Taiwan began receiving individual Chinese tourists Tuesday, with nearly 300 arriving on the first day of the relaxed requirements, DPA reported.
Local officials in Taipei and Taichung held welcome ceremonies for the mainlanders, placing garlands around their necks and showering them with gifts including hotel and hot-spring vouchers, bus passes, pineapple pastries and stamps.
Taiwan began accepting organised tour groups from China in 2008 after President Ma Ying-jeou took office with a pledge to seek peace through economic integration.
The new regulations allow a maximum of 500 individual Chinese travellers to enter the island each day for 15-day stays.
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