At 10:35 on March 31, an A320 airliner from the China Southern Airlines landed smoothly at the Xiangxi Biancheng Airport, marking the beginning of flight-tests for real planes and a significant step towards official air services. 

The airplane was given a warm welcome with a water salute, which is considered the highest recognition in civil aviation. Two fire engines parked on either side of the runway used their water cannons to create a giant arc of water above the plane as it taxied towards its gate.

Xiangxi Biancheng Airport is adjacent to Shibadong Village, the birthplace of "targeted poverty alleviation". The airport is 35 km away from Jishou City, capital of Xiangxi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, and 17 km away from downtown area of Huayuan County. It covers an area of 3,525 mu (about 235 ha.) and its terminal building covers 11,000 square meters. The runway is 2,600 meters long and 45 meters wide, with 5 parking places. It is also built for the landing and take-off of Boeing 738, Airbus A321 and other types of aircrafts. The designed annual inbound and outbound passenger trips for the first phase is expected to be 300,000.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government. www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: rednet