A new civil airport that opened on Wednesday in the China-Russia border county of Mohe is expected to bring more tourists to the destination dubbed "China's North Pole."

The northernmost airport in the country was designed to handle 120,000 passengers a year, with a terminal covering 2,000 square meters.

Construction began on June 21, 2006 and ended on April 18 this year. The total cost was about 236 million yuan (US$34.3 million).

China Southern Airlines, the country's largest carrier by fleet size, operates the new route that links Beijing, Harbin and Mohe. There is a daily round trip with an Airbus A320 that seats 156 passengers.

"The airport will help improve the transport networks and boost the tourism industry for Mohe," said Chang Bin, head of the Mohe Tourism Bureau.

Mohe County, said to be the coldest place in China, gets about 100,000 tourists a year -- or about as many people who live there. The destination is famous for its spectacular natural environment, which includes vast forests, snowy winters, the aurora borealis and "polar days" when the sun seems never to set, Chang said.

Previously, Mohe was a 20-hour train trip from Harbin, the provincial capital of Heilongjiang. The flight from Beijing takes only about four hours.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2008)