Chinese customs officials say they have seen growing tourism and trade between Weihai in east China's Shandong Province and Inchon of the Republic of Korea (ROK) since a new air route opened between two cities last week.

The route connecting Weihai, a small seaside city, and Inchon in northwestern ROK, opened on March 27. Twelve inbound and outbound flights a week are operated by Air China, Shandong Airlines and Korean Aero Service Co., Ltd., said customs officials in Qingdao, a port on China's east coast.

By March 31, 10 flights had flown the 45-minute, 450-kilometer route, carrying 724 inbound and outbound passengers and 10 ROK-bound shipments worth more than 20,000 US dollars in total, according to the Qingdao customs.

According to statistics provided by the Weihai municipal government, in 2004, 120,000 trips were made from ROK to China through Weihai. Businessmen and tourists from Weihai made 50,000 trips to ROK.

ROK has been the number one trade partner of Shandong Province for three consecutive years and trade with ROK makes up more than 20 percent of the province's total. In 2004, two-way trade between Shandong and ROK added up to 12.62 billion US dollars, up 30.9 percent from the previous year.

(China Daily April 8, 2005)