BEIJING, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Residents from 11 more Chinese mainland cities can visit Taiwan on individual tours, authorities announced on Wednesday.

The fifth batch of approved cities are Haikou, Hohhot, Lanzhou, Yinchuan, Changzhou, Zhoushan, Huizhou, Weihai, Longyan, Guilin and Xuzhou, according to the Association for Tourism Exchange Across the Taiwan Straits.

Since the first pilot scheme in 2011, residents from 47 mainland cities have been given permission to enter Taiwan on individual tours.