Buses at the Lili tourist bus center. (Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn)

Two new bus routes linking different areas in the Yangtze River Delta region were launched on the morning of March 6 as part of efforts to enhance the integration of Shanghai and neighboring provinces within the region.

Starting on March 6, bus No 7618 will travel along the new route from Oriental Land station in Shanghai's Qingpu district to the Lili tourist bus center in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. The 35-kilometer journey will take 50 minutes.

With a fare just 5 yuan ($0.74), tourists from Jiangsu can easily travel to the suburban areas in Shanghai before transferring to metro Line 17 which takes them to the city's downtown areas.

Another new route which is serviced by bus No 7619 links the Lili tourist bus center with the ancient town of Xitang in Zhejiang province. The 19-km journey takes about 30 minutes and costs 5 yuan as well.

People traveling on these new routes can pay for their fares using their mobile phones.

The integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region will be elevated to the status of a national strategy this year, Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report on March 5.