CRI听力:Beijing Mayor Concludes Cultural Trip to Taiwan

Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong's latest visit to Taiwan has been focused primarily on cultural exchanges as the visit coincided with Culture Week on the island.

"Since the first day I landed on Taiwan, I have been feeling that people from the mainland and Taiwan really are part of one family, the characters and the language are similar and as I look around, it feels familiar."

Guo Jinlong visited a few of Taiwan's cultural attractions, including the Taipei Palace Museum.

In exchange, people in Taiwan have been getting a taste of the Chinese Capital.

The 500-member delegation who traveled with the Mayor brought a series of performances and exhibitions showcasing Beijing and ordinary people's lives in the city.

The showcase has been well-received.

"People in Taiwan get to see things with Beijing flavors, people don't usually get access to these thing, especially old Beijing stuff. So these are welcomed here."

As part of his trip, Guo Jinlong also made a stop to donate 9 buses to local minority communities, touching the residents affected.

"We welcome Mayor Guo to come to Taiwan and visit our communities so that we can bond with each other. We also hope that people across the strait, as one family could have more contacts."

Guo is the first mainland official to visit the island following the election of Taiwan's leader last month.

Before finishing up his visit, Guo met with the Honorary chair of Taiwan's Kuomintang Party, Lien Chan.

Guo told Lien Chan that he hopes that cities on both sides will continue to carry out more diversified cooperation in trade, culture, industrial restructuring and management of social affairs.

He added that 'peaceful development' is the common aspiration of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.

For CRI, I'm Shen Chengcheng.