China's first self-developed narrow-body jet C919 welcomes its 500,000th passenger aboard its flight from Chengdu Tianfu International Airport to Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on September 1. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

To date, China Eastern's C919 fleet has expanded to seven jets, operating five C919 regular commercial routes between Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport to Chinese destinations of Beijing, Chengdu of Sichuan province, Xi'an of Shaanxi province, and Guangzhou of Guangdong province, as well as between Xi'an and Beijing.