THE first flight for Shenzhen Airlines out of Nanning in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region left Wuyu Airport yesterday for Beijing.

　　The company’s Nanning subsidiary was incorporated the previous day.

　　Yesterday also marked the ninth anniversary of Shenzhen Airlines, one of China’s youngest. Nanning is the company’s only base outside Shenzhen.

　　With Shenzhen Airlines’ entry to Nanning, the city becomes a point of origin for the first time.

　　Apart from the Beijing route, the company has launched flights to Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu from Nanning.

　　Liu Changke, a PR official of Shenzhen Airlines, said the company set up its Nanning base to open a new air route linking the country’s western region to help Guangxi’s economic and tourism development. Liu said Nanning, like many regions in the West, had few flights, which, along with a shortage of other means of transport, had hampered the development of the West.