Chartered flights set from Shanghai to DPRK

As enthusiasm for visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea keeps heating up among the Chinese, tourists in Shanghai will be able to visit the country on a chartered flight this summer, and maybe even take pictures with usually-banned telephoto lenses during an autumn trip.

The chartered flight from Shanghai to Pyongyang began in 2012 and will mark its third consecutive year in July. China's largest online travel agency, Ctrip.com, and Yanbian China International Travel Services Co Shanghai Branch both provide travel packages for the flight.

Only camera lenses with a focal distance shorter than 20 millimeters may be taken into the DPRK. However, a group of amateur photographers organized by the Yangtze River Delta Tourism Photographic Society will set off for Pyongyang in September, and they will be allowed to take along more professional equipment, including lenses with longer focal distances.