Direct flight opens to Great Khingan Mountains

A direct flight between Shanghai and northeast China’s Great Khingan Mountains will allow city residents to explore the nation’s northernmost region during the upcoming Labor Day holiday.

Shanghai-based Spring Airlines is operating three flights between Pudong and Jiagedaqi in northwest Heilongjiang Province every week.

Flight 9C6755 takes off from Pudong International Airport at 12:55pm and lands at 6:40pm. The return flight sets off at 7:35pm and arrives at the Pudong airport at 1:10am.

Jiagedaqi, known as the “Pearl of Forests Sea” and “hometown of blueberry,” features ancient forests, wild animals and stunning scenery, the budget carrier said. Visitors can also drive 490 kilometers to reach Mohe, the best place to watch the aurora and polar day and night in China.

The Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region was at an event in Shanghai with Spring Air on Wednesday to promote the north China’s tourism resources and products.

City residents are being invited to explore the great forests, rivers, wetlands, oil fields, volcanoes and grasslands during holiday from May 1 to 5 and in the summer vacation.

Five places in Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, including Qiqihar, Daqing, Heihe, Great Khingan Mountains and Hulunbuir have launched an intercity tourism league to share travel resources and tourists, said Sun Liang, an official with the Great Khingan Mountains Prefectural Administrative Office.

Wu Xue, deputy director with the culture and tourism bureau of the Great Khingan Mountains, said 10 core tourist attractions along with three competitions, six festivals and night travel routes have been launched to attract tourists.

A “polar summer resort season” was launched in Shanghai to invite residents to experience the Nordic-like polar scenery in the northernmost region.