TAIPEI, July 4 (Xinhua) -- A delegation of the Cross-Strait Tourism Communication Association (CSTCA), headed by the mainland's tourism chief, arrived at Taipei on Friday afternoon.

    The association is composed of officials from tourism authorities on the mainland, with Shao Qiwei as its chairman.

    Shao and his colleagues landed at the Taoyuan airport at 12:20 p.m. Friday on a weekend charter flight of Air China from Beijing.

    Also on board were mainland tourists and more than 30 journalists.

    As the plane taxied on the runway after landing, fire trucks waiting on the sidelines sprayed water on it as a greeting.

    "They are washing dust upon us (a Chinese phrase used to describe hosts receiving guests from far away)," said a passenger in his 60s.

    Lai Seh-jen, chairwoman of Taiwan's Cross-Taiwan Strait Sightseeing and Tourism Association, and Yao Ta-kuang, chairman of the Taiwan Travel Agent Association, met Shao at the airport.

    "Today is a happy and memorable day. I hope it will be a good beginning for tourism across the Strait," said Shao, also director of the National Tourism Administration, at the welcoming ceremony." We will work with our Taiwan counterparts to boost cross-Strait tourism."

    "I am glad to see mainland tourists coming to Taiwan. It is a great event for cross-Strait exchanges," said Chen Chao-ming, member of the Taipei Association of Travel Agents, who attended the ceremony.

    The airport greeted the Beijing guests with lion and dragon dances as well as traditional dances of local ethnic minorities.

    They formed part of the inaugural tour group leaving mainland cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Xiamen and Guangzhou on Friday morning for sightseeing in Taiwan.

    Tourists will visit the "National Palace Museum" in Taipei, home to a large royal collection of ancient Chinese art treasures, and Danshuei, a beach resort near Taipei.