ТASHKENT, January 13. /Dunyo IA/. The first flight on the new passenger route from Kashgar to Uzbekistan’s capital is scheduled for 14 January, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.

According to the Chinese news agency “Xinhua”, the launch of the route is expected to establish a convenient air bridge for bilateral humanitarian exchanges as well as trade and economic cooperation between China and Uzbekistan.

The inaugural flight from Kashgar, the administrative centre of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, will be operated using an Airbus A320 configured for 180 passengers. The service is planned as a weekly round-trip flight. This direct air link will significantly reduce travel time, which previously required a connecting flight.

Uzbekistan is an important trading partner for the Kashgar Prefecture. In recent years, the level of connectivity and cooperation between China and Uzbekistan has steadily increased. On 1 June 2025, an agreement between the governments of China and Uzbekistan officially came into force, allowing citizens of both countries holding valid ordinary passports to enter each other’s territory visa-free for up to 30 days per visit.

Against this favourable backdrop, the launch of the direct Kashgar-Tashkent air route is expected to further stimulate demand for both tourism and business travel, while giving a new impetus to deeper cooperation across various sectors.

According to statistics, tourist flows from China to Uzbekistan have risen sharply in recent years. In 2024, more than 74,300 Chinese tourists visited Uzbekistan, representing an increase of approximately 75% compared to 2023.

This positive trend continued in 2025: from January to October, around 217,000 Chinese tourists arrived in Uzbekistan, and by the end of the year, this figure is expected to exceed 250,000 - more than three times higher than the previous year.

Experts note that this growth is driven not only by the visa-free regime but also by Uzbekistan’s active promotion on the Chinese tourism market during the recently concluded “Year of Tourism” as well as the expansion of direct flights between regions in the two countries.