More Taiwan people visited Pingtan, Fujian province this year prior to the Qingming Festival, or Tomb-sweeping day, on April 5, ptnet.cn reported.

From March 31 to April 2, the Natchan Rera, a high-speed roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry that commutes between Pingtan and Taipei, saw more than 2,500 passengers in three days, almost quadruple the normal level.

On April 1 alone, some 770 passengers took the ship to Pingtan, according to the customs authority.

Some Taiwan visitors came to Fujian to pay tributes to their ancestors, while many others came for tourism.

“It only takes three hours (from Taipei to Pingtan) by ship, which is much convenient than before. I hope there will be more sea routes linking Fujian and Taiwan,” said Wu Wenzhong from Kaohiung in Taiwan, whose ancestral home is in Fuqing county.

Feng Ping is a Pingtan native who has been doing business with her husband in Taiwan’s Hualien county for more than ten years. She was emotional when she spoke about about the trip home.

“Pingtan is where my roots are. I chatted with the customs inspectors today in Pingtan dialect and it is really a familiar experience,” she said.