Another cruise ship named after a lake in Mainland China has been built! On May 12th, the chairman of Nantou County Tourism Industry United Association, Chi-Tien Li, and the chairman of the Wuhan Dongxihu Tourism Association, Kuo-Hua Hsiao, signed the friendship treaty which confirms the friendship between Nantou Sun Moon Lake and Wuhan Jinyinhu (Gold and Silver Lake) in Fleur De Chine Hotel in the region of Sun Moon Lake. Together there were the county magistrate, Chao-Ching Li, and the deputy governor of Hubei province, Cheng-En Tien to witness the moment. The cruise ship that is named after Jinyinhu was also officially launched at Shuishe pier. This opened a new page of communications between Sun Moon Lake and other Chinese lakes.
  At the launch ceremony of ‘Jinyinhu (Gold and Silver Lake)’ in Sun Moon Lake, Magistrate Li stated that Hubei province is where the industrial and commercial city, Wuhan, is located. Its tourism industry is very prosperous and it is a province in China that Nantou should learn from. In addition to the launch of the Jinyinhu in Sun Moon Lake, Mandarin Airlines’ aircrafts that were painted with the subject of Sun Moon Lake had already travelled to Wuhan city. The communication between the two lands is positively taking place.
  Deputy Governor Tien who has visited Sun Moon Lake four times praised the beautiful scenery of Sun Moon Lake. He emphasized that Sun Moon Lake is well-known by all the Chinese families on the mainland, and is the most famous touristic spot of all. Travellers who have not been to Sun Moon Lake can be said to have not been to Taiwan at all! The number of tourists from the Hubei province to Taiwan last year was about one hundred thousand. The annual growth rate is 30% on average. Hubei province has been applying for the right for the people to travel as individual tourists to Taiwan. It is hoped that it can be included in the third phase of the program.
  Jinyinhu (Gold and Silver Lake) is located in the biggest city in central China which is also renown as the ‘city of hundreds of lakes’, Wuhan. The lake is considered the one that has the most beautiful natural scenery and the most special biological landscape in all of the 166 lakes found there. It is the only national wetland park in the whole of China. Therefore, the alliance with the well-known Sun Moon Lake was taken into account by the two sides across the strait. Sun Moon Lake has established alliances with Xihu in Zhejiang, Jingyuetan in Jilin, Tianmu Lake in Suzhou, Dajin Lake in Fujian. And there are also cruise ships named after those lakes respectively that have already set sail. The alliance with Jinyinhu (Gold and Silver Lake) and the launch of the cruise ship is the fifth example. And it also opens a new page for communication between the two sides across the strait.