Many travel agencies in the city of Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, according to recent reports, are arranging individual tour routes to Taiwan, this September, since the permits were approved on Aug 28.

Han Bing, the GM of the China International Travel Service of Hebei province, said the company is promoting a package of five days, four nights for individual travelers for around 3,000 to 4,000 yuan. This covers the application fee, airline ticket and hotels, with any other costs, such as local transportation, food, and scenic spots, covered by the individual.

Wu Jie, the manager of Hebei Oriental International Travel's Taiwan dept, said that they predict the first group of Taiwan-bound Hebei individuals to go on Sept 12. Wu explained that, because of the high price, many tourists are just asking about the service but not applying.

Residents of Shijiazhuang can stay in Taiwan for up to 15 days, according to the new ruling and can apply for the Taiwan pass at local public security office, but they have to arrange the ticket and permit through a travel agency.

While this give individual tourists greater freedom, the catch is that the price is much higher than that of a group tour. In fact, the individual price is the same as the cost of a group tour of eight days, which includes a lot of shopping stops.

The cost of an eight-day individual trip can run as high as 7,000 yuan at some travel agencies, or twice that of a group tour with the same line. And individual tourists are being asked to buy travel insurance.

Two airlines provide the Taiwan service -- Far Eastern Air Transport and China Eastern Airlines – with several fights to Taiwan from Shijiazhuang every week.