China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition (), also known as the Airshow China () and Zhuhai Airshow (), is a biennial international
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astron ...
trade expo held in
Zhuhai
Zhuhai; Yale romanization of Cantonese, Yale: ''Jyūhói''; Chinese postal romanization, also known as Chuhai is a prefecture-level city located on the west bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern ...
,
Guangdong
) means "wide" or "vast", and has been associated with the region since the creation of Guang Prefecture in AD 226. The name "''Guang''" ultimately came from Guangxin ( zh, labels=no, first=t, t= , s=广信), an outpost established in Han dynasty ...
, since 1996. It is the largest
airshow
An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground.
The largest air ...
in
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
.
History
1st edition (1996)

The first Airshow China was held from 5 to 10 November 1996. Performances included:
*
Su-27
The Sukhoi Su-27 (; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supersonic supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet fighters suc ...
cobra
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
*
Il-78
The Ilyushin Il-78 (; NATO reporting name Midas) is a Soviet/Russian four-engined aerial refueling tanker based on the Il-76 strategic airlifter.
Design and development
The Soviet Union's first dedicated tanker aircraft were variants of pre ...
aerial refueling
Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...
* British "Golden Dream" aerobatic team
* "World Aerobatics Grand Prix"
2nd edition (1998)
The second Airshow China was held from 15 to 22 November 1998. Performances included:
*
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
"
August 1st"
*
Russian Knights
* Canadian "Northern Lights" (later as Northern Lights Combat Air Support and now Lortie Aviation Inc.) using the
Extra 300
The Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 is a two-seat aerobatic monoplane capable of Unlimited category competition. It was designed in 1987 by Walter Extra, a German aerobatic pilot, and built by Extra Flugzeugbau.
Design and development
Design of ...
L
* British "Golden Dream" aerobatic team
* Russian
Gromov Flight Research Institute
The Gromov Flight Research Institute or GFRI for short (, ) is an important Russian State Research Centre which operates an aircraft test base located in Zhukovsky, 40 km south-east of Moscow. The airfield is also known as Ramenskoye air ...
cobra
COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...
and
aerial refueling
Aerial refueling ( en-us), or aerial refuelling ( en-gb), also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to an ...
3rd edition (2000)
The third Airshow China was held from 6 to 12 November 2000. Performances included:
*
Kamov Ka-50
*
Sukhoi Su-30MK
*
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
"August 1st"
*
Russian Knights
* British "Golden Dream" aerobatic team
* FAI Star Aerobatic Team Elites
4th edition (2002)
The fourth Airshow China was held from 3 to 7 November 2002.
5th edition (2004)
The fifth Airshow China was held from 1 to 7 November 2004.
Yang Liwei
Yang Liwei (; born 21 June 1965) is a Chinese major general, former military pilot, and former taikonaut of the People's Liberation Army.
In October 2003, Yang became the first person sent into space by the Chinese space program. This missi ...
was present. Performances included:
*
Strizhi
*
People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
"August 1st"
6th edition (2006)
The sixth Airshow China was held from 31 October to 5 November 2006. The first three days were corporate days and not open to public. The remaining three days were public days. Over 30 countries and 600 aviation companies took part. Performances included:
*
Russian Knights
* British "Golden Dream" aerobatic team
7th edition (2008)
The seventh Airshow China was held from 4 to 9 November 2008. Some 4 billion U.S. dollars worth of deals were signed at the six-day event, including one involving
Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) selling 25 ARJ21-700 regional jets to
GE Commercial Aviation Services of the United States (first delivery by 2013). Additionally, the
Chengdu J-10
The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird) is a Chinese medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft using a delta wing and canard design, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.8. It is produced by the Chengdu Aircr ...
and
Xi'an JH-7
The Xi'an JH-7 ( zh, s=歼轰-7, t=殲轟-7, hp=jiān hōng qī – fighter-bomber; NATO reporting name Flounder), also known as the FBC-1 (Fighter/Bomber China-1) Flying Leopard, is a Chinese tandem two-seat, twin-engine fighter-bomber in ser ...
A both made their first public appearances.
