A direct air route has been established between Mongolia and the Chinese resort city of Sanya, which is located on Hainan Island. The first flight from Ulaanbaatar, according to the Hainan Daily newspaper, landed at Sanya Fenghuang International Airport on 25 August. The flights will be operated with Boeing 737-800s by Mongolian Airlines once a week.

Every Sunday, a plane will fly from Sanya to Ulaanbaatar at 00:40 local time, landing at 05:50. The return flight to Sanya, according to the approved schedule, is planned for 18:30 on the same day. Mongolia and Hainan are on the same time zone.

Located at the southern tip of Hainan, Sanya boasts modern hotels, beaches and coral reefs.

Hainan has recently becoming closer to the rest of the world. Every year, dozens of new international flights are being established with the island-province; the move is aimed at attracting not only tourists, but also highly qualified personnel, taking into account the creation of a pilot free trade zone on the island and the authorities’ plans to turn Hainan into a large tourist and innovation centre with an advanced economy, science and industry.

In 2018, more than 76 million Chinese and foreign tourists visited the island, and for the first half of 2019, tourist flow in Hainan amounted to 38.6 million people, which is 6% higher than the figure for the same period last year.

According to the plan of the authorities, by 2050 Hainan should become a unique international cluster with an advanced economic system, which includes a free trade zone, university campuses, modern scientific labs and the headquarters of world corporations. (Tass)