Tibet Airlines launches a Qingdao- Xi'an- Lhasa route to the inland cities on Jan 7.

The new route, linking the regional capital of Lhasa with Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi Province and Qingdao in Shandong Province, is the only air route connecting the cities.

Another two routes linking Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, with Changsha, capital of Hunan Province, and Chengdu with Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, were also launched Thursday.

Tibet Airlines is the first airline based in Tibet. Launched in 2011, its network takes in major inland cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Shenzhen.