Lahore, Sep 23 (IANS): Chinese authorities on Monday opened Beijing's the first visa application service centre in Lahore.

Yao Jing, the Chinese Ambassador to Islamabad, inaugurated the centre. Others who attended the ceremony included the Chinese Lahore Consul General Long Dingbin, Deputy Consul General Peng Zhengwu and officials from the Punjab government.

peaking to Geo News, Peng called the visa centre a landmark step.

"Earlier residents of Lahore had to travel to Islamabad to apply for a visa to China," he said, adding: "This new place will provide enormous relief to businessmen and visitors. Lahore is an important city and the new hub of economic activity in Punjab."

The Lahore centre will handle ordinary visa applications to China, Hong Kong and Macao.

However, the final approval will still be granted by the Chinese embassy in Islamabad. The Lahore office will only collect the required documents and forward the requests.

Approximately 4,000 applications are processed by China's embassy in Islamabad per month.