Three mainland cities will be authorized to validate passes for Taiwan visitors entering the mainland, bringing the total to 20, according to the Ministry of Public Security Sunday.

Xi'an, Changsha and Kunming will join another 17 cities, which include Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Fuzhou and Xiamen, to provide the service as of July 20, the ministry said in a statement.

Other cities authorized to validate passes for Taiwan visitors are Haikou, Sanya, Shenyang, Dalian, Chengdu, Qingdao, Wuhan, Nanjing, Chongqing, Hangzhou, Guilin and Shenzhen.

Taiwan residents are required to validate their passes in designated mainland cities upon entry into the mainland. The move, part of the mainland's efforts to provide convenience for people in Taiwan, will save Taiwan residents time through establishing a network of cities that scatter across the mainland.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2009)