The fifth "Common Homeland" Forum convenes in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, Fujian province on June 13. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The fifth "Common Homeland" Forum convened in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, Fujian province on June 13.

The event focused on turning Pingtan into an international tourist destination and enhancing cross-Straits cooperation. More than 300 politicians, entrepreneurs and scholars from the mainland and Taiwan attended the forum to brainstorm and exchange ideas.

Experts from the tourism industry gave speeches at the event, including Yu Xinshu, executive secretary of International Forum on Marine Tourism Economics, Bai Changhong, dean of College of Tourism and Service Management of Nankai University, and Ye Xiumei, president of Taiwan Association of Rural Tourism.

The first "Common Homeland" Forum was held in June 2012 and has become a significant occasion for cross-Straits academic exchanges, economic cooperation and cultural integration. It also helps build a harmonious relationship between Pingtan and Taiwan.

Chen Dong, a member of the Standing Committee of the Fujian Provincial Party Committee, said that the forum makes it easier for people across the Taiwan Straits to exchange ideas and cooperate with each other, because the closer they are, the better cross-Straits relations will be.

Hence, there are other events to go along with the forum, such as exchanges between heads of mainland and Taiwan villages, cross-Straits folk culture exchanges, and even match-making events.