Beijing Nanyuan Airport was a

military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

and a secondary

commercial airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfac ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. Located in Fengtai District, south of the 4th Ring Road and from

Tiananmen Square Tiananmen Square or Tian'anmen Square (; 天安门广场; Pinyin: ''Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng''; Wade–Giles: ''Tʻien1-an1-mên2 Kuang3-chʻang3'') is a city square in the city center of Beijing, China, named after the eponymous Tiananmen ...

, Nanyuan Airport was first opened in 1910, making it the oldest airport in China. It was the main hub of

China United Airlines China United Airlines Co., Ltd. () is a low-cost carrier and a subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines with its headquarters and main hub on the grounds of Beijing Daxing International Airport in Daxing District, Beijing, operating scheduled fl ...

, which was also the airport's sole airline. Nanyuan Airport ceased civil operations on 25 September 2019, after all commercial passenger flights (operated by

) were moved to the newly opened

Beijing Daxing International Airport Beijing Daxing International Airport , is one of two international airports serving Beijing, the other one being Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK). It is located on the border of Beijing and Langfang, Hebei Province. It has bee ...

. It remained operational as a

People's Liberation Army Air Force The People's Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF; ), also known as the Chinese Air Force (中国空军) or the People's Air Force (人民空军), is an aerial service branch of the People's Liberation Army, the regular armed forces of the Peo ...

military base until 30 September 2019, when the (known as "New Nanyuan Airport" during construction) opened. It is adjacent to Beijing Daxing airport.

History

The first aircraft landed in the Nanyuan area was in 1904. In July 1907, the government built rudimentary runways in Nanyuan's Yijun training ground (also known as the Wulidian soldier training ground) and used it for a light aircraft purchased from France. In August 1910, the

Qing government The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...

began to establish air transportation in China, with the built of a factory in Nanyuan to experiment with manufacturing aircraft, the Nanyuan airport officially opened its regular use. Nanyuan airport was the first airport in China and one of the three operational airports opened before 1910s in the world. After the

Xinhai Revolution The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of a ...

Yuan Shikai Yuan Shikai (; 16 September 1859 – 6 June 1916) was a Chinese military and government official who rose to power during the late Qing dynasty and eventually ended the Qing dynasty rule of China in 1912, later becoming the Emperor of China. H ...

, who followed suggestions from the French advisers, established the first official flying academy in China in 1913: Nanyuan Flying Academy, with Li Ruyan as chief, and purchased 10 French Caudron trainer aircraft for 300,000 silver dollars. After the

Second Zhili-Fengtian War The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

, the academy was closed. However, the more than 100 pilots that trained in the academy over 4 terms have played important roles in China's aviation history. Later on, some of them has become key persons in civil aviation. In the brief episode of the

Manchu Restoration The Manchu Restoration or Dingsi Restoration (), also known as Zhang Xun Restoration (), or Xuantong Restoration (), was an attempt to restore the Chinese monarchy by General Zhang Xun, whose army seized Beijing and briefly reinstalled the las ...

led by Qing loyalist general

Zhang Xun Zhang Xun (; September 16, 1854 – September 11, 1923), courtesy name Shaoxuan (), art name Songshoulaoren (), nickname Bianshuai (, ), was a Chinese general and Qing loyalist who attempted to restore the abdicated emperor Puyi in the Manchu ...

in July 1917, then- Premier

Duan Qirui Duan Qirui (; ) (March 6, 1865 – November 2, 1936) was a Chinese warlord and politician, a commander of the Beiyang Army and the acting Chief Executive of the Republic of China (in Beijing) from 1924 to 1926. He was also the Premier of the R ...

ordered a

Caudron Type D The Caudron Type D was a French pre-World War I single seat, twin-boom tractor biplane, a close but slightly smaller relative of the two seat Caudron Type C. More than a dozen were completed, one exported to the United Kingdom, where they may al ...

aircraft piloted by Pan Shizhong (潘世忠) and bombardier Du Yuyuan (杜裕源) of the country's fledgling air force based in Nanyuan airbase to fly to and drop bombs over the Forbidden City; three bombs were dropped, causing the death of a eunuch, but otherwise minor damage. During the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese Army extended the airport, upgraded its air traffic control facilities, and changed the name to Nanyuan military camp. After the Surrender of Japan in 1945, Nanyuan Airport has become one of the most important airports for the Nationalist government and its

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

. The private planes of Chiang Kai-shek and

Fu Zuoyi Fu Zuoyi () (June 2, 1895 − April 19, 1974) was a Chinese military leader. He began his military career in the service of Yan Xishan, and he was widely praised for his defense of Suiyuan from the Japanese. During the final stages of the Chi ...

have taken off from the Nanyuan Airport; many of

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Tai ...

's important military and government personnels have also boarded flights from Nanyuan. There was also an aviation accident happened at the airport in 1945. During 1946

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

fighter squadron VMF-218 was based here. in December 1948, the People's Liberation Army took control of the airport. In August 1949, the first flying brigade of the

was formed in here, and they participated in the People's Republic of China Founding Ceremony's flying missions. Since then, Nanyuan Airport has been supporting the training of air and ground forces in all of the subsequent National Day Show of Force events. In 1986,

was established as a military-owned civil airline with special authorization to use military airports. Becoming the first commercial airline to serve Nanyuan, it turned the airbase into its main hub. It has continued to operate out of the airbase despite its 2004 privatization and sale to

Shanghai Airlines Shanghai Airlines () is an airline headquartered in Shanghai. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, but its operations remain separate post-merger, retaining its distinct brand and livery. Shanghai Airlines operates domestic ...

. In 2008, Nanyuan Airport witnessed a high growth rate. The total number of passengers served increased by 80.1%, reaching 1,357,038; total freight loaded/unloaded reached 13,243 tonnes, which was a 65.6% increase from the previous year. Traffic movements also had a very strong growth rate of 72.2%, registering 12,245. Nanyuan Airport opened a new terminal in September 2013 with a designed passenger handling capacity of 6 million people. The previous terminal was capable of handling 2.8 million passengers during 2011. Nanyuan ceased civil operation on 25 September 2019, after all commercial passenger flights were moved to the newly opened

. Nanyuan remains operational as a

air base until late September 2019, when the Beijing Nanjiao Airport (known as "New Nanyuan Airport" during construction) opened.

References

{{authority control Airports established in 1910 Airports disestablished in 2019 1910 establishments in China Airports in Beijing Defunct airports in China Chinese Air Force bases Buildings and structures in Fengtai District Transport in Fengtai District 2019 disestablishments in China

History

See also

References