The construction of a cableway spanning across Heilongjiang River, which serves as the China-Russia border, started on Thursday, to advancing tourism in the region.

It is the first cross-border cableway between the two countries. On completion, the cableway will link up Heihe, a city in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, and the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk across the Heilongjiang River, known as Amur River in Russia.

As China's opening-up gains further steam, the two cities have seen great changes taken place. But cross-border traffic remains fairly slow.

The 972-meter-long cableway, with a budget of 570 million yuan (about 83 million U.S. dollars), is designed for two-way traffic, with cable coaches each able to carry 80 people. The cableway can transport six million people annually.

"A cableway will be a safe and convenient shortcut for tourists to cross the Heilongjiang River," said Qin Enting, secretary of the Heihe Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China. "Riders will also get a glimpse of the unique views of both cities."

The cableway will be finished and become operational in the first quarter of 2021. The project will boost tourism in the region and the number of tourists to Heihe is expected to increase by 10-percent, according to estimates by the city's government.

The time of a one-way ride will be shortened to less than 10 minutes.

(Cover: The first cross-border cableway, which is under construction, will span across Heilongjiang River, which serves as the border between China and Russia. /VCG Photo)