TAIYUAN, Dec. 25 -- Tourists are now able to fly direct to Mount Wutai, the most renowned Buddhist mountain in China, thanks to an airport that opened Friday.

An Airbus A320 aircraft from the southern coastal city of Haikou arrived at the Mount Wutai Airport in north China's Shanxi Province on Friday morning, marking the beginning of airport operations.

The Mount Wutai-Haikou flight will run every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The airport will open more routes linking the Buddhist resort with major Chinese cities including Shanghai, Dalian, Kunming and Chengdu.

The airport, 71 km from the core scenic site, is expected to receive 350,000 passengers a year in 2020.

Added to UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2009, Mount Wutai is home to about 50 Buddhist temples built between the 1st century and the early 20th century.