CHONGQING -- China's Hainan Airline will begin direct flights from southwest Chongqing Municipality to Rome from April 27, the Consulate General of Italy in Chongqing said on Sunday.

The flight will cut the travel time between the two cities to about 13 hours. The route will run every Monday and Friday, departing from Chongqing at 1:30 am and arriving Rome at 7:50 am. The returning flight departs from Rome at 12:50 pm and lands in Chongqing at 5:45 am the next day.

Meanwhile, the new visa center of the consulate will start accepting Italian visa applications from Feb 16 from Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, Gansu, Shaanxi, Hubei, Qinghai provinces, and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the consulate announced.

Applicants will not have to travel to Beijing to apply and applications will be processed within two days with a fee of 60 euros.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) reached a new traffic rights agreement with the Italian civil aviation authorities in January. The new agreement will allow more airlines in China to gain traffic rights to operate flights between the two countries.

China and Italy agreed on simplified visa procedures during Premier Li Keqiang's visit in Oct 2014.