Taiwan

Travel between Fujian and Taiwan increases in 2010

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-02-16 13:53

FUZHOU - The number of passengers travelling between Fujian on the eastern coast of China's mainland and Taiwan by direct sea and air links surpassed 2 million in 2010, according to the Fujian provincial bureau of transport.

Related readings:  Tourism spending to see a big surge: survey  Mainland visitors travel in Taiwan during Spring Festival  Business and tourism bridge Taiwan Straits

The bureau's figures released Wednesday show that there were 59 flights every week using eight direct air routes between Fujian and Taiwan. They carried 540,000 passengers in 2010, up 240 percent over that of 2009, when the direct air flight service was opened.

The number of commercial boat passengers who crossed the Taiwan Strait by sea stood at 1.47 million in 2010, the figures show.

The first regular direct sea route was launched in August 2009, linking the province's Xiamen Port and Taiwan's Taichung Port and Keelung Port. In 2010, there were 326 passenger boat trips every week on five direct sea routes between Fujian and Taiwan.