The 17th Cross-Straits Youth Forum is held on June 15 in Xiamen, southeast Fujian province, to discuss the Chinese mainland's favorable employment environment for Taiwan people. [Photo/xmnn.cn]

The 17th Cross-Straits Youth Forum was held on June 15 in Xiamen, southeast Fujian province, to discuss the Chinese mainland's favorable business environment for Taiwan people, local media reported.

The forum brought together over 500 attendees from both sides of the Taiwan Straits, including well-known scholars, community directors and youth representatives from all walks of life.

The forum, part of the 11th Straits Forum, featured grass-roots exchange, eye-catching activities and laid a solid foundation for community exchanges on both sides.

The Chinese mainland is definitely a perfect place for young people from Taiwan to pursue their careers, said Ch'iu I, a scholar from Taiwan.

The central government and Xiamen municipal authorities have rolled out preferential policies for Taiwan people over the past few years and Hou Yen-chih,a DIY cup painting store owner is one of the beneficiaries.

Hou quit his job and moved to Xiamen in 2011 and just like his father, he started from scratch as a street vendor.He said that his dream contains a china dream as well as a China dream.

In his DIY shop, tourists from all over the country draw pictures on the porcelain cups and tell stories with their hearts and souls.

More than 100,000 cups have been sold within three years and Hou believes that there is always a story behind a ready-made cup.