A cross-Straits rural tourism conference is held in Xiamen, Fujian province, on May 5, with the participation of around 1,000 rural tourism professionals, including Pingtan tourism authority. [Photo/Pingtan Times]

Pingtan tourism authority took part in a cross-Straits rural tourism conference held in Xiamen on May 5, to learn from successful experience to develop its rural tourism, Pingtan Times reported.

The conference was part of the 12th Strait Travel Fair that ran from May 4 to 8. It aims to serve as a platform for rural tourism professionals from the mainland and Taiwan to exchange ideas and come up with solutions that help boost rural tourism. About 1,000 professionals participated in the conference.

Wu Jiehua, director of Pingtan tourism development bureau, considered the conference a good opportunity for Pingtan's rural tourism because it can learn from lots of successful experience there.

Wu said that they want to develop a new rural tourism model that combines entertainment and sightseeing, with stone folk dwelling, a unique tourism resource in Pingtan, as its core.

Qiu Yi, a famous Taiwan scholar, suggested that Pingtan has to find and use its cultural strengths and favorable location to develop tourism with its own characteristics.