HAIKOU, Nov. 9 (Xinhua) -- A direct flight service linking Russia's Khabarovsk with Haikou, capital of southern China's Hainan Province, started on Friday.

It is the sixth direct international air route that Haikou opened to Russian cities since April to cope with a rising demand for China's tropical island tour experience to Russia after the tropical island expanded the visa-free policy.

The other five air routes link Haikou with Moscow, St. Petersburg, Ufa, Kazan and Samara in Russia.

Hainan has offered a 15-day visa-free stay for group tourists from 21 countries since 2000, and added five more countries in 2010 to the list and extended the stay to 21 days for group tourists from Russia, the Republic of Korea and Germany from May.

A Boeing 777 aircraft serves the weekly flight service between Haikou and Khabarovsk. The first flight arrived at the Meilan International Airport in Haikou at 5:40 a.m. Friday with 369 passengers from Russia.

The flight is co-operated by Zhujiang International Travel Agency both in Hainan and Russia, as well as IrAero from Russia.

Zeng Changbin, director of Haikou Civil Aviation Office said the city of Haikou boasts tourist resources like tropical island amusements, traditional Chinese medicine therapies and duty-free shopping, which are attractive to Russian tourists, especially during the winter season.

Haikou has opened 12 new international flights this year, with destinations to Russia, Republic of Korea, Thailand and Australia. More direct flights from the island are planned to link countries with visa-free access.