New air route links Tibet and Qinghai

Tibet Airlines has launched regular flights between Tibet and Qinghai province in the northwest.

The new route, which links the regional capital Lhasa and Qinghai's Gelmud city, went into service on Monday, according to Lin Mingjing, deputy manager of the marketing department with Tibet Airlines.

Using Airbus A319, there will be three round trips each week, with each single trip lasting one hour and 20 minutes.

"I believe that the new route will give a big boost to regional tourism," Lin said.

Tibet opened 13 new air routes in 2013, bringing the total number in the region to 48 and the number of cities linked with Tibet to 29.

The region received a record 2.76 million air passengers in 2013, up 24.4 percent from the previous year, according to the regional civil aviation authorities.