Regional air route resumes between China, Russia

A night scene of Harbin in winter with St. Sophia Cathedral in the background. [Photo provided to China Daily]

An international air charter route between Russia and China resumed operation on Wednesday, the local government said.

The route operates between Harbin, capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang province, Chelyabinsk in Russia's Ural region, and Moscow, the Heilongjiang provincial government said.

It will be operated by Ural Airlines and a Harbin tour operator, using an Airbus 320 model with a passenger capacity of 164 people. The flight is scheduled for every Wednesday.

The route will mainly serve tourists and business travellers between Heilongjiang and Chelyabinsk. Economic, trade and tourist exchanges between the two locations have grown in recent years, the government said.

In October, 2011, Ural Airlines launched a route between Harbin and Chelyabinsk, but it was later suspended.