Does anyone know how to find a decent fare from Taipei to Beijing and then Shanghai to Taipei? All I can find on the internet are over $1000!

The best thing to do is to get a travel agent in Taiwan to book the flights for you. Or just wait until you get to Taipei.

There are no direct fligths between Taiwan and Mainland China. The most popular flights are via Hong Kong or Macau. The one airline that flies to both countries with lots of frequencies is Dragonair of Hong Kong. They don't have a website to book directly, and fares are ALWAYS cheaper if you book though a travel agent.

Shouldn't cost you more than 5-600 dollars. You do have to stop at Hong Kong or Macau.

$500-600 is about right. If you book seperately, a TPE-HKG roundtrip should be about $200. HKG-PVG one-way and PEK-HKG one-way are about $180-$200 each. Probably cheaper if you book all at once. No reason to pay more than $600.

No need to pre-book over here. The above fares are good until you have to leave the travel agent to go to the airport. And there are hourly flights between TPE-HKG. Only exception is during major holidays - like the 10/1 and 10/10 holidays, Chinese New Year, and - to a lesser extent - Christmas.

I agree with the travel agent. Although last year, I flew from Taipei to Shanghai and it was around $550 and bought through a travel agent. One of my favorite airlines is DragonAir, as mentioned, and you may want to look up their website and call their US offices. Also, stated, you can not fly from Taipei directly to China mainland as you have to go through somewhere else like Hong Kong/Macau. If you go to Taipei, work with your hotel on getting a travel agent or someone you know there. Adder: I think the food on Dragon Air is some of the best airline food there is.