Bustling Taipei-style shopping streets, majestic temples to the island's deities and thriving factories dot the eastern Chinese city of Kunshan, for years a hub for Taiwanese businesses.

But now those firms are feeling the strain from cross-strait tensions that have stoked safety fears among them.

Taiwanese entrepreneurs — known as Taishang in Mandarin — poured billions into mainland China since ties began improving in the 1990s, playing an important role in its rise to become the world's second-largest economy.