A passenger plane departs on July 1 from the Sunan Shuofang International Airport in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on a flight to Yan'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

A passenger plane departed on July 1 from the Sunan Shuofang International Airport in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on a flight to Yan'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi province, for the first time.

People celebrate the first direct passenger flight between Wuxi and Yan'an. [Photo provided to wuxi.gov.cn]

The flight allow people to travel between Wuxi and Yan'an in less than three hours.

The flights will depart Wuxi at 11:20 am and arrive in Yan'an at 2:00 pm, while the return flights will depart Yan'an at 2:50 pm and arrive in Wuxi at 5:30 pm.

Ruili Airlines, which operates the route, is planning one flight per week, and more flights are expected to be operated along the route every week. The flight route will also be extended from Yan'an to Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi.

A factory invested in by a Wuxi enterprise in Yan'an. [Photo/Wuxi Daily]

In addition, Wuxi also signed a cooperation framework agreement with Yan'an that same day to support the development of Yan'an.

The two cities forged a pair-assistance relationship in 1997, and over the past two decades, they have conducted cooperation in talent cultivation and investment attraction.

Wuxi has dispatched more than 240 teachers to Yan'an and assisted with the construction of over 400 education-related projects in the city. It also arranged for local entrepreneurs to visit Yan'an, and many of them have invested in the city.