00:01A group of representatives from Shanghai's tourism industry
00:05hear on Taiwan's outlying islands of Jinmen for a three-day trip.
00:10They're touting some of the area's specialty beverages.
00:21The trip comes after Beijing announced in February
00:25that it would allow Shanghai tourists back to Jinmen,
00:28as well as another Taiwanese outlying island, Matsu.
00:31Tourism from China to Taiwan has been largely frozen for around six years
00:36due to cross-strait tensions and the COVID-19 pandemic,
00:40which has been a blow to Jinmen's local economy.
00:43Jinmen lies just a few kilometers off of China's southeast coast
00:47and had long relied on tourism from China as a source of income.
00:51And now China has recently been relaxing some restrictions.
00:54In 2024, it began allowing tourists from Fujian province to return to Jinmen and Matsu.
01:01And now it's added Shanghai to that list as well.
01:04This group from Shanghai is the first to visit Jinmen since the announcement.
01:09They toured the Gaoliang distillery and met with local tourism representatives
01:13to find ways to work together on things like joint marketing campaigns.
01:17They also visited one of Jinmen's smaller islands before heading back to China by ferry.
01:23This also comes as China says it will soon allow tourists from Fujian and Shanghai
01:28to visit Taiwan's main island,
01:30part of a series of measures China says are aimed at strengthening cross-strait ties.
01:35But Taiwan's central government has criticized these moves,
01:39saying they're part of Beijing's strategy to bring Taiwan closer,
01:42with the ultimate goal of taking control of it.
01:45But despite concerns at the national level,
01:48places like Jinmen see renewed tourism from China as a welcome boost to the local economy
01:54and say they will continue pushing for more.
01:57Patrick Chen and Cadence Coranta for Taiwan Plus.
01:59Wait till they need to take control of this place.
02:02Patience Coranta for Taiwan
02:0205.
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