Zheng Dexi, a Taiwan resident holds his electronic travel pass for Taiwan residents who want to travel to the Chinese Mainland in Fuzhou city, southeast China's Fujian province on July 6, 2015.

The Chinese mainland has started issuing electronic travel passes to residents of Taiwan today.

The entry and exit authorities in southeast China's Fujian province launched this new program to make cross-strait travel easier.

Two Taiwan residents received the new electronic permit card this morning.

The special card reduces the time that travelers from Taiwan have to spend at the customs to have their travel documents checked when coming to the Chinese mainland.

Zheng Dexi, a Taiwan resident who has been granted the electronic permit card today says the card will make it more convenient for Taiwan travelers. He also says he can save more time when travelling by train in the Chinese mainland e-card as an ID document when buying tickets and boarding trains.

The mainland authorities announced to remove the entry permit requirement for Taiwan residents traveling to the mainland last month.

The revised entry regulations have come into effect since July 1.

Entry and exit administration authorities of the Chinese mainland have issued more than 17 million visa-like documents that carry the entry permits for Taiwan residents since 1992, which played an important role in the people-to-people exchanges between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.