NANNING, June 22 (Xinhua) -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is now connected by air with all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), consolidating its role as the country's gateway to the ASEAN, according to the Guangxi Airport Group.

The Philippines is the last country to be connected with Guangxi by air. The first flight of a new air route linking the regional capital, Nanning, with Manila in the Philippines took-off Thursday night.

In the first five months of this year, there were 4,518 flights between Guangxi and ASEAN countries with a total 552,000 passengers.

Guangxi saw an air passenger turnover of 1.09 million last year, up 25 percent year on year.

The ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.