Cross-Strait ferries take people home for Spring Festival

APD NEWS

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In the wake of Taiwan aviation authorities' refusal to approve 176 extra cross-Strait flights over the Chinese New Year travel period and the resulting seasonal air fare hike, some have turned to the sea, as mainland’s shipping companies have also taken upon themselves to make that water route a welcome alternative ride to Taiwan.

Cosco Star is one such ferry service. It offers direct waterway rides from Xiamen to Taichung and Keelung on different dates.

Cross-strait ferry services provide services in the coastal area to make sure everyone gets home on time.

Chang Chih-Lung, a businessman originally coming from Taichung, said the ship has been ideal for him, not just because the tickets are easy to get.

Chang told CGTN that, “This is very convenient for me. I’ve stuck with the water travel for the last few years. You get in a comfortable ship in the evening and wake up at home. And it hasn’t a limit for the weight of luggage. We’re bringing dates, dried seafood and other local specialties home. The changes to air routes wouldn't affect me.”

The non-existent weight limit is a huge plus for people coming home to Taiwan, as well as for mainland tourists celebrating the holiday to the island.

The route maps of Cosco Star.

Zhang Gao from Jiangsu Province had come to Xiamen on a high-speed train and considered the journey smooth. Bringing his wife and daughter to Taiwan for a second visit, Zhang said: “Beef jerky, pineapple cakes… Taiwan has great food and offers great fun. My daughter liked it so much that she asked us to go there again this year.”

The Cosco Star has been in service since 2009. At first, it almost exclusively carried mainland tourists. Now, almost 40 percent of the passengers are people going home to Taiwan, so the ship has been considerate of the clients.

The route map of Cosco Star.

“We want to make sure that people in Taiwan get home from the mainland before the eve of the Chinese New Year. So this year, we changed our departing schedules over the period to meet that goal,” according to Shi Mingli, manager of the Xiamen Mintai Ferry that operates the Cosco Star.

“We’re also keeping the fare rate stable in the rush season. We are not going for profit over the holiday period.”

Cosco Star offers direct waterway rides from Xiamen to Taichung and Keelung on different dates.

So far, 95 people have boarded the ferry. In less than 12 hours, they will arrive in Taichung for the Chinese New Year. But Cosco Star is not the only service in the coastal area provided to make sure everyone gets home on time.

There are cross-Strait ferry services in other places in Fujian and Zhejiang provinces as well. Altogether, they could reach tens of thousands of passengers for the spring festival travel rush.

As a comparatively new and lesser-known travel option, the sail is smooth for now.

(CGTN)