Nearly 300 Chinese free independent travelers (FIT) arrived in the country from Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen yesterday, and were greeted with flowers, travel coupons and a large media presence.
The first group of Chinese FITs came from Xiamen through the “small three links” framework with Kinmen. After arriving in Kinmen by boat, the group was divided into two, with one flying to Taichung Chingchuankang Airport and the other to Taipei Songshan Airport. Aside from Taichung and Taipei, other Chinese FITs also came through Taoyuan International Airport.
Both the Taipei City Government and the Greater Taichung Government prepared souvenirs and snacks, including pineapple cakes and pearl milk tea, to welcome the Chinese tourists.
Photo: Pichi Chuang, Reuters
Awkward as well as heart--warming moments abounded on the first day of Chinese FITs arrivals.
One of the travelers, a man surnamed Lin (林), was asked to pose for a photograph with the special gift card given to him by the National Immigration Agency (NIA), which featured two new NT$1 coins, the signatures of both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), the Republic of China (ROC) flag as well as the design of the ROC Centennial on the envelope. Having found out what the gift was, Lin seemed embarrassed and said no to the photo request.
Ye Suzhi (葉素枝) and her sister were born in Taiwan and used to live in Tainan. Ye’s family went to visit her grandmother in Fujian Province when she was five. Because of the Chinese Civil War that broke out in 1945, both Ye and her sister were forced to stay in Xiamen for 64 years and were unable to return, even after her father passed away.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
“We went to our father’s grave and told him we are going back to Taiwan,” Ye said.
Ye said they planned to spend four days in Taiwan visiting the old house in Tainan and pay their respects to the family’s ancestors.
Forty-five-year-old Chen Yibin (陳藝斌) is from Xiamen and has visited Taiwan eight times. He said he wanted to visit the National Palace Museum and see his Taiwanese friends.
A woman surnamed Lin (林) and her friend said they had visited Taiwan through a package tour two years ago. Lin said they were very impressed by what they had seen in Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, but did not have time to shop at the department stores. She said they came this time on a three-day tour and would mainly stay in Taipei to shop, adding that Taipei 101 was a must-go site.
Interior designer Wang Dan (王丹), 45, came on a five-day tour from Shanghai.
Traveling with her son, she said she would stay mainly in Taipei and wanted to check out the Eslite Bookstores, the night markets and Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. She added that she wanted to taste the pan-fried oyster cakes and buy pineapple cakes as souvenirs.
According to the NIA, 291 Chinese tourists applied to come yesterday as FITs. Only nine applications were rejected.
Among those who actually arrived, 111 were from Beijing, 108 from Xiamen and 72 from Shanghai.
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