URUMQI - Kashgar will start providing duty-free shopping from 2015 as the Xinjiang city tries to build itself as a trade hub in Central Asia.

Duty-free shops will open in a plaza covering 100,000 square meters, local authorities said on Saturday.

Visitors to Kashgar will be allowed to buy duty-free goods with valid plane tickets and travel agreements, according to the administration of Kashgar economic development zone.

In a policy package released in 2011, the State Council, or China's cabinet, said it supported Kashgar to set up a special customs regulation zone.

South China's Hainan province started providing duty-free shopping two years ago. It has helped boost tourism on the tropical island.