BEIJING, July 1 -- The first group of mainland
tourists to Taiwan have finished packing. China's National Tourism
Administration discussed their preparations at a news conference on Monday.
Zhu Shanzhong says through the joint efforts of the
mainland and Taiwan, preparations are nearly complete for the history-making
trip starting on Friday.
Seven hundred and 60 people are in the first group.
There are more than 350 from Beijing, one-hundred from Shanghai, and one-hundred
each from Jiangsu, Fujian, and Guangdong provinces. They are divided into five
sub-groups which will depart from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and
Guangzhou on July 4th.
Opening up to mainland visitors is expected to boost
Taiwan's economy. Under the bilateral agreement, Tiawan will receive no more
than three-thousand mainland tourists a day. However, Zhu Shanzhong says the
actual number of visitors will be decided by the market. From July 18th,
residents from 13 municipalities and provinces in the mainland will be allowed
to visit Taiwan.
The first group of mainland tourists will take the
newly agreed-upon, weekend charter flights to Taiwan, which start on July
fourth. The service used to only operate during four major Chinese holidays. The
mainland and Taiwan have agreed on a total of 144 charter flights in July.
(Source: CCTV.com)
Chinese mainland tourists to start
historic Taiwan holiday on Friday
BEIJING, June 30 (Xinhua) -- A group of 760 Chinese
mainland tourists will start a historic journey to Taiwan on Friday, the
National Tourism Administration (NTA) said on Monday.
Holidaymakers from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen
and Guangzhou will stay in Taiwan for 10 days, while a small group of officials
from China's tourism authorities will pay a seven-day visit, NTA spokeperson Zhu
Shanzhong said on Monday. Full story
Chinese mainland, Taiwan agree on 144
charter flights in July
BEIJING, June 26 (Xinhua) -- Eleven airlines -- six
from the mainland and five from Taiwan -- will operate 144 cross-Strait return
flights next month, reflecting an agreement to expand charter flights that have
run during four traditional festivals to every weekend.
The six mainland carriers are Air China, China
Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and
Shanghai Airlines. Full story
