Lobsters fly onto Changsha dinner tables thanks to new U.S. air cargo routes

Every week, there are three charted flights between Changsha Huanghua International Airport and cities in North America that are bringing Boston lobsters, fresh oysters, salmon, king crabs, and tuna across the Pacific Ocean bound for dinner tables in Central China.

The flights are part of efforts by the authorities in the city in Hunan Province grow the city's trade links, reports the Changsha Evening News.

A seafood store in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, is seen selling imported Boston lobsters on January 18, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

As of November, 9,844 tons of seafood was imported into Changsha, double the amount that was imported over the same time last year, according to local customs authorities.

Five new international passenger routes and three international cargo routes have opened in Changsha this year. More international trading routes, including between Changsha and Amsterdam, Bangkok, Los Angeles, and Vancouver are also being planned by the city.

The number of international passenger trips through Changsha has also seen a double-digit growth with the opening of more non-stop flights.

And the city's economy is expected to be given a further boost thanks to the opening of a cross-border e-commerce industrial park in the Changsha Huanghua Comprehensive Free Trade Zone.

Currently, the central Chinese city has two airlines going in North America: one to Chicago and the other one to Halifax of Canada.