China will open an airport in the Daocheng Yading county of Tibet on September 16th.

Once operating, it will cut journey times between the county and Chengdu from two days via bus to 65 minutes in the air, according to the Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture tourism bureau. A daily route between these two locations will be operating and Xinhua reports a one-way ticket will cost 1,600 yuan (£164).

By October 1st, routes are expect to connect Daocheng with Chongqing Municipality and Maerkang County.

Further services to the cities of Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xi'an are expected in 2014.

It will also be the highest civilian airport at 4,411m above sea level. The current record holder - Bangda Airport at 4,344m - is also in Tibet.

The airport will be sixth in the Himalayan region, although plans have also been announced for a seventh airport. Located at Dawu Township, construction will begin later this year.