Fuzhou-Matsu 'Mini three links' routes see surge in passenger traffic in H1

The "mini three links" passenger ferry routes between Fuzhou City of east China's Fujian Province and the island of Matsu in China's Taiwan region handled more than 44,000 trips in the first half of this year, marking a 52 percent year-on-year increase, the Fuzhou Entry and Exit Border Inspection Station said on Tuesday.

The "mini three links" refers to small-scale trade, shipping and postal services between Fujian Province, and the islands of Kinmen and Matsu in the Taiwan region.

At about 11:00 on Wednesday, a passenger ferry docked at Fuzhou's Huangqi ferry terminal, carrying 145 passengers from Matsu's Baisha Harbor.

The majority of the passengers were Taiwan compatriots, who visit the mainland for family reunions, tourism and shopping.

"Since summer vacation has just started, we brought the kids from Matsu to spend the holiday on the mainland. It's very convenient, just a 25-minute ferry ride away," said a Taiwan compatriot.

Currently, there are two "mini three links" passenger ferry routes operating between Fuzhou and Matsu: the Huangqi-Matsu route and the Mawei-Matsu route, with a total of eight daily round sailings connecting both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

According to the Fuzhou Entry and Exit Border Inspection Station, passenger traffic on the Fuzhou-Matsu routes has shown a month-by-month increasing trend in the first half of this year.

Notably, the Huangqi-Matsu route alone handled 28,751 passenger trips during the period, surging 99.1 percent compared to the same period last year.

"We have opened more inspection channels, and provided services both in Fuzhou dialect and southern Fujian dialect to ensure smooth passenger clearance. Given that most passengers at the port are family groups, elderly travelers and young children, we have established special lanes. These measures can help create the Fuzhou-Matsu living circle," said Lin Yanxia, police officer with the Fuzhou Entry and Exit Border Inspection Station.

Fuzhou-Matsu 'Mini three links' routes see surge in passenger traffic in H1

China's Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the country's northwest on Sunday, sending three astronauts to its orbiting space station.

The spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, lifted off from the launch site at 23:08 Beijing Time (15:08 GMT).

The crew members consist of mission commander Zhu Yangzhu, and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying, who is also the first astronaut from China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

In another notable first, one of the crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

After entering orbit, the Shenzhou-23 spaceship will perform a fast automated rendezvous and docking with the radial port of the space station core module Tianhe, forming a combination of three modules and three spacecraft.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.

China launches Shenzhou-23 manned spaceship