The first group of tourists from the Chinese mainland who took the historic Cross-Strait weekend charter flights to Taiwan has started sightseeing on the island.

Many of them first visited the Yangmingshan Park, a famous scenic spot of volcanic basin in the suburb of Taipei over the weekend.

A tourist from Fujian Province said this is the first time for him to see such scenery.

"I've been to many beautiful places on the mainland, well, this volcanic park is very unique."

Taiwan restaurants have also prepared specially-designed local dishes for their mainland guests.

According to the itinerary, the mainland tourists will stay on the island for ten days and visit the most famous natural and cultural attractions in Taipei, Kaohsiung, Kenting, Hualien, Ali Mountain and the Sun Moon Lake.

Under an agreement signed by the mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and the Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation, mainland tourists can visit Taiwan by chartered flights on weekends starting in July.