As the closest city to Taiwan on the mainland, Pingtan has been actively promoting in-depth economic and cultural exchanges with Taiwan over recent years and it appears to be paying dividends.

"It is very convenient for me to commute between Pingtan and Taiwan," Xue Qingde, a Taiwan resident who has run a business in Pingtan for sixteen years told a reporter, "I am able to get home to Taichung by noon if I embark on a ferry from Pingtan at nine o'clock in the morning."

As of Aug, 2016, a total of 517.7 thousand passengers have travelled between Pingtan and Taiwan by taking high-speed roll-on/roll-off passenger ferries.

Pingtan has also made efforts to streamline the procedure for Taiwan residents to apply for a mainland travel permit.

Zhang Shufu, a Taiwan businessman who applied for his Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents last July, said it took him about seven workdays to receive the credit card sized permit.

Additionally, a sea-air combined transportation route connecting Pingtan and Taipei was officially launched at the beginning of Nov 2016. Cargo ferries will commute between Pingtan and Taipei each week in accordance with five schedules.

A sea-air combined transportation route connecting Pingtan and Taipei has officially been launched at the beginning of Nov, this year. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]