A direct passenger sea route linking Pingtan, an island city off the east coast of Fujian province, and Kaohsiung in Taiwan was launched on July 11.

The ferry, carrying over 700 passengers, embarked on a 4.5-hour voyage to Kaohsiung, a city in southwestern Taiwan, 178 nautical miles away from Pingtan

After the opening of the new route, Pingtan is now connected by sea to northern, central and southern Taiwan.

A ship route from Pingtan to Taichung in central Taiwan was opened in 2011. Two years later, ferry services from Pingtan to Taipei in northern Taiwan began being offered.

According to Chen Shanguang, Party chief of Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, there is now a passenger ship running from Pingtan to Taiwan every day and a cargo ship running every week.

Official data shows that a total of 3,505 trips have been made via the aforementioned sea routes, transporting more than 910,000 passengers, including 384,000 from Taiwan, since 2011.

A direct passenger sea route linking Pingtan, an island city off the east coast of Fujian province, and Kaohsiung in Taiwan is launched on July 11 [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]