HARBIN -- Taiwan's Southeast Travel Agency (SET) is preparing to set up headquarters in Harbin, the capital of Heilongjiang Province, to gain a strong foothold on the Chinese mainland, sources with the agency said Thursday.

The 50-year-old SET plans to invest 10 million yuan (1.55 million U.S. dollars) in its joint venture with a local travel agency, hoping it can establish a travel service network covering the northeastern part of the country and the entire mainland as well, said Wang Shihao of SET's mainland travel affairs.

"Harbin has been selected as the agency's mainland base because of its important location, abundant tourism resources and a promising market," Wang said.

Preparation for the joint company is well underway and the first batch of staff has started work in Harbin, said Cang Xin, general manager of Harbin's Zongheng Travel Agency, SET's local partner.

Tourism cooperation between Heilongjiang and Taiwan has been conducted for years.

At the invitation of SET, Heilongjiang's stunt dancers performed ice dances in Taiwan many times over the past three years, and 35 ice sculptors introduced the ice culture to the island during last year's Taipei International Flora Expo.

SET will introduce abundant operational experience to the mainland's tourism market, Wang said.

Harbin and Taiwan will see more direct flights between them in the near future, he said, adding that currently there is one flight operated between the two each week.

An increasing number of Taiwan people started to visit the mainland in the 1990s when cross-Strait tensions gradually relaxed.

Taiwan has allowed residents of Beijing, Shanghai and Xiamen, of southeastern Fujian Province that sits opposite to the island across the Taiwan Strait, to visit the island as individual tourists since June 28. Previously, mainlanders could only visit Taiwan on group tours.