The Wusu International Airport, in Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi province, is a national first-class airport, which opened in 1993, and is the province's only airport open to foreigners, with the number of routes increasing and bringing greater convenience for communication with the outside world, Taiyuan Evening News reported on Aug 12.

The airport handles 12 Chinese and foreign airlines, with 15 flights to Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and to foreign countires such as Korea, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia, giving people from Shanxi and elsewhere a smoother travel experience.

The airport handled more than 160,000 people in the first half of this year, up 95 percent year-on-year. It began introducing more airlines, in 2010, to open its regional and international, triggering rapid development. Then, thanks to better policies and the rise of central China, it was able to maintain its growth and help improve the province’s investment environment.

The provincial economic and informatization commission says it is working on a larger port system and has signed agreements with other provinces on regional cooperation in transportation involving harbors, airports, railway stations, or other channels.

Edited by Zhou Yuanyuan and Roger Bradshaw