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Mainland foray marks airline's 50 years in HK

Tim Metcalfe

The flagship carrier launches a twice-weekly service between Shanghai, New Delhi and Mumbai

Air India is celebrating its 50th anniversary of flying to Hong Kong with the inauguration of scheduled flights to the mainland.

The national carrier is showcasing the historic launch with a giant ice sculpture of the Taj Mahal, India's most famous icon, at the Harbin Ice Festival in northern China.

Air India has been flying to Hong Kong since 1954 but only last month introduced the landmark link with the mainland, with a twice-weekly service between Shanghai, New Delhi and Mumbai. The airline's regional director, V.J. Casshyap, says that the long-awaited link will bring India and the mainland 'closer than ever before', with five flights a week to Hong Kong and now two to the mainland.

He says he is confident the mainland link will bring handsome dividends for both sides, with two-way tourism expected to be the first to benefit.

Meanwhile, China has granted India 'approved destination' status for mainland tour groups. Mr Casshyap estimated that a million passengers from one country would earn the other US$1 billion in tourism revenue alone.

Air India is also confident the frequency of services to Hong Kong and the mainland will increase in the near future as traffic grows.

'I am sure we will be looking at more flights to China, and more cities,' Mr Casshyap says.

'Beijing is an option to look at later.'

He says the new air link is the result of a 'tremendous improvement' in relations between India and China, sealed by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's historic visit to Beijing last summer.

The 50-foot high ice carving of the legendary Taj Mahal at the Harbin Ice Festival is seen as a spectacular boost to the promotion of India as a tourist destination to the mainland market.

The sculpture, one of the highlights of this year's show, was created in partnership with the Harbin Modern Group. Chinese artists used photographs of the Taj Mahal to guide them in creating the frozen artwork.

The fair continues until late next month, subject to temperatures remaining below zero.

'The festival is world famous,' Mr Casshyap says. 'It is seen by millions of television viewers around China and the world, as well as visitors to the event. It is a major opportunity to showcase India tourism and woo Chinese tourists.'

The choice of the Taj Mahal for the airline launch also happens to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the monument.

Located in the city of Agra, about 200km from the Indian capital of Delhi, the Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the world's architectural masterpieces and is ranked as one of the seven wonders of the world.

It was built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jehan in memory of his beloved wife Arjumand Banu, later known as Mumtaz Mahal.

The monument took 22 years to build, and for its construction white marble was hauled across half of India from quarries in Rajasthan.

Air India is also featuring the Taj Mahal at another ice festival, in the northern Japanese city of Sapporo, next month.

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