BEIJING, March 14 (Xinhua) -- A group of 992 tourists from the Chinese mainland, the largest group of its kind so far, arrived in Taiwan's Jinmen Island Saturday by ship from the mainland's Xiamen City for a trip to Taiwan.

    The group, mostly middle-aged and elderly from southeastern Zhejiang Province, would tour around the Taiwan Island for six days and five nights.

    Lee Chu-feng, Magistrate of Jinmen County, welcomed the tourists at the wharf, where they were also met by a traditional lion dance.

    Jinmen tourism officials told Xinhua that visitors from the mainland represented an opportunity for Jinmen's tourism industry.

    Another two groups of about 1,000 tourists each from Zhejiang would arrive in Jinmen on March 16 and April 8 to take similar trips.