International flights from Lanzhou, Gansu province, via Urumqi, capital of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, will start service to Dubai on Sept 29, said Xinjiang local media.

China Southern Airlines said it will introduce the latest Boeing 737-800 to the new route. The aircraft can seat about 130 passengers. The 5,216-kilometer-long, eight-hour flight will fly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

The flight will serve Dubai-bound travelers not only from Gansu but also from Xinjiang, where there is a large Muslim community.

The flight makes Lanzhou and Urumqi the latest mainland cities to offer direct international flights to Dubai, after Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

Analysts said the new route connecting China's northwestern regions with the Middle East will benefit the new Silk Road economic belt, a concept proposed by President Xi Jinping to boost cooperation between China and Central Asia.

Source: China Daily