Chinese President Xi Jinping made an inspection tour of the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone (PCPZ) in Fujian province on Saturday Nov 1, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

Xi is no stranger to Pingtan, as he visited there on 20 occasions throughout his 17-year official tenure working in Fujian, and has a strong attachment to it.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shakes hands with staff members at a customs checkpoint in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone in Fujian province, Nov 1. [Photo/Xinhua]

Pingtan was approved as the first comprehensive experimental area on the Chinese mainland that is opening up to Taiwan for communication and cooperation in 2009.

In July 2014, Pingtan became the largest area in China under customs supervision and management. It set up two customs checkpoints, one at the port area and the other near Haixia Bridge, which is the only overland entrance and exit to Pingtan, for better implementation of more preferential policies, especially tax.

Xi swung by the customs checkpoint near Haixia Bridge and learnt about its operations, wrote Xinhua on its Weibo account "Xinhua Shidian" on Nov 1.

The followings are highlights of Xi's visit to Pingtan:

Xi showed much concern about Pingtan's ecological environment and urged better efforts on forestation and preservation of natural scenic resources. The first thing he asked upon arrival in Pingtan is "Does the wind still roar as it used to here?"

After knowing that the income of both Taiwan-funded enterprises and local residents had increased significantly, Xi said, "The Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone is unique (in terms of its working mode). Folks, keep exploring and improving."

At the Haixia Passenger Terminal, Xi Jinping greeted the crowd and asked about their experiences of taking ferries directly to Taiwan. He wished a Taiwanese who works in Pingtan "booming business", and joked with a couple of visitors from northwestern China's Xinjiang, saying they have seen both magnificent deserts and oceans in the country.

The smiling Xi then surprised passengers on the packed Haixia Ship and shook hands with them. He waved goodbye twice with them at the shore before the ferry departed to Taiwan.

In talks with bosses of Taiwan-funded enterprises in Pingtan, Xi said cross-Straits cooperation had played a vital role in the opening-up and development of the Chinese mainland. He hoped the Taiwanese entrepreneurs could continue to contribute to the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Xi also praised the smooth infrastructure construction in Pingtan, and called on officials to provide comprehensive services to create a better investment climate for Taiwan's investors. He said, "The mainland's market has enough room for Taiwan's commodities as well as entrepreneurs. And it welcomes more merchants from Taiwan to make investments and start businesses in Pingtan."

Before leaving Pingtan later that day, Xi reminded local officials that Pingtan faced a golden opportunity which comes around once in a millennium. And only with a decent infrastructure, living conditions and soft environment can Pingtan attract more enterprises and professionals to settle in.

A fine ecology environment is the "true treasure" of Pingtan, and it will never ever bring in any "fake treasure" that does harm to the environment at the cost of the "true treasure", said Xi.