[China air show concludes with deals of 102 aircraft inked](_blank)
/ref> Other performances included:
* Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...
* H-6U tanker mock refueling two Shenyang J-8IIs
* HAIG L-15
* Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
Surya Kiran
Surya Kiran () is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and is a part of the No. 52 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The team is based at Bidar Air Force Station in ...
8th edition (2010)
The eighth Airshow China was held in Zhuhai from 16 to 21 November 2010. It included:
* Airbus A380
The Airbus A380 is a very large wide-body airliner, developed and produced by Airbus until 2021. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and the only full-length double-deck jet airliner.
Airbus studies started in 1988, and the pr ...
* HAIG L-15 - Replaced with Ivchenko-Progress
Ivchenko-Progress ZMKB (, ''Zaporizhzhia Machine-Building Design Bureau "Progress" State Enterprise named after Academician O.H.Ivchenko''), formerly OKB, OKB-478 and Ivchenko Lotarev, is a state design bureau that creates drafts and plans for ai ...
AL-222K-25F engine with afterburner
An afterburner (or reheat in British English) is an additional combustion component used on some jet engines, mostly those on military supersonic aircraft. Its purpose is to increase thrust, usually for supersonic flight, takeoff, and combat ...
* People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
"August 1st" – First open show after aircraft renewal with Chengdu J-10
The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird) is a Chinese medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft using a delta wing and canard design, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.8. It is produced by the Chengdu Aircr ...
* Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...
Sherdils aerobatic team
9th edition (2012)
The ninth Airshow China was held from 13 to 18 November 2012 and included:
* Shenyang J-31 display.
* FK-1000
* CM-602G
* TL500
* CM-506KG
10th edition (2014)
The tenth Airshow China was held from 11 to 16 November 2014.
11th edition (2016)
The eleventh Airshow China was held from 1 to 6 November 2016 and included:
* Republic of Korea Air Force
The Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF; ), also known as the ROK Air Force or South Korean Air Force, is the Air force, aerial and Space force, space warfare service branch of South Korea, operating under the Ministry of National Defense (South K ...
's Black Eagles aerobatic team
* Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...
's Red Arrows
The Red Arrows, officially known as the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, is the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force (RAF) based at RAF Waddington. The team was formed in late 1964 as an all-Royal Air Force team, replacing several un ...
* fly passing of Chengdu J-20
The Chengdu J-20 (), also known as Mighty Dragon (, NATO reporting name: Fagin), is a twinjet, twin-engine Night fighter, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter developed by China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation for the People's Liberatio ...
LRIP model.
12th edition (2018)
The twelfth Airshow China was held from 6 to 11 November 2018 and included presentation of:
* CM-401 missile system
* world's first quantum radar
* world's first air-cooling airplane-board radar
* aerobatic performance of Chengdu J-10
The Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon (; NATO reporting name: Firebird) is a Chinese medium-weight, single-engine, multirole combat aircraft using a delta wing and canard design, with a maximum speed of Mach 1.8. It is produced by the Chengdu Aircr ...
B, one of world's first serial airplane with thrust vector control (TVC) engine
* fullscale mockup of Tianhe core module of future Chinese large modular space station
Tiangong (), officially the ''Tiangong'' space station (), is a permanently crewed space station constructed by China and operated by China Manned Space Agency. Tiangong is a modular design, with modules docked together while in low Earth ...
* aerobatic performance of Chengdu J-20
The Chengdu J-20 (), also known as Mighty Dragon (, NATO reporting name: Fagin), is a twinjet, twin-engine Night fighter, all-weather Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter developed by China's Chengdu Aircraft Corporation for the People's Liberatio ...
production model.
13th edition (2021)
Originally scheduled to happen in 2020, it was postponed to the following year due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The thirteenth Airshow China was held from 28 September to 3 October 2021. A total of 700 companies have participated in the event online and offline, with more than 100 aircraft exhibited:
* FH-97 jet UAV
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned aircraft system (UAS), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft with no human pilot, crew, or passengers onboard, but rather is controlled remotely or is autonomous.De Gruyter Handbook of Drone ...
