With another 11 cities on Chinese mainland having direct flights to Hong Kong, there are now 56 Chinese cities that fly directly to the region, sources with China's General Administration of Civil Aviation said in Beijing on Monday.

The administration and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have established new arrangements on aviation transportation, said the administration.

The 11 new cities include five in northeastern China, one in eastern Shandong Province, three in western China, one in southwestern china and one in central China.

According to the new arrangements, a total of 35 airlines will fly to Hong Kong starting from the winter of 2006. There will be no restrictions on the number of flights the airlines can make.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2006)