Tianjin Airlines Thursday announced that it would open flights to link the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin with Auckland in New Zealand later the month.

The flight, scheduled to be launched on Dec. 29, will fly from Tianjin to Xi'an, home to the Terracotta Warriors, and then to Auckland, the airlines said.

This will be Tianjin Airlines' first intercontinental flight in Xi'an and also Xi'an's first non-stop service to Auckland.

A 260-seat Airbus A330 will make a round trip once a week. A single trip takes about 15 hours.

Tianjin Airlines said it would open more flights in Xi'an to link destinations in Europe, America and Australia in the future.

The company said it was scheduled to open flights to link Tianjin and Zhengzhou with Sydney on Jan. 29, 2018.