Historic regular flights between Taiwan and China began on July 4, in a show of conciliation between the two countries that could draw millions of Chinese visitors to the island.
The first of the flights, a China Southern Airlines plane, landed at Taipei's Taoyuan airport after leaving Guangzhou in southern China early in the morning.
“The advantages of mainland tourist visits to Taiwan are not only stimulus for related industries, job opportunities for citizens and other tangible interests. It's also for mutual peace, a deepening of exchanges, elevating our international image and other non-tangible points,” Taiwanese Premier Liu Chao-shiuan said on July 3.
Negotiators from China and Taiwan agreed last month to the weekend flights and decided to let as many as 3,000 Chinese tourists a day visit the island.
The first flight from Guangzhou had 258 passengers, including over 100 tourists from the mainland, Xinhua news agency reported.
In total, around 600 Chinese people, including China's top tourism official and 32 other government leaders, are expected to board the Friday flights.
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