HOHHOT, March 6 -- A new air route was launched between Manzhouli City in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Novosibirsk in Russia on Thursday.

A CRJ200 airplane of a Russian airline will fly between the two cities every Thursday, according to staff from Manzhouli International Airport.

The flight is scheduled to depart Novosibirsk at 11:45 a.m. (Beijing Time), and arrive in Manzhouli three hours and 25 minutes later. The aircraft will then leave Manzhouli at 4:45 p.m. (Beijing Time) and arrive back in Novosibirsk after flying for three hours and 50 minutes.

It is hoped that the new route will boost economic and tourist cooperation between the two sides. Manzhouli port bears more than 60 percent of China-Russia trade via land transport.