Finnair has announced it will be the first European carrier to fly direct to Xi’an when its inaugural flight to the Chinese city takes off next summer. The thrice-weekly flight will operate only during the northern summer, from June 14 to October 26.

Located in central-northwest China, Xi´an is an ancient imperial capital dating back some 3,000 years and is a cradle of Chinese civilization. The Terracotta Army, a group of thousands of ceramic soldiers buried with the first emperor of China, is located around 40 klometers to the west of the city. Xi’an also has a large Muslim community—its Grand Mosque is an intriguing in that it was constructed in the year 742 using only Chinese architectural techniques. Xi’an is a city on the up. A report by the Economist Intelligence Unit named it one of China’s top thirteen emerging mega cities.