(JIANG HONGJING)

The world's highest-altitude civilian airport is put into use on September 16 in Daocheng County, southwest China's Sichuan Province.

Located 4,411 meters above sea level, the airport is 159 km from Yading Nature Reserve that lies on the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Inside China, Yading is known as "the last Shangri-La" and "the last pure land on the blue planet" for its scenery.

The airport will initially run a daily route between Daocheng and the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, with a one-way ticket fare of 1,600 yuan ($261).

Routes connecting Daocheng with Chongqing and Maerkang County, capital of Sichuan's Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, are expected to open before October 1.