China Eastern has signed a cooperation agreement with China Kunming Kanghui Travel Agency to jointly launch a new travel product.

Under the new product called Pan Asia Channel, domestic passengers who come to Kunming by air will be able to go to Xishuangbanna by taking a luxury express bus and they can then take a cruise out of China along the Lancang River and Mekong River before they go to other Southeast Asian countries by taking one of China Eastern's flights.

The launch of the project is expected to help the cooperation among the sub-Mekong River area nations and expand the international travel market. Kanghui will manage the business on the ground and put together packaged tours.

Yunnan Province itself has seen a bit of a slide in recent years as many international hotel chains have seen business dry up in an area once destined to be a holiday mecca. In the run-up to the International Horticultural Exhibition a few years ago in Kunming, many hotels flocked to the region, only to see diminished crowds once the festivities had ended.