Tourists from Chinese mainland have made more than 350,000 trips to Taiwan so far after the travel ban was lifted a year ago.

Du Jiang, deputy director of the National Tourism Administration said the tourism cooperation across the strait has been vibrant and the tourists from Chinese mainland to Taiwan has been on a steady rise.

When meeting with an official delegation from Taichung City and three central Taiwan counties Friday, Du said the two sides should complement each other with unique resources, step up tourism promotion and improve tourism services.

The head of the delegation said the central Taiwan has abundant natural and cultural resources, and is willing to improve its infrastructure construction to attract more visitors from Chinese mainland.

The delegation also staged an exhibit featuring farm produce and tourist attractions Saturday in Beijing.

On July 4, 2008, weekend charter flight which carried 760 mainland tourists headed for Taiwan. It was the first mainland tourist group to the Island since 1949.

(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2009)