Red leaves in Wushan Mountain beautify the landscape. [Photo/Tan Shaohua]

The first direct flight linking Yantai, Shandong province with Wushan county in Chongqing opened on Oct 27.

Wushan will host its 13th International Red Leaves Festival on Nov 22, announced Cao Bangxing, mayor of Wushan county, at a news conference in Yantai.

Wushan Mountain in Wushan county, Chongqing is famous for its legends of a goddess and stunning autumn views.

The red leaves in Wushan beautify the landscape and are plentiful during the longest viewing period among the scenic sites in the Three Gorges area, which has become a tourism name card of Wushan Mountain.

At the conference, Cao expressed his warm welcome to Yantai residents and invited them to enjoy the red leaves during the festival. He said that Yantai residents can visit Wushan Mountain free once a year.

With the opening of the new air route, passengers can fly from Yantai to Wushan in only two hours. The nonstop flight service between the two places will be offered four times a week.

Since establishing a poverty alleviation partnership in 2010, Yantai has provided Wushan with government assistance as well as support in both industry and tourism.

Official data show that a total of 20,000 people in Wushan were lifted out of poverty, and the poverty rate dropped from 13.7 percent to around 0.3 percent.