A freighter departs from a port in Kaohsiung of southeast China's Taiwan for Pingtan of southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 19, 2019. A direct sea freight route opened Saturday between Taiwan's Kaohsiung and Pingtan in Fujian Province, drastically shortening the time of farm produce from the island entering the mainland market. The 178-nautical mile journey between the two cities will be shortened from two or three days to just nine hours after the opening of the new route. (Xinhua/Li Xiang)