International flights connecting Harbin in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Jakarta in Indonesia started operating on Oct 27, according to Chinese aviation officials.

The new services are being offered by Xiamen Airlines to meet the increasing demands of travel and trade between northeastern China and countries in Southeast Asia.

The Harbin-Fuzhou-Kuala Lumpur flight is scheduled to operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday as flight MF869/70.

The new flight departs Harbin Taiping International Airport at 12:35 and arrives in Fuzhou at 16:50. After a 115-minute layover at Fuzhou Changle International Airport, it takes off at 18:45 and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 23:30.

The return flight departs Kuala Lumpur at 10:40 the next day and arrives in Harbin at 19:40.

Additionally, the Harbin-Fuzhou-Jakarta flight is scheduled to operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The launch of the two international flights is expected to bring more than 20,000 Heilongjiang tourists to Southeast Asian countries and around 25,000 inbound tourists for Heilongjiang each year.

Officials said that will help Heilongjiang improve its popularity in Southeast Asia and boost cultural and economic exchanges between the two sides.

They added that it was also of great importance for Harbin airport building into an international aviation hub in Northeast Asia.