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Download Residents of 13 more cities on the Chinese mainland will be eligible to travel to Taiwan as individual tourists, according to an announcement made on Sunday at the fifth Straits Forum in Xiamen, Fujian province. As a result of recent negotiations between tourism authorities on both sides of the Straits, residents of Shenyang, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Suzhou, Ningbo and Qingdao will be able to visit Taiwan individually starting from June 28, said Shao Qiwei, head of the National Tourism Administration. Residents of Shijiazhuang, Changchun, Hefei, Changsha, Nanning, Kunming and Quanzhou will have to wait until Aug 28, he said. The move will bring the total number of cities on the mainland that allow individual tourists to 26, including the likes of Beijing and Shanghai. Tourists not from these cities can only travel to Taiwan via a tour. Shao said more mainland travel agencies will be allowed to organize package tours to Taiwan soon. The new move was hailed by Huang Liang-yu, a businesswoman from Kaohsiung in Taiwan, who said it will allow more mainlanders to know about the life and culture of Taiwan. "Mainland tourists may have a wrong impression of Taiwan due to restrictions in terms of lodging and eating while they are on a package tour. Individual tours are much better," Huang said. "Such a policy also provides remarkable convenience for those who have tied the knot with Taiwan compatriots, as they could visit their family on the other side of the Straits more easily," Huang said, adding she hopes individual tours will be open to all residents of the mainland someday. | 
