The annual Cross-Strait Dragon Boat Cultural Festival opened on May 28. A total of 59 teams competed in a series of dragon boat races over two days. The competition included 24 teams from Taiwan, one from Hong Kong, 25 from Xiamen and nine from other provinces. Southeast Television broadcast the competition, which included races of 200 meters and 500 meters as well as a dragon boat tug-of-war.
The festival also features a sacrificial ceremony for good fortune. Other events included a garden party, a zongzi wrapping competition, a culture forum, a talent show and a photography competition. The General Administration of Sport of China, the China Dragon Boat Association, the CPPCC Xiamen Committee and the Fujian Sports Bureau jointly hosted the festival.
China has decided to extend its visa waiver policy to ordinary passport holders from Canada and the United Kingdom starting from Feb 17.
Forty-one new port-of-entry duty-free shops have been established nationwide, with Xiamen Xiang'an International Airport, Xiamen Wutong Passenger Wharf, and Xiamen International Cruise Center included on the list.
