A temporary air route will be opened in June from Qiqihar in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province to Krasnoyarsk in Russia.

It will be the first air route linking Qiqihar with Russia, said Zhao Wendong, deputy director of the Port Administration Office of Qiqihar Commercial Bureau.

The air route, available from June to September, will be in service once a week.

The official said Russian businessmen can get to Qiqihar directly for the upcoming China Harbin Fair for Trade and Economic Cooperation in June and an exhibition of green foods held in

September in the city.

It will promote the economic development of Qiqihar and the trade cooperation between China and Russia, Zhao said. 

Qiqihar is a transportation hub and old industrial base in Heilongjiang Province, which shares its northern and eastern border with Russia. Many locals have business or factories in Krasnoyarsk.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2005)