A new Quzhou-Jining flight route was launched on Sept 25, linking two cities with a rich Confucian heritage just in time for the 2,575th anniversary of Confucius' birth on Sept 28. 

This year marks the first time that Quzhou's Confucius Ceremony, the Southern Confucius Memorial, will serve as a satellite venue for China's 2024 China International Confucius Cultural Festival in Qufu, a county-level city of Jining in Shandong province.

The new route is expected to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the regions. Flights are scheduled to run on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays from Sept 25 to Oct 10, with departure from Quzhou at 6:05 pm and arrival in Jining at 7:40 pm. Return flights leave Jining at 8:20 pm, arriving in Quzhou at 9:55 pm. Tickets are now available for purchase.

Starting Oct 27, the route will operate regularly under the 2024 winter schedule, with flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

Confucius (551-479 BC) lived during China's Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC). He is known as the first Chinese person to set up private schools, believing that all human beings, regardless of social status, could benefit from lifelong learning.

Dubbed the "Home of Southern Confucianism", Quzhou is the second-biggest center for the descendants of Confucius. When Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), was conquered by the military of the Jin Dynasty (1115-1234), Emperor Gaozong retreated to the south. 

The eldest member of Confucius' descendants in the 48th generation, Kong Duanyou, also moved to the south and settled in Quzhou, giving rise to the southern branch of the family.