Authorities in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone are pinning high hopes on the development of Aoqian district.

Aoqian is known for its abundant tourism resources. It has also been approved as part of the free trade zone in Pingtan by Central authorities to cultivate leisure tourism.

A number of tourism-related projects are situated in the district, including the duty-free Taiwan Commodity Market, the Aoqian Passenger Marine Terminal and the future Haitan Ancient City.

The goal for Aoqian is to become a high-end tourism destination, a cross-Straits trading area, as well as a gathering of Taiwanese communities, according to its development plan.

Major tasks for Aoqian are to study specific pilot programs pertaining to the construction of the free trade zone and attracting more professionals in various fields especially in financial services, tourism planning, business logistics and customs tariffs.

Aoqian will also strive to upgrade infrastructure conditions, land more industrial projects, improve the environment and people’s livelihoods, develop cross-border e-commerce and facilitate flows of RMB and New Taiwan Dollars.

Authorities have revealed that they are planning to introduce three major projects to Aoqian, including a 10-billion-yuan tourism complex, an international duty-free shopping mall and a comprehensive leisure hotel.