180,000 passengers to be transported between Xiamen and Kinmen
At the Xiamen Wutong Passenger Wharf on Monday, Wang Tingchu, a Taiwan resident, along with her family, is ready to embark on the journey home for the upcoming Spring Festival.
The family plans to board a passenger liner bound for Kinmen, an islet of Taiwan, and then fly home to Taipai.
"The Spring Festival is a traditional Chinese festival, a big event for reunion," Wang said.
She mentioned that they habitually take ships sailing for Kinmen from Xiamen since it is economical and of great convenience.
A total of 1,420 vessel trips are scheduled to be made between Xiamen and Kinmen during the Spring Festival travel rush, transporting 180,000 passengers, up 4.7 percent year-on-year, local authorities estimated.
In 2018, 1.745 million passengers commuted between the two places, the largest number since the route's inception in January of 2001. The route's monthly passenger volume is around 150,000.
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A passenger vessel sets sail for Kinmen from Xiamen, East China's Fujian province. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Why Xiamen
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Xiamen is one of the most economically competitive cities in China and was one of the first Special Economic Zones on the Chinese mainland. As a vice-provincial city independently listed on the State development plan, it has provincial-level authority in economic administration and local legislative power. In 2010, the Xiamen SEZ was expanded to cover the entire municipality. Today, Xiamen is a modern and international port city.