JINAN, July 6 (Xinhua) -- Shandong Airlines has launched two direct routes from east China's Shandong Province to Taiwan, including one from Jinan, capital of Shandong, to Taiwan's Hualien County, and the other from Qingdao to Taichung.

The first flight from Jinan to Hualien took off from Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport on Saturday morning and arrived in Hualien at around 10:37 a.m. The Qingdao to Taichung route made its maiden flight on Thursday, said the company.

Currently, Shandong Airlines has three regional destinations in Taiwan, including Taipei, Hualien and Taichung.

The flight SC4083 is scheduled to leave Jinan at 7:35 a.m. every Saturday and arrive in Hualien at 10:20 a.m. The return flight leaves Hualien at 11:50 the same day and arrives in Jinan at 2:30 p.m.

The flight SC4633 departs from Qingdao every Thursday at 7:50 a.m. and arrives in Taichung at 10:20 a.m., while the return flight leaves at 11:20 a.m. and arrives in Qingdao at 2:00 p.m.

Since the opening of direct flights between Shandong and Taiwan at the end of 2008, Shandong Airlines has transported about 1.72 million passengers between Shandong and Taiwan, according to the company.

Hualien County is the largest county in Taiwan, and its economy is mainly dominated by industry, commerce and transportation. Taichung is rich in rice, sugar canes, fruits and tobacco and is a distribution center of products in central Taiwan and an important industrial city.

Currently, four airlines in Shandong and Taiwan operate a total of six routes linking the two places.