On Tuesday, Altay Prefecture in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region launched helicopter and light plane routes to help tourists see the prefecture and boost winter tourism in the region.
According to an Altay-based aviation company that would run the planes, choppers will be employed on three routes linking Altay City, Kanas Lake and the snow resort of Hemu, while Kodiak-100 plane will fly between Altay and Fuyun County.
Wei Hongbing, vice head of Altay Prefecture's tourism bureau, hopes the launch of the "aero buses" will help local tourism to grow despite the effects of the winter season. He also adds that the lack of good transportation has prevented the tourists from visiting the prefecture.
Altay Prefecture is a major tourist destination in Xinjiang as it is the home of Kanas Lake.
In recent years, the region has been working on ways to bring in tourists to enjoy winter activities. It welcomed 2.26 million tourists last winter and expects over 3 million this winter.
