XIAMEN, Fujian, June 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland and Taiwan kicked off the largest-ever grassroot-level forum Saturday evening, which is expected to attract more than 10,000 Taiwanese in the next seven days.

Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the top political advisory body, declared the opening of the forum.

The weeklong Straits Forum, now in its second year, would feature 25 activities including discussions and galas. The forum is co-hosted by nine cities in Fujian, including Fuzhou, Zhangzhou, and Putian.

Earlier reports said about 80 percent of the Taiwan participants this year were non-officials and over 60 percent were from central of southern Taiwan.

The key host city, Xiamen, a coastal boomtown in southeastern Fujian Province, used to be the frontline of cross-Strait rivalry in the 1950s and 1960s, after the Kuomintang lost the civil war and fled to Taiwan in late 1940s.

The first Straits Forum, also held in Fujian in 2009, received more than 8,000 guests from Taiwan.