Photos by Lu Ting / China Daily

Photos by Lu Ting / China Daily

The location advantage of Pingtan, which is the starting point of both cross-Straits marine routes, will become more prominent with the growth of local industries and improvement of relative facilities, according to Shan Yuli from the Fujian Academy of Social Science.

The Haixia will be mainly responsible for transporting passengers in the first stage of the Pingtan-Taipei route. It will later engage in cargo transportation as it does on the Pingtan-Taichung route, according to a report by Straits Metropolis Daily.

The Haixia is the world's fastest passenger ship of its kind, with a maximum speed of 96 nautical mph and a capacity of 782 passengers.

Statistics show that, since its launch in November 2011, the Haixia has transported more than 150,000 passengers across the Taiwan Straits, thus making a big contribution to Pingtan tourism.

The Haixia started to engage in cargo transportation and postal delivery earlier this year. In the first half, it transported approximately 1,800 tons of freight worth $77 million and 30 tons of international mail and packages, according to the local port administration authorities.