Chinese airline opens 1st Shanghai-Kathmandu route

BEIJING -- China Eastern Airlines will launch the first route from Shanghai to Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Dec 2, the company said Saturday.

The new daily flight will use Boeing 737 aircraft and flights in both directions will be via Kunming, capital city of southern China's Yunnan province.

Nepal is attracting more and more Chinese visitors in recent years with its natural landscape, as well as cultural and religious heritages. Data showed that Chinese people visiting Nepal at their first stop stood at 51,400 in the first half of 2014, up by 22.41 percent from a year ago.

Currently, Air China is operating flights from Chengdu to Kathmandu, and China Southern Airlines is operating flights from Guangzhou to Kathmandu.

Cheng Wei, a photographer based in Chifeng, Northwest China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, paid a visit to Nepal during the Spring Festival in 2014. He shared his photo with chinadaily.com.cn. [Photo by Cheng Wei]