URUMQI, June 22 (Xinhua) -- A new direct flight linking Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and Pakistan's second largest city of Lahore, was launched Thursday.

A Boeing 737-800 aircraft is scheduled to depart from Urumqi at 8 a.m. every Thursday and Sunday, and will arrive in Lahore at 8:15 a.m. local time on the same days. The journey takes around three hours.

The return flight will take off at 9:35 a.m. local time and arrive in Urumqi at 3:20 p.m.

The service is operated by China Southern Airlines.

Lahore is the second most popular tourist destination for Chinese travelers in Pakistan, following the capital Islamabad.