The first post-COVID-19 pandemic tour group from China’s Xiamen City arrived in Kinmen County yesterday for a two-day trip.
The 22-member group reached Shuishe Pier at about 10am via the “mini-three links,” which are direct ferries connecting Kinmen and Matsu with Chinese-controlled Fujian Province, and was greeted by a lion dance performance organized by the Kinmen County Government.
The visit came after a group of seven travel industry representatives from Xiamen arrived in Kinmen County on Wednesday for a three-day familiarization tour.
Photo: Wu Cheng-ting, Taipei Times
The Kinmen trips made by the two groups were the result of joint efforts across multiple sectors, the county government said in a statement yesterday, adding that it and the local travel industry held several meetings to enhance the quality of tourism services.
Ferry services between Taiwan and China had been suspended since February 2020 due to COVID-19, with cross-strait ferry travel partially reopened for one month in January last year.
The tour group’s arrival came after the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Aug. 30 that Beijing would soon lift restrictions on group and independent travel for residents in Fujian Province to Kinmen.
China halted independent travel to Taiwan on Aug. 1, 2019, citing the poor state of cross-strait relations. It then suspended group travel in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
The group’s first stop was Shuitou (水頭) in Jincheng Township (金城), famous for its traditional Southern Fukienese-style architecture. They also visited sites such as Chen Jing-lan Western-style House and Southern Stone Tidal Weir Park yesterday.
They are set to visit Mingyi Old Street and the historic Mofan Street today before returning to Xiamen via the direct ferry route in the afternoon.
The Kinmen County Government said it has also approved the applications of 27 independent Chinese travelers to visit the county on Wednesday for a two-day tour.
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