Kinmen welcomes 1st post-COVID-19 Chinese tour group

Taipei, Sept. 22 (CNA) The first post-COVID-19 tour group from China's Xiamen City arrived in Taiwan's outlying island county of Kinmen on Sunday for a two-day trip.

The 22-member group reached Shuishe Pier around 10 a.m. via the "mini-three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen County and Matsu Islands with China's Fujian province, and was greeted by a lion dance performance organized by the Kinmen County government.

The visit came after a group of seven travel industry representatives from the Chinese city arrived in the Taiwan-controlled island county last Wednesday for a three-day familiarization tour.

The Kinmen trips made by the two groups marked the results of joint efforts from multiple sectors, the county government said in a statement issued Sunday, adding that it and the local travel industry held several meetings to enhance the quality of tourism services.

Ferry services between Taiwan and China had been suspended since February 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic, with cross-strait ferry travel partially re-opened for one month in January 2023.

The tour group's arrival came after China's Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced on Aug. 30 that Beijing would soon lift restrictions on group and independent travel for residents in Fujian province to Kinmen.

China halted independent travel to Taiwan on Aug. 1, 2019, citing the poor state of cross-strait relations. It then suspended group travel in early 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The group's first stop was the Shuitou settlement in Jincheng township, famous for its traditional Southern Fukienese style architecture. They then went to sites such as Chen Jing-lan Western-style House and Southern Stone Tidal Weir Park later Sunday.

On Monday, the group is set to visit Mingyi Old Street and the historic Mofan Street before returning to Xiamen via the direct ferry route that afternoon.

According to the Kinmen County government, it has also approved the applications of 27 independent Chinese travelers to visit the county on Wednesday for a two-day tour.