Passengers from southeast China's Taiwan gesture before boarding the plane at the airport in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, December 15, 2008. A Shenzhen Airlines flight took off from the Shenzhen Airport for Taiwan at 7:20 Beijing Time (2320 GMT December 14), the first when the Chinese mainland and Taiwan started direct air and sea transport and postal services on Monday morning.

The Chinese mainland and Taiwan started direct air and sea transport and postal services on Monday morning, the latest step to improve once-strained ties.

Formerly, air and sea movements -- including mail -- had to go by way of a third place.

At 8:00 AM, a China Eastern Airlines passenger flight took off from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport for Taipei. Sixminutes later, a Taiwan-based TransAsia Airways jetliner left Taipei for Shanghai.

The flight time from Shanghai to Taipei has been cut by more than one hour, to 80 minutes, as planes are no longer required to fly through Hong Kong's airspace, a detour that the Taiwan authorities formerly insisted on citing security concerns.

The Mainland's State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Executive Deputy Director, Zhang Lizhong, said the start of direct flights marked a key step in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

"Given the global financial crisis, cross-Strait direct flights started at exactly the right time," Zheng said at a ceremony in Shanghai. Direct links "will help the mainland and Taiwan jointly overcome the current (economic) difficulty," Zheng said.

Under a historic agreement signed by the mainland and Taiwan inearly November, the two sides agreed to launch charter cargo flights between two mainland terminals, Pudong in Shanghai and Guangzhou airports, and two Taiwan terminals, Taoyuan and Kaohsiung.

There will be 60 return cargo flights per month, evenly divided between mainland and Taiwan airline companies.

The two sides also agreed to launch regular passenger charter flights, which formerly only flew on weekends and the four major traditional festivals.

The mainland agreed to open another 16 terminals for passenger charter flights, besides the five already opened, while Taiwan has already opened eight terminals. The number of flights will increase to 108 every week, also divided evenly, with the number to be adjusted according to demand.

Monday also marked the start of direct shipping and postal services across the Taiwan Straits.

Mainland resident Zheng Jian, 81, who was born in Taiwan, posted a letter to his Taiwan relatives at a ceremony on Monday morning in Beijing.

A similar ceremony was held in Taipei, at which Taiwan's Chunghwa Post Co., Ltd. Chairman Wu Min-Yu posted an express letter to Liu Andong, president of the mainland's China Post Corp.

An employee of Chunghwu Post told Xinhua that the mail will leave on a 10:00 AM flight from Taipei to Beijing. "Mr. Liu will probably receive the mail before he leaves his office this afternoon," the staffer said.

The mainland and Taiwan didn't have direct express mail service in the past. Ordinary or registered mail from Taiwan to the mainland first went through the Hong Kong or Macao Special Administrative Regions, then to distribution centers in Beijing or Shanghai before it was delivered.

With the start of direct air and shipping services, Taiwan transport authorities estimated that the delivery time of ordinary letters from Taiwan to Beijing or Shanghai will be shortened to five to six days from the previous seven to eight days.

To speed up mail services, the mainland has agreed to open three more delivery centers in Nanjing, Xi'an and Chengdu in addition to the previous five centers -- Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen and Fuzhou.

Taiwan also agreed to add three centers -- Kaohsiung, Kinmen and Matsu -- to those already functioning, which were Taipei and Keelung.

Also on Monday morning, mainland and Taiwan dignitaries, including State Council Taiwan Affairs Office Wang Yi and Taiwan's ruling Kuomintang Honorary Chairman Lien Chan, gathered at a port in Tianjin to celebrate the start of cross-Strait direct shipping.

Under the agreement on direct shipping, passenger and cargo vessels owned by mainland and Taiwan companies may sail directly across the Strait subject to official approval.

The mainland will open 63 ports to Taiwan ships while Taiwan will open 11. The two sides might increase the number of ports based on a "developing situation," according to the agreement.

"Today is another memorable date in the history of cross-Strait relations ... which signifies that our 30-year effort has finally paid off," Wang said.

Wang said direct shipping links will greatly cut costs, boost cross-Strait trade and personnel exchanges and provide a "new impetus" for the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations.

Wang said the start of direct transport and mail services showed that regardless of difficulties, anything could be realized so long as it would benefit compatriots across the Strait and meet development needs.

"The peaceful development of cross-Strait relations is unstoppable," he said.