Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines opened flights linking Harbin in Northeast China’s Heilongjiang province to Nanning in Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on March 25.

The service uses an Airbus A320 and will run daily as GX8925/6. The flight departs Nanning Wuxu International Airport at 12:40 p.m., stopping at Jinan in East China’s Shandong province for 50 minutes, before arriving in Harbin at 6:20 p.m. After a one-hour layover at Harbin Taiping International Airport, the returning flight lands in Nanning at 1:30 a.m. the following day.

The new service is being offered to meet increasing demand for travel and trade among Harbin, Jinan and Nanning.

Harbin is an economic, cultural and political center of Northeast China, and plays an important role in boosting foreign trade between China and Russia.

Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang, is known for its year-round warm weather and is also a key transport hub that links Southwest China to countries in Southeast Asia.

Jinan, the layover site of the Harbin-Jinan-Nanning flight, is one of East China’s most renowned historic and cultural cities. Jinan is also one of the birthplaces of the Longshan culture, named after Zhangqiu’s Mount Longshan, a late Neolithic civilization inhabiting the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

“The flight from Nanning to Harbin has been shortened to about five hours, increasing convenience for passengers,” said Chen Changming, a tourist from Nanning.

Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines opens new Harbin-Jinan-Nanning service on March 25. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

 One of the aircraft that will carry passengers between Harbin, Jinan and Nanning sits on the tarmac at Harbin Taiping International Airport, March 25. [Photo/Chinanews.com]