Pingtan Times, a local newspaper, interviewed people who met and talked with Chinese President Xi Jinping when he made a whirlwind visit to the island county in eastern Fujian province on Nov 1.

An employee operates machinery at TPK Pingtan, a subsidiary of Taiwan's TPK Holdings, which is the world's largest touch panel maker. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

Liu Yuan, a factory worker at TPK Pingtan, said somebody tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around just to find Xi standing behind.

"Xi was kind. He asked about the quality and yield rate of our products in detail."

Officials of the company also showed Xi various products which have adopted touch technology.

Xi then swung by the workshop to get a better understanding of the production process. After that, he met with a group of Taiwanese entrepreneurs.

Li Yunhui, chairman of the Taiwan Entrepreneur Association in Pingtan, briefed on Taiwan's business growth in Pingtan. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

"Xi mentioned two Chinese dreams. One is about building a well-off society across China; the other is to make the great rejuvenation of the Chinese people," said Li Yunhui, chairman of the Taiwan Entrepreneur Association in Pingtan.

In the 40-minute meeting, Xi was easy-going. He said he has a strong attachment to Pingtan because he had inspected the area many times while he was working in Fujian. He was satisfied with Pingtan's infrastructure progress and welcomed more Taiwanese merchants to make investments here, said Li.

Wu Bin (2, left), captain of the Haixia, a high-speed roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry that commutes between Pingtan and Taiwan, shows his colleagues photos of President Xi during a visit to Pingtan on his cell phone. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

At a marine passenger terminal, Xi asked a couple of questions about basic information regarding the Haixia, a high-speed passenger ferry that commutes between Pingtan and Taiwan, according to Wu Bin, the ship's captain.

"He asked about the ship's speed, capacity of passengers and cargoes. After that, he walked around to greet the tourists and customs staff," said Wu.

Xi then got on the Haixia to interact with the passengers, and waved goodbye to them twice before departure.

The Haixia plans to operate seven days a week starting from 2015, according to Wang Yanping, an executive manager of the ship's owning company. He also revealed that the company had decided to put in another ferry for cross-Straits travel in the future.

Xue Deqing (L), a Taiwanese merchant, talks about meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping. [Photo/pingtan.gov.cn]

Xue Deqing, a Taiwanese entrepreneur, reminisced about his three-minute conversation with President Xi, saying it was the most unforgettable experience of his life.

"I was so pumped up that I shook his hand for about 10 seconds. President Xi asked me how often I commute between Pingtan and Taiwan and the comfort level of the Haixia. I told him I traveled a lot, and taking the ship is a pleasurable thing."

"Then he inquired about my business in Pingtan. I said I came to Pingtan a dozen years ago to run a garment store. And now I've opened three companies with eight stores."

Xue said Pingtan is his second hometown, and he believes there will be more Taiwanese coming to Pingtan to work and live.