An aerial photo shows Jinjingwan Wharf in Pingtan county, Fujian province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A cargo ship carrying 100 twenty-foot equivalent units on early Thursday left Jinjingwan Wharf in Pingtan county, Fujian province, for Taiwan, marking the official launch of the first direct container shipment route from Pingtan to Taiwan.

"All the work of berthing, refueling, material replenishment, crew boarding and unloading will be carried out in Pingtan, the home base of the new route," said Chen Liang, president of Fujian Haixia High-Speed Roll-on/off Passenger Ship Co Ltd. "Pingtan is no longer just a transfer stop."

It took only eight hours for the ship to arrive at its transfer stop in Taipei, according to the company.

Two ships will be conducted weekly, greatly enhancing the maritime logistics capacity to Taiwan.

Pingtan, which lies 126 kilometers from Hsinchu in Taiwan, is the largest island in Fujian, and is also the mainland location closest to the island.