Tibet is often called the "roof of the world."

Daocheng Yading Airport, the world's highest-altitude civilian airport, at 4,411 metres above sea level, has been inaugurated in Tibet, China.

Built to a cost of 1.58 billion yuan ($255 million), the airport is located 159 km from the Yading Nature Reserve in the eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Known as "the last Shangri-La," Yading is likewise noted as "the last pure land on the blue planet" for its scenery.

Video Source: Youtube/ Jian Shuo Wang

Tibet is located on the Tibetan Plateau, the world's highest region.

Daocheng Yading Airport was built to reduce the travel time, from two days by bus to 65 minutes by plane, from the county to the provincial capital of Chengdu. Construction officially started in 2011, and the facility was formally opened on Monday.

The airport boasts of a 4,200-meter-long runway, a 8,796-square-meter terminal and four aircraft parking stands. It can handle 280,000 passengers and 1,400 tonnes of cargo per year.

Video Source: Youtube/ iland jake

Initially running a daily route between Chengdu and Daocheng, the management of Daocheng Yading Airport plans to open routes connecting the county to other cities like Guangzhou, Shanghai and Xi'an. This will be in 2014.

Daocheng Yading Airport surpasses Qamdo Bamda Airport as the world's highest-altitude civilian airport. The latter, also located in Tibet, China, has an elevation of 4,334 metres (14,219 ft) above sea level.