An air route connecting three tourist spots along the ancient Silk Road has begun operating.

A flight set off from Urumqi City in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Friday morning, heading for Jiayuguan City at the western end of the Great Wall and Dunhuang City, where the well-known Mogao Grottoes are located.

The ATR72 planes, made jointly by France and Italy, will shuttle between Jiayuguan and Urumqi every Friday and Sunday.

A tourist official in Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, said the operation of the new route is to boost tourism along the Silk Road.

The ancient Silk Road was once a caravan route from Chang'an (now Xi'an) in northwest China to the sea ports in Syria and Lebanon, through Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq. It was the only corridor for the exchange of trade, culture and philosophy between East and West in ancient times.

( eastday.com July 20, 2002)