On July 1, at 9 pm, the flight departing from Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City landed at Hunan’s Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport marking the official opening of the air route connecting the two cities. This is the second direct flight this year linking Zhangjiajie and Vietnam. The first one linked Zhangjiajie and Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, which launched on May 21. The opening of these air routes will greatly contribute to the travel between Zhangjiajie and Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is Vietnam’s largest city. It is the business and financial hub, with a history going back hundreds of years. It has Vietnam’s largest inland port and international airport. The city has French-influenced architecture, roads, and culture. The opening of the direct flight between Zhangjiajie and Ho Chi Minh will promote economic, cultural, and tourist exchanges and more deeply involve Zhangjiajie in the “Belt and Road" initiative.
Vietnam’s VietJet Airline operates the service every Thursday and Sunday using an Airbus A320. The journey takes about four hours. It departs from Ho Chi Minh at 16:30 local time and arrives in Zhangjiajie at 20:30 local time. The return trip starts at 21:30 and lands at Ho Chi Minh at 1:45 the following day.
According to Zhangjiajie Municipal Government, Zhangjiajie has already opened 6 international (regional) air routes. This will strengthen cooperation between domestic and international airlines on services like chartered airplanes, and continue to develop international (regional) air routes. Regular flights will be added to Bangkok, Thailand in August, and more flights to Taipei arranged in September.
Translator: Liu Pingbo