Haitan Ancient City, a large-scale cultural tourism project in Fujian's Pingtan Island, broke ground on May 11.

As one of Fujian's major culture projects in 2013 with an investment totaling 6.8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion), Haitan Ancient City is situated at the northern part of the Tannan Bay tourist resort in Pingtan and occupies an area of 733 square meters. It is designed to become a tourist complex with traveler accommodation, shipping and recreational facilities.

Haitan Ancient City is a core part of the tourism leisure zone in Pingtan. The construction of the project is of great significance as it will propel Fujian's tourism industry and become a hub of cross-Straits communication, said Gong Qinggai, director of Pingtan's administrative committee, at the ground-breaking ceremony on Saturday.

Various cultures will collide and dazzle tourists in Haitan Ancient City, where people will be exposed to Mindu opera, Hakka snacks, a Matzu-themed temple fair and Taiwan night fair.

Construction is expected to take five years.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai