Mainland group one step closer to Taiwan

The first tourist group from the Chinese mainland will set off for Taiwan this Friday. The mainland tourists gathered on Tuesday to get their entry documents.

The mainland tourists who are visiting Taiwan on Friday went to the Exit and Entry Management Section of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau on Tuesday.

Zhang Xinqiang, Vice GM of China Travel Service, said, "We have received many reservations -- several hundred. Our travel groups will be scheduled to depart from Friday to Monday. Most of them will depart on Saturday and Sunday."

To visit the island, mainland travellers need a Taiwan entry booklet and an entry permit. The permit is valid for three months and allows one entry.

There are 760 people in the first group of tourists from the mainland to visit Taiwan. They will depart from Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and Guangzhou, on flights operated by Air China, Hainan Airlines, China Eastern and China Southern. Their tour will last ten days.

Editor:Yang Jie