BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese engineering team consisting of 109 peacekeepers departed Beijing Capital International Airport in a UN chartered plane to Sudan's Darfur on Wednesday for a one-year peacekeeping mission.

The peacekeepers are part of a 225-member team, which is the 13th group to be sent to the Darfur region. The rest of the team is scheduled to depart on Dec. 27.

The team will take on a number of tasks, including building makeshift airports, roads, bridges and defense works.

China now has more than 2,000 peacekeepers serving in UN missions in nine regions, including South Sudan, the Darfur region of Sudan, Mali and Liberia.