At the age of 90, Sen Yang had a good reason to not only leave China for the first time in his life but also to make his first visit to the United States.

Yang’s granddaughter is marrying a man from Saxonburg, Butler County, where the couple’s wedding will be held, so he was among the nearly 300 visitors who arrived on the first direct flight from China to Pittsburgh International Airport on Friday afternoon.

China Eastern Airlines is offering nonstop charter flights between Pittsburgh and Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on a seasonal basis.

“We’ve been working on this for 2 1/2 years to bring this to fruition and have had extensive amounts of training for people in the local hospitality industry to become China-ready to welcome these Chinese visitors,” said Craig Davis, CEO of VisitPittsburgh, the official tourism promotion agency for Allegheny County.

READ MORE:Pittsburgh’s first nonstop flight from China brings 90-year-old man to U.S. for first time to see his granddaughter’s wedding
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