On July 22, Danish pilot Malene Egelund Rohde was hired by Shenzhen Airlines, becoming the first foreign woman to captain a jet for a Chinese airline.

Rohde, 45, will fly the routes of Shenzhen-Shanghai and Shenzhen-Beijing, according to the firm.

The captain has 20 years of flying experience and obtained a captain's license in Denmark 10 years ago. She was a flight attendant before becoming a pilot.

"I saw a recruitment ad for Shenzhen Airlines on the Internet in December and soon came for an interview," she said. "In February I passed another examination. In April I began to receive training in China."

Rohde had been flying in Europe. This will be her first time flying in China.

After living in Shenzhen for four months, Rohde has fallen in love with Shenzhen life, she said.

In her spare time, she has been decorating her new home, touring the city, which she thinks is "very big", watching movies and shopping in Hong Kong. She has even signed up for a marathon on the Great Wall next year.

Shenzhen Airlines began hiring foreign pilots in 2002, the first mainland airline to do so. It now has more than 70 foreign pilots and will soon expand the number to more than 100, according to the company.

Photograph: Malene Egelund Rohde is China's first foreign female airline captain. Photo by Ma Li.