An Airbus A320 took off from Lanzhou, capital of northwestern Gansu Province, on Saturday afternoon for China's financial hub Hong Kong, marking the first air link between the two cities.

Gansu company China's Northwest Airlines launched the route in the hope of boosting economic ties between the remote province and the southern economic powerhouse.

Departing Lanzhou at 4 pm, the 2,226-kilometer flight takes two hours and 50 minutes. A flight returns to Lanzhou the same day.

Currently return flights are scheduled only on Saturdays but will shortly become twice weekly, according to airlines sources.

( China Daily July 21, 2002 )