On the top of Alishan, or Mount Ali in central Taiwan, a sea of clouds and golden rays cover a clear blue sky as the early-morning sun emerges, eagerly awaited by several groups of Chinese tourists. Despite political tensions, Taiwan has become a popular tourist destination for Chinese since it conditionally lifted a ban on sightseeing by mainland Chinese in 2002.
Taiwanese officials and tourism operators hope talks with China will lead to an even more dramatic rise in the number of Chinese visitors, and billions of dollars in tourism revenue.
"Taiwan has always been a mystery to us and since I was a little child I heard about Alishan and many other places on the island," a Chinese tourist surnamed Ouyang said while watching the sunrise on Alishan, which reaches a peak of 2,274 metres (7,461 feet).
"A trip to Taiwan is as expensive as to Europe but still I think it's worth it to visit Taiwan, known as Baodao (precious island)," said Ouyang, a Guangzhou native whose week-long trip to Taiwan cost 28,000 yuan (3,452 US).
With its luxuriant forests, scenic rail ride and sunrise, Alishan is Taiwan's leading tourist spot and is popular with visitors from Japan, China and other countries.
Taiwan currently permits entry to mainland Chinese who study overseas, who are permanent residents, or who travel through a third place other than the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau.
Most of the overseas Chinese come from Japan and the United States, according to Taiwan's Travel Agent Association of the Republic of China, which handles applications of Chinese tourists.
In 2004, 19,150 Chinese came to Taiwan for sightseeing, up sharply from 12,768 in 2003 and a paltry 2,151 in 2002, according to the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top policy-making body on China. The council last month authorised the Travel Agent Association to negotiate with Beijing on measures allowing more mainland tourists. Local media hailed the move as a major breakthrough.
"More and more mainlanders are travelling abroad and their purchasing power is quite strong," said Roget Hsu, secretary-general of the association.
"Any tourist destination is replaceable and Taiwan should act fast to seize the tremendous business opportunity from mainland tourists," he said.
In the initial stage of the opening to Chinese tourists, the government intends to impose a quota of 365,000 people a year, taking into account the ability of its tourism infrastructure to deal with them.
Even with the quota, the anticipated tourism-related revenue potential from mainland Chinese is estimated at between 50 billion Taiwan dollars (1.56 billion US) and 60 billion dollars annually for travel agencies, hotels, restaurants, transportation and sightseeing operators, according to Hsu.
Most visitors currently come from Japan, Hong Kong and Macau. But Taiwan's tourism professionals believe that mainland China's huge economic potential would become a major source of visitors and give a much-needed boost to the industry.
China is allowing its citizens to visit a growing list of nations in group tours, catering to a new leisure industry fuelled by increased affluence and social reforms in the country.
The number of Chinese travelling overseas rose by around 14 percent annually between 1994 and 2003, the most recent figures available show.
Beijing last year sent 55 tourists from south-eastern Fujian province to Taiwan's offshore islands of Kinmen and Matzu, once a Cold War battleground.
"Tourism operators had a difficult time amidst the slow economy in recent years. It would help us greatly if more Chinese tourists can come and visit," said J.C. Lee, manager of a Taipei travel agency specialising in cross-strait tours.
He said the tourism industry will benefit if Chinese tourists could reach Taiwan via Hong Kong or Macau instead of having to stay overnight in a third country. "Now many mainland tourists come to Taiwan via Bangkok and sometimes they spend half of their money in shopping. The money would have been well-spent here," Lee said.
Direct transportation links between Taiwan and China have been banned since their split in 1949 after a civil war. China considers the island as part of its territory waiting to be reunified, by force if necessary.
Temporary non-stop passenger flights across the strait were introduced in the Chinese New Year period this year but only to transport Taiwanese businesspeople and their families for the holiday.
"I think many people want to visit Taiwan but it's not very convenient. So they opted for Hong Kong which is closer and cheaper," a Chinese tourist surnamed Yang from Hangzhou, said during his Alishan visit.
"I hope there will be direct cross-strait flights for everybody to cut back the time and cost spent on getting to Taiwan," he said.
Hsu is hopeful that closer tourism exchanges between the two sides will help pave the way for direct transportation links.
"But regular passenger flights won't happen right away as there's not enough market demand now," he said, estimating it will take at least one year for the demand to pick up.
For its part, Taiwan's government is concerned about security issues after a group of 13 Chinese tourists disappeared in August last year following their arrival on Taiwan, the second such incident in less than two months.
"Imposing a quota on mainland tourists is necessary to ensure the quality of the tours as well as to prevent the runaway problems," Lee said.
Ouyang, the tourist from Guangzhou, agreed with the quota system but for a different reason.
"If all Chinese are allowed to visit Alishan, it will be trampled to the ground," he said.