* Shenyang FC-31
*Tengyun spaceplane
A spaceplane is a vehicle that can flight, fly and gliding flight, glide as an aircraft in Earth's atmosphere and function as a spacecraft in outer space. To do so, spaceplanes must incorporate features of both aircraft and spacecraft. Orbit ...
14th edition (2022)
The fourteenth Airshow China was held from 8 November to 13 November 2022.
*Debut of E195-E2 E190-E2 also received certification from China's aviation regulator.
* CASIC Anti-UAV System, composed of DK-1 low-altitude search radar, the ZK-K20 air-defense control system, HQ-17AE and QW-12 short-range missiles, and ZR-1500 drone defense system.
*Export and air-launched version of YJ-21 hypersonic missile.
*JH-7A2 with AKF-98
AKF-98 () is a stand-off land-attack cruise missile of Chinese origin. It was debuted at Airshow China 2022.
Development
The AKF-98A was displayed at Zhuhai Airshow in 2022. It's a jet-powered stand-off cruise missile carried by fighter aircra ...
stand-off cruise missile, AKF-88C anti-radiation missile and YL-5/YJ-1000-1 1,000-kilogram bomb.
*Chengdu J-20 stealth fighters ground display
*Chinese 6th generation jet fighter aircraft concept
* YY-20 tanker aircraft
* KJ-500A AEW&C aircraft debut
* FH-97A debut
* Chengdu WZ-10 debut
*Wing Loong III drone debut
* Guizhou WZ-7 Soaring Dragon ground display
*MD-22 near-space reusable aircraft
*WS-19 engine mock-up
15th edition (2024)
*Debut of J-35A stealth fighter, J-15T carrier-based fighter and J-15D carrier-based electronic warfare aircraft
* Z-20F ASW helicopter
* Z-20J Naval utility/transport variant
*Su-57
The Sukhoi Su-57 (; NATO reporting name: Felon) is a Twinjet, twin-engine stealth aircraft, stealth Multirole combat aircraft, multirole fighter aircraft developed by Sukhoi. It is the product of the PAK FA (, prospective aeronautical comp ...
stealth fighter (T-50-4 and T-50-7 prototypes)
* Russian Knights
* August First aerobatic team
* J-20S, Twin Seater variant of the J-20
List of past performers (incomplete)
* August First (People's Liberation Army Air Force
The People's Liberation Army Air Force, also referred to as the Chinese Air Force () or the People's Air Force (), is the primary aerial warfare service of the People's Liberation Army. The PLAAF controls most of the PLA's air assets, includi ...
)
* Russian Knights and Swifts
* Patrouille de France
The (, "French Acrobatic Patrol"), also known as the (PAF), is the precision aerobatics demonstration unit of the French Air and Space Force, officially commissioned in 1953.
Using the French Aerial Aerobatics () unit of the French Air and ...
* British "Golden Dream" aerobatics team and UK Utterly Butterfly aerobatics
Aerobatics is the practice of flying maneuvers involving aircraft attitudes that are not used in conventional passenger-carrying flights. The term is a portmanteau of "aeroplane" and "acrobatics". Aerobatics are performed in aeroplanes and gl ...
team
* Canadian Air Force
* IAA All Stars aerobatics team
* Indian Air Force
The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...
Surya Kiran
Surya Kiran () is an aerobatics demonstration team of the Indian Air Force. The Surya Kiran Aerobatic Team (SKAT) was formed in 1996 and is a part of the No. 52 Squadron of the Indian Air Force. The team is based at Bidar Air Force Station in ...
(2008)
* Indonesian Air Force
* Royal Thai Air Force
See also
* MAKS (air show)
MAKS (, ) is an international air show held at Zhukovsky International Airport, the home of the Gromov Flight Research Institute in Zhukovsky, Moscow Oblast, Zhukovsky, southeast of Moscow, Russia. The event was organized by the Russian Ministr ...
* Air transport in China
References
External links
China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:China International Aviation and Aerospace Exhibition
Air shows in China
Zhuhai
Arms fairs
Biennial events
Autumn in China