The owner of Haixia, a high-speed passenger ferry sailing regularly between Pingtan and Taiwan, announced on Jan 8 that it has opened a ticket outlet in Quanzhou, a city in the south of Fujian province.

The Haixia High-Speed Roll-on and Roll-off Passenger Shipping Company also said it would open more offices in Quanzhou, Xiamen, Zhangzhou and Longyan, and build an online booking system so as to improve their service for visitors who wish to take the ship to Taiwan.

Yang Cheng, general manager of the company, said that Taiwan signed agreements in 2013 allowing individual visitors from more mainland cities - including Quanzhou - thus expanding Haixia's market as it is arguably the most cost-effective way for cross-Straits travel.

Starting from April 1, Haixia will operate on a Pingtan-Taichung route on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and to Taipei on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Since it was launched two years ago, the Haixia has transported over 200,000 passengers and more than 400 tons of cargo.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Niva Whyman