Guangzhou (overnight sleeper) then go to the East bus station (you might need to stay a night in Guangzhou) and take the train to Zhangzhou as specified here:

www.chinatraveldepot.com/[...]

Xiamen isn't far away then, a taxi or bus would take you there probably. You are looking at 2-6 days of travel though... and it might just be cheaper to fly after all the hotels and train trips and hassle. Although it might be worth it just for the experience (I am also a masochist!).

Google fixes everything.

Long distance sleeper buses can be cheaper - just beware (as usual) the midnite thieves.

No need to change: train K232 goes from Kunming all the way to Xiamen, it takes about 40 hours. If I believe the online schedules, it leaves KM in the evening and gets to Xiamen before noon the day after next. Sleeper seems to be less than Y500.