Air China's flight attendants in Beijing give away gifts featuring the Olympic Friendlies to Taiwanese passengers before a trip to the island yesterday. Some of the carrier's planes have been repainted with images to celebrate the Beijing Summer Olympic Games. -- Xinhua

Two Xiamen Airways flights departed Gaoqi International Airport in Xiamen, Fujian Province, yesterday, destined for Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
Likewise, a TransAsia Airways flight from Taiwan landed yesterday in Xiamen.
A ceremony was held at Xiamen airport to mark the beginning of Xiamen-Taiwan nonstop flights across the Taiwan Strait.
Tony Fan, chairman of TransAsia Airways, said bookings for the carrier's 12 flights were 90 percent full.
"Chartered flights between Taiwan and Xiamen are a major step toward direct flights," said Fan.
The Xiamen Airways flights carried a total of 399 passengers. Taiwanese, who live and work in Fujian, booked out both planes to return home for the Spring Festival.
Taiwan business people welcomed the flights, saying they shorten the journey home. They added it would bring happiness and benefits to the people in the island province.
"We feel honored to provide a flight to Taipei and Kaohsiung, a mission we have prepared for more than 20 years," said Yang Guanghua, general manager of Xiamen Airways.
Yang expressed hope that regular direct flights will begin at an early date.
Zheng Lizhong, deputy head of the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, China's Cabinet, said: "We believe that cross-strait flights will improve next year with the concerted efforts of compatriots on both sides."
The cross-strait chartered nonstop flights for the Spring Festival consist of 72 round trips. Mainland and Taiwan airlines will each offer 36 round trips after a consensus was reached by the civil aviation associations of each side.
Six mainland airlines have been chosen to operate flights from January 20 through February 13, while six Taiwan-based airlines also announced a similar plan.
Outside of Xiamen, the only other mainland cities for nonstop flights to Taiwan are Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.
Although the TransAsia jet was slightly behind schedule, it received a warm welcome from Xiamen residents and Taiwan compatriots at the airport.
A businessman from Taiwan, surnamed Chan, was there to meet his 81-year-old mother.
"The chartered flight means my mother has been able to come to a family reunion on the mainland for the first time," Chan said.