Hunan Province has continued to be a pacesetter for reform and opening-up in China's inland regions. c

"Hunan Travel" has become popular among foreigners this year, with an average of more than 140 international passenger flights arriving in Changsha every week, thanks to the visa-free policy and the increasing frequency of international flights. As of August 21, Hunan's ports handled over one million inbound and outbound passenger trips, soaring 193% year on year. Nearly 300,000 inbound trips were made by foreign travelers, a record high since the opening of Hunan ports.

The steady increase in international flights has helped boost the growth of import and export trade. At the global seafood warehouse store of the Red Star Global Agricultural Products Wholesale Center, imported seafood such as Boston lobster, green crab, and king crab from more than 10 countries such as the United States and Bangladesh arrives by air to Changsha every week before being transported around China. In the first half of this year, enterprises handled more than 8,000 tonnes of cargo and mail at the Changsha Huanghua International Airport, most of which were seafood and aquatic products.

Meanwhile, Hunan export products have surged. At the international cargo terminal of Changsha Huanghua International Airport, 100 tonnes of goods, including daily necessities, electronic products, and industrial parts made in Hunan, are packed, about to be delivered to Addis Ababa Airport in Ethiopia by special cargo plane. Three flights are operated on this route every week with a flight time of less than 10 hours, greatly reducing travel time and cutting the cost by 30%.

Changsha recently has sped up its international aviation network, with direct passenger transportation to 15 cities including London, Nairobi, and Bangkok, and 5 international cargo routes to New York, Dhaka, Addis Ababa, Bangkok, and Budapest. The Changsha network now radiates to the five major economies of the European Union, ASEAN, North America, Africa, and the Middle East. During the January-July period this year, the Changsha Port moved 40,200 tonnes of international and regional cargo and mail, up 26.4% year on year.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Yu Jiangjiang

Chinese source: Hunan Broadcasting System