Nanjingers are looking forward to spicing up their menus this winter with beef, mutton and more, as a new daily cargo flight commenced this week, bringing the delights of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau to our dinner tables.
Wednesday, 6 January, 2020, saw a China Postal Airlines flight depart Nanjing Lukou International Airport in the early hours. Its destination was Xining Caojiabao International Airport, that serves Xining City, capital of Qinghai Province.
As the first daily cargo flight out of Caojiabao, the service is operated by a Boeing 737-800F and shall continue for a 1-month test period. Each flight has a capacity of approximately 14 tons.
And filled to capacity it was, with mail and post for the outward leg of the journey, a source at Lukou told The Nanjinger.
The return flight is when it gets interesting. On board, beef and mutton, as well as other local products from the Qinghai region, together with the prerequisite express courier items.
The opening of the new cargo route effectively promotes the development of Qinghai’s characteristic local economy to the entire Chinese nation, providing favourable support for the development of the province’s agriculture and animal husbandry industries.
With Nanjing at the centre of such development, so Qinghai local produce can now enjoy next-day delivery to over 100 cities in China, reported China West Airport Group.
Should we trade Qinghai mutton for Nanjing duck?
Whether the flight can continue after the test period is largely up to us. If Nanjingers get a taste for beef and mutton bred in the fresh air and high altitudes of the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau, so too might the flight in the longer term start taking back Nanjing specialties in return.
As for passenger flights, the Nanjing-Xining link is served by Air Travel, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Shenzen Airlines and Tibet Airlines. Xining operates only one international passenger flight, to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
