KUNMING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The airport of one of China's famous tourist towns has been approved to take international airliners, the local government announced Thursday.

The Lijiang city government said in a circular that Lijiang Airport has passed a state appraisal to open for international flights.

This means more tourists will be able to reach Lijiang by direct air flights.

Currently, the airlines operating at the airport only fly 21 air routes, most of which are regional ones within Yunnan Province. Tourists to Lijiang often opt to take flights to the provincial capital of Kunming and change to regional flights to Lijiang.

According to the government circular, the number of passengers who pass through the airport could double to 4.05 million on an annual basis by 2015, when the number of flights would reach 42,000 a year.

The old town of Lijiang, a site on UNESCO World Heritage list, has a history of more than 800 years, and is one of the surviving ancient towns in China.