The Haixia ship received a "senior riding team" on the morning of March 4. The team was setting off on a 15-day trip on foldable bikes starting in Taiwan, Pingtan's local broadcasting and television station reported.

The trip started from Taichung Port, where the Haixia ship lands in Taiwan, and will travel counter-clockwise to Tainan, Kaohsiung and Hualien.

The team consists of 50 members, including 19 females. The eldest member is 75 years old and the youngest is 58. The group includes retired doctors, policemen, workers and photographers from Shanghai's Zhabei district.

The team has been to many Chinese cities to bike and sightsee, including Hainan province's Sanya, Heilongjiang's Mohe county and Tibet's capital Lhasa.

"It's our dream to ride along the coast of Taiwan, and now we are here!" said Du Zhiyong, director of Zhabei district's riding administrative committee and a team member.

The team also hopes to encourage people to pay more attention to physical exercise and environment protection.

"A low-carbon and environmentally friendly society is not only the government's goal, but also every citizen's responsibility," Du added.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai