About Pingtan

*The picture only shows the geographic location. It is not a map of scale.

In the east of Fujian Province, Pingtan County faces the Taiwan Strait on the east, borders the Haitan Strait on the west, connects with Fuqing County-Level City, Changle District, and Putian City, is adjacent to Nanri Island in Xiuyu District of Putian City to the south, and looks out onto the Baiquan Islands to the north. Across the Taiwan Strait, Pingtan is the closest place in the Chinese mainland to the island of Taiwan.

Pingtan, dubbed the place of a “Thousand Reefs and Hundred Islands”, has a total land area of 371.91 square kilometers comprised of 126 islands dominated by Haitan Island. With 64.65 square kilometers of mudflat and 6,064 square kilometers of sea, the island enjoys a 399.82-kilometer-long coastline. The main island, Haitan Island, is the fifth largest island in the country, and the place is also a famous fishing base.

A cross-strait bridge on the Belt and Road

Situated in China’s southeast coastal area, Pingtan serves as the central zone within the Taiwan Strait, a place well known as the South-North Sea Corridor, linking ports in both northern and southern China. Its unique geographical advantage is of great significance for Pingtan to be built into an international tourism-friendly island, to develop the coastal tourism industry, and to integrate actively into the construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative.

In March 2015, the Chinese government issued the Vision and Actions on Jointly Building the Silk-Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, indicating that Fujian is positioned as “the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, with it simultaneously being proposed that Pingtan fully play into its potential as an open cooperation zone.

When visiting Pingtan in November 2014, President Xi Jinping pointed out that the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone is a window of cooperation between Fujian and Taiwan as well as a window for the country to open up to the outside world. With the China-proposed “Belt and Road” initiative, new tourism industries such as cruise, beachfront, and seaport tourism will become the upsurge of the future. With its unique natural resources, Pingtan possesses the advantage of having the synergetic policies of two zones comprising the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” core and comprehensive pilot zone and free trade zone, enabling it to get plenty of opportunities in international tourism, island construction, ecological protection, and high-end market development.

Pingtan has opened two routes connecting Taichung and Taipei so far. The “Cross Strait Ferry (CSF)” and “Lina Ferry” which are used as “marine emissaries” to cross the Taiwan Strait have led to the landscape of “two routes at the same time, two ships in service, and cross-straits operations”, enabling seamless connections with Taiwan.

Synergy advantage of “free trade zone plus pilot zone”

In November 2011, the State Council formally approved the General Development Plan for the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, equipping Pingtan with 28 more special and favorable supporting policies than other special economic zones in seven areas. In July 2014, China’s largest special customs supervision area with the most favorable polices, Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, was officially put into service after approval. In December 2014, Pingtan was included in the new wave of free trade zone pilots.

The inauguration of the comprehensive pilot zone and the approval of the free trade zone have enabled Pingtan to produce the synergy advantage of “pilot zone plus free trade zone” policies, providing not only a special institutional mechanism for pilot zones in Taiwan, but also a pilot platform for the free trade zone regarding institutional innovation. This also involves both the exploration of replicable innovation experiences and non-replicable cross-strait cooperation policies.

The first advantage is location advantage. Pingtan, which lies in the main channel connecting the Pacific Ocean with the Taiwan Strait, is a strategic node linking the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, bonding the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and connecting East Asia with South Asia as well as the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. Plus, it is an important hub for the “Belt and Road” initiative.

The second is policy advantage. The central government has promoted the Fujian regional strategy for the economic reform of Pingtan Island to a national strategy, with an aim to create a new carrier and platform for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations. The 28 more special and favorable policies mentioned above have already been in place and will gradually establish a “new special zone” for Taiwanese policies.

The third is special regulatory advantages. In July 2014, the entire Pingtan Island was formally put into service after approval, and the special customs supervision mode of “deregulation of the frontier line, strict checking of the connecting line with non-pilot zones, separation of people and goods, and classification management” was launched, making Pingtan Island the country’s largest special regulatory area with the best policy that takes into account residents’ production and overall lives. Since then, foreign and Taiwanese businesspeople have begun to enjoy policy-related dividends.

The fourth is resource advantages. Pingtan, which abounds in wind and tidal energy, mineral sands, marine life, and a great many other resources, has 408 kilometers of coastline and 283 natural harbors and bays, including more than 10 that can house docks with the capacity of up to 0.3 million tons or even more. With a 70-kilometer long sandy beach, Pingtan features Stone Sail, Haitan Tianshen, and another eight national-level scenic spots, in which the sandy beach and sea-eroded land is like no other in the world, earning it the reputation of being “Fujian’s Hawai’i”.

International Tourism-Friendly Island

With a history stretching way back, Pingtan Island still retains a large number of primitive island architecture along with its stunning blue sky, beautiful sea breeze, and relaxing ocean waves contributing to its colorful scenery. Hailed as the “Most Beautiful Sandy Beach in China” with a “Unique Sea-Eroded Landform”, Pingtan’s additional scenic spots are like pearls scattered across the island and include Banyan Stone Sail, Haitan Tianshen, the Fairyland of East China Sea, Nanzhai Stone Scenery, Mt. Junshan, Mt. General, Tannan Bay, and Stone Villages. Pingtan is also a national key scenic spot and a national natural heritage site, attracting huge swathes of tourists who come for vacationing each summer.

In November 2011, the State Council approved the Overall Development Plan for the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, which clearly defines the tourism industry as one of the four leading industries for the development of Pingtan. In April 2015, the Pingtan area of the Fujian Pilot Free Trade Zone was unveiled and positioned to “focus on the construction of a cross-strait common homeland and an international tourist-friendly island”. On August 23, 2016, the State Council issued the State Council’s Reply on the Construction Plan for the Pingtan International Tourism-Friendly Island, which is so far still on track. Efforts have been made to build Pingtan into a place that features economic development, harmonious society, beautiful environment, and unique features beloved by compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

According to the plan, the construction of Pingtan into a national tourism-friendly island will be promoted to its fullest extent, and the comprehensive and convenient transportation system across the strait will be improved, with the frontier platform for exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan to be further highlighted by 2020. Preparations for the island are expected to be by and large completed by 2025, and it is hoped that it will become a happy homeland for compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait on top of its position as an internationally renowned island resort.