Xiamen is playing an increasingly important role in passenger transportation between the mainland and Taiwan.

At present, the major connection across the Straits is by ship and plane. According to the Xiamen Port Authority, the number of passengers traveling between Xiamen and Taiwan's Jinmen increased by 39.88 percent year-on-year. The number involved exceeded one million over the past 10 months as communication between the mainland and Taiwan becomes ever closer.

Direct journeys between Xiamen and Jinmen began in January 2001. By the end of October this year, the total number of passengers had reached 4.36 million, according to the Fujian Communications Department.

As a response to the increasing demand, Xiamen Port added four more daily voyages as of mid-July this year, bringing the number of daily crossings to 32.

Currently, the city is looking at ways to improve its crossing facilities. According to Liu Cigui, mayor of Xiamen, the city will expand the waiting room area of its passenger terminal to 16,000 sq m and add more ships to its fleet to meet growing demand.

The expansion project, with a total investment of 35 million yuan, will be completed in 2010. This will raise the throughput capacity of the terminal to one million passengers a year.

In August and September this year, Xiamen also opened regularly scheduled direct sailings from the city to the Taiwan ports of Penghu, Taichung and Keelung. This initiative is a bid to boost the numbers of mainland passengers looking to travel to Taiwan via Xiamen.

Xiamen Airlines is the only airline company headquartered in Xiamen. During the process of establishing regular direct flights between the mainland and Taiwan, the company made a remarkable contribution.

As early as 2006, the company began to organize cross-Straits charter flights during the Spring Festival. In Dec 16, 2008, Xiamen took the lead among mainland airline companies and established an office in Taiwan.

On August 31, regularly scheduled direct Cross-Straits flights were inaugurated. Xiamen Airlines is now responsible for 11 flights a week from Xiamen, Fuzhou, Hangzhou and Changsha on the mainland to Songshan and Taoyuan in Taiwan.

Compared with some other airline companies providing Cross-Straits flights, Xiamen Airlines does not provide as many flights, but it has a number of advantages that other companies lack.

There is only the Straits between Xiamen and Taiwan, ensuring that people on either side have much in common, including language and food. The company selects stewardesses who can speak Taiwanese to provide services during the flight.

Meanwhile, Xiamen local food and tea, hugely popular in Taiwan, are provided. Passengers can even enjoy tea-making ceremonies on board.

In May of this year, the State Council, China's cabinet, approved suggestions by Fujian province to accelerate the development of the Western Straits Economic Zone, designed to develop the Taiwan-oriented economy.

The adoption of the policy brings unprecedented opportunities for Xiamen Airlines, according to Che Shanglun, general manager of the company.

In addition to the city's accomplishment in establishing direct voyages between Taiwan, there is also great potentials for Xiamen to combine air and voyage services and attract still more passengers to travel between the mainland and Taiwan via Xiamen.

Xiamen Airlines is now preparing for these future opportunities. In October the company reached an agreement with the Export-Import Bank of China. As a result of this, the bank will provide $260 million to fund the company's purchase of 20 additional planes before 2015.

(China Daily 11/16/2009 page7)