"Mini three links" sea routes see over 1 mln passenger trips in 2024

The "mini-three-links" passenger sea routes connecting east China's Fujian Province with the Taiwan-administered Kinmen and Matsu islands have handled more than one million trips this year as of Saturday, surging by 87.6 percent year on year.

Among them, the route between Fujian's Xiamen City and Kinmen County handled more than 5,000 trips on Oct 13 alone, a record high for single-day passenger traffic since the resumption of the ferry service in 2023, according to statistics from the Xiamen Entry and Exit Border Inspection Station.

Known as "the golden passage" connecting the Chinese mainland and the Taiwan region, the "mini-three-links" accounts for over 95 percent of customs clearance in Fujian.

By far, all four "mini-three-links" passenger sea routes -- namely Xiamen-Kinmen, Quanzhou-Kinmen, Fuzhou-Nangan and Fuzhou-Beigan -- have seen a surge from 26 trips per week to a maximum of 182 trips per week.

"Mini three links" sea routes see over 1 mln passenger trips in 2024

Fewer than 40 specimens of habenaria plurifoliata, a rare and endangered perennial herbaceous orchid, have been discovered in a nature reserve in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The new discovery bolsters future population surveys, habitat research and conservation efforts for the species.

Discovered for the first time at Longling County's Xiaoheishan Nature Reserve, the plant grows in humid valley meadow in two locations, with each measuring more than 70 centimeters in height.

A single habenaria plurifoliata plant produces 10 to 25 flowers. The blossoms are green or greenish-white, with the upper outer petals slightly curved upward, resembling a sickle or a tongue.

Its flower buds resemble drill bits, while its fruits are spindle-shaped.

This plant has a narrow distribution, found primarily in Yunnan Province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Guizhou Province in south and southwest China.

Endangered flower found in China's Yunnan