A direct airline between Lijiang, a tourist city in southwest China's Yunnan province, and Hefei, the capital of east China's Anhui province is to open in late March this year.

The decision was reached at a conference organized by Lijiang airport last November. The route will be operated by Yunnan Xiangpeng airline company.

At the conference, the feasibility and preparations for opening the route were discussed.

Lijiang airport, whose renovation is set to be completed this year, aims to co-operate further with airline companies, with the aim of setting up more direct flights to and from the airport, said Li Jian, general manager of the airport.