PINGTAN, AN EMERGING NEW MAINLAND SPOT FOR INTERNATIONAL ISLAND EXPLORERS

PINGTAN, China, Sept 1 (Bernama) -- 

Pingtan Islands, located in the middle of the coastline of Fujian Province, China, is the closest place to Taiwan on the mainland, land area being nearly 400 square kilometers. Its main island Haitan is the largest island in Fujian Province, with only 68 nautical miles from Xinzhu, Taiwan. Pingtan was established as a comprehensive pilot zone in July 2009. Since then it has become a prefecture-level administrative region directly under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province. On November 1st, 2014, President Xi Jinping for the first time proposed during his visit to Pingtan that these islands shall be forged as a destination for international tourists. In April, 2015, Pingtan District belonging to the Fujian Free Trade Zone was officially established, and was positioned as the common homeland for people across the straits and international tourism islands . On August 8th, 2016, the State Council of China officially released the approval of the Development Plan of Pingtan as International Tourism Islands, and since then the opening up and development of Pingtan has escalated to a new height. http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=27443