China's Buddhist mountain to have airport

Mount Wutai in Taiyuan city of North China's Shanxi province, Oct 19, 2013. [Photo/icpress.cn]

TAIYUAN -- Mount Wutai, one of four Buddhist mountains in North China's Shanxi province, should be served by aviation before the end of 2015, the local government said on Friday.

Under construction, Mount Wutai Airport is 71 km away from the core scenic site. With a budget of 900 million yuan (about $150 million), the airport will include a 13,000-square-meter terminal building with five aircraft stances and handle 35,000 passengers per year.

Most of the construction work should have been done by October next year, and normal operation should begin by the end of 2015, with direct flights to major cities including Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Kunming.

Added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2009, Mount Wutai is home to about 50 Buddhist temples built between the 1st century and the early 20th century.