Huang An uses Gaode Map for navigation on Taiwan island. Photo: Screenshot from Huang An's Weibo account.

 Well-known singer and TV host Huang An, who comes from Taiwan island, posted two messages on social media on Monday, expressing surprise that Gaode Map (also known as AMap) can now be used in Taiwan, according to the Reference News.

In the past, when driving in Taiwan island, he could only use Apple's built-in Google Maps, whose voice navigation often mispronounced place names. For example, reading "Chongqing North Road" as "Zhongqing North Road" and "Section 2" as "Second ton," wrote Huang.

Recently, Huang accidentally opened Gaode Map and found that not only does it work for navigation, but the information it provides is exactly the same as when driving on the mainland. When he switched to satellite images, every street on the island of Taiwan was clearly visible.

"I've been waiting for this day for so long," Huang said.

Under Huang's post, many netizens tried using Gaode Map to navigate from  Chinese mainland to locations in Taiwan. They noted that not only are traffic conditions indicated on the roads, but the satellite view is also extremely clear. Some netizens are also surprised to find that they can now directly enter "Taiwan Province" when filling in shipping addresses.

According to an earlier Global Times report, Chinese netizens once heatedly discussed the detailed maps of Taiwan cities provided by Baidu and Gaode map services, which allegedly became available in August 2022.

In this report, Baidu told the Global Times that Baidu Maps have provided users with services in Taiwan island, including driving route planning, navigation, walking route planning, bus planning, road conditions, and point of interest location retrieval.

Earlier, amid a series of activities commemorating the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration, the commercial satellite "Jilin-1" released satellite images of Sun Moon Lake, Alishan, and Port of Taipei, which an expert on military affairs said demonstrate mainland's high-tech developments, and some Taiwan compatriots regarded it as the pride of the Chinese nation.

Global Times