Charter flights between Macao and Huangshan City in east China's Anhui Province opened Thursday, which are expected to give an impetus to the development of the tourism industry in the two places.

A welcome reception was held this afternoon at the Macao International Airport for a delegation led by a vice-mayor of Huangshan joining the inaugural flight.

The China Eastern Airlines, by using a B737-400 airliner, will provide air service Monday and Thursday.

Both Macao and Huangshan are tourist meccas. Statistics show that the number of visitors to Macao rose 14.8 percent year-on- year to more than 5 million in the first half of this year.

The Macao International Airport handled more than 1.5 million passengers in the first five months of this year, up 23 percent from the same 2000 period, according to statistics.

(People's Daily 08/02/2001)