The announcement of offering conveniences came at the end of the nine-day visit to the mainland by James CY Soong, chairman of the People First Party (PFP) in Taiwan, who is heading a high-level delegation.

    Soong and his delegation have previously toured Xi'an, Hunan, Nanjing, Shanghai and are scheduled to return to Taiwan Friday.

    Calling his visit a "bridge-building journey", Soong said that he hoped his mainland visit could build "a bridge of mutual trust, communication and soul-linking" among the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.

    Soong's visit closely followed that by Lien Chan, chairman of the Kuomintang Party (KMT) of China, the largest opposition party in Taiwan.

    Opinion polls on both sides of the Straits indicated the visits by Lien and Soong had won the approval of the majority of people across the Straits. Enditem