Haixia passenger liner starts first voyage from Pingtan to Taipei

A high-speed passenger liner, carrying more than 300 tourists, has arrived at Taipei Port, from Pingtan County, southeast China's Fujian Province.

Cross-strait connections are growing. A high-speed passenger liner, carrying more than 300 tourists, has arrived at Taipei Port, from Pingtan County, southeast China's Fujian Province.

The vessel Haixia is conducting its first trial voyage of the route. It's the second passenger liner between Pingtan and Taiwan since November 2011. It's also the first mainland passenger liner to enter the Taipei port.

The voyage between Pingtan and Taipei is about 92 nautical miles, and takes less than three hours. There will be a second round trip on Saturday. Maximum capacity is 2,800 passengers. The convenient one-day round-trip service is expected to be very popular.