HAIKOU, March 16 (Xinhua) -- A direct air route, linking Haikou, capital of south China's island province of Hainan, and Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, was launched on Friday.

The route is operated by Kazakhstan's SCAT Airlines and a round trip is scheduled once a week.

A Boeing 757-200 aircraft departed from Almaty at 9 p.m. local time on Thursday and arrived at Haikou Meilan International Airport at around 4 a.m. on Friday.

The return flight is scheduled to leave Hainan at 5:30 a.m. and will arrive in Almaty at 1 p.m.

Hainan Province currently has 81 international air routes and aims to increase the figure to 100 by 2020.

China plans to build Hainan into an international tourism and consumption center by 2025 and a globally influential tourism and consumption destination by 2035.