"The opening of the airport will make the number of airports reach four in the Kashgar region, forming a closed-loop route," says Liu Hui, a senior official with the Kashgar culture, Radio, television and tourism bureau.

"It will greatly enhance the support of aviation to the tourism industry and strongly promote the development of tourism industry," Li says.

At the airport launch ceremony, the Kashgar winter tourism season also kicked off.

A total of 12 counties and cities in the region will carry out more than 130 events featuring winter tourism, sports, art and intangible cultural heritage performances, as well as lantern festivals will be staged during the season that will last till the end of March, according to Liu.

A total of 72 reading and cultural events will also be staged in local museums and libraries.