Hebei sweetens deals for rail, air travelers

Under the arrangement, tickets for domestic flights departing from the Shijia-zhuang airport are much cheaper than those departing from Beijing Capital to the same destination, Li said, adding that it's only an hour by high-speed train from Beijing West Railway Station to Shijiazhuang Zhengding, which has led a lot of residents living in the capital's western and southern areas to choose Shijiazhuang Zhengding as their departure or arrival airport.

"Passengers can buy air tickets and check in at the Beijing West station," he said. "Moreover, we offer free hotel accommodations at our airport to passengers whose flights are scheduled for early morning."

From January to April, about 100,000 travelers took a train to the Shijiazhuang airport and flew from there, or landed at the airport and then went to other places by train, Li said.

Zhao Yunfei, manager of the Hebei branch of low-cost carrier Spring Airlines, said about 11,000 passengers a month would fly to Shijiazhuang on his airline and then take a high-speed train to Beijing.

Passengers will save money - nearly 40 percent - on an air ticket from Shijiazhuang compared with the cost from the Beijing Capital to the same destination, he said.

Li Wu, general manager of Hebei Airport Management Holding, suggested the government should build more railways and highways to link Beijing and Hebei so passengers can conveniently use transportation facilities in Hebei.