Approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), China Southwest Airlines will open a round trip route of Chengdu-Kunming-Deqen-Lhasa to fly every Sunday by Boeing 757-200 and another Chengdu-Deqen direct flight every Thursday as scheduled from April 15 and 19 respectively.

Tucked away in northwest Yunnan where the province adjoins Tibet and Sichuan the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Deqen is renowned for its towering snowcapped mountains and gorges, beautiful grasslands and azure lakes imbued with unique customs of the ethnic minorities, hence known as "Shangri-la". The Shangri-La Airport of Deqen was open to traffic in April 1999, and currently there is only one route leading from Kunming to Deqen by China Yunnan Airlines.

(People’s Daily 03/14/2001)