Today is the birthday of the ten-year-old daughter of Qu Weiwei, but she will not come home to celebrate it. Qu is the leader of the 24-person mainland tour group to Taiwan, the members of which were all killed in a bus fire on Tuesday.

Qu was an open-minded and enthusiastic person, said Qi Jun (not his real name), the founder of online hiking forum huwaidl.com. He added that as an experienced hiker, Qu had organized overseas tours through the forum before the accident.

Qu was also considerate, recalled Qi. During trips to South Korea, she arranged birthday parties for fellow travelers and she prepared "five-color threads" for the backpackers as gifts during the Dragon Boat Festival.

A dozen or so tourists who died in the bus fire on Tuesday signed up for the Taiwan tour via the forum huwaidl.com, said Qi.

The forum, one of the most popular among Dalian hikers, partners with Liaoning Overseas International Travel Service Co, the organizer of the tour which launches activities on the forum, said Qi. He said that travelers sign contracts with and pay the travel agency.

Qi added that hiking has gained increasing popularity in Dalian, and hikers show more enthusiasm in going to places far away from home. The forum provides such information to travelers through cooperating with travel agencies.