Four comprehensive transportation arteries running nationwide will be built with Xiamen as the starting point during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016 - 2020), according to Fujian province's 13th Five-Year Plan for transportation development.
The plan involves a 750 billion yuan ($114 billion) investment and interprovincial cooperation, and includes the construction of 12 comprehensive transportation arteries (including the four starting at Xiamen) and seven railway lines running in and out the province.
Upon completion the four transportation arteries, integrating expressways, high-speed railways and sea routes will link Xiamen to Kaohsiung in Taiwan, Kunming in Yunnan, Fangchenggang in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region and Horgos in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
The seven railway lines to complete construction by 2020 will significantly shorten travel times between Xiamen and other regions. Travel time will be cut to 2.5 hours between Xiamen and Pingtan and four hours between Xiamen and Quzhou in Zhejiang province.
Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian, will be a mere one hour away after the Fuzhou-Xiamen passenger line is finished. The Fuzhou-Xiamen passenger line will be the second one running through the province at a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour.
Xiamen will also be covered by a railway ring line connecting cities in the north and west of Fujian.
The expressway connecting the Xiang'an airport, which began construction in 2015, will be put into use in 2020; the airport itself will be operational by 2019.
A 5.6 billion yuan tunnel connecting Huli district on Xiamen Island and Haicang district along the shore will be completed in 2020. Part of the tunnel will run as deep as 72.6 meters below sea level.
After the tunnel opens, the travel time between the Xinyang industrial zone and Xiamen airport on the island will fall to an estimated 15 minutes.
The tunnel is expected to ease the traffic between the Xiamen Island and the Haicang district, which now all goes over the Haicang Bridge.
China announced and implemented on May 15 a policy allowing visa-free entry of foreign tourist groups aboard cruise ships via all cruise ship ports along the country's coastline.
China and Georgia are set to waive visa requirements for travelers starting May 28.
