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Xichang Qingshan Airport

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Xichang Qingshan Airport
西昌青山机场
Summary
Airport typeMilitary/Public
ServesXichang, Sichuan
Elevation AMSL1,562 m (5,125 ft)
Coordinates27°59′21″N 102°11′04″E / 27.98917°N 102.18444°E / 27.98917; 102.18444
Map
XIC is located in Sichuan
XIC
XIC
Location of airport in Sichuan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 3,600 11,811 Concrete
Statistics (2025 [1])
Passengers955,046
Cargo (metric tons)1,022.1
Aircraft movements8,747
Xichang Qingshan Airport
Simplified Chinese西昌青山机场
Traditional Chinese西昌青山機場
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinXīchāng Qīngshān Jīchǎng

Xichang Qingshan Airport (IATA: XIC, ICAO: ZUXC) is an airport serving Xichang, the seat of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, China. The airport started an expansion project in February 2010.[2]

History

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The history of Xichang Qingshan Airport can be traced back to Xichang Xiaomiao Airport and its predecessor, Xiaomiao Airport. Xiaomiao Airport was located on the Anning River Valley plain, north of Xiaomiao Township (now part of Chang'an Community, Xichang City), at the foot of Tianwang Mountain, 7 kilometers northwest of Xichang County. In 1932, to gain an advantage in the Sichuan warlord wars, a large amount of money was invested in the construction of Xiaomiao Airport. At that time, Xiaomiao Airport was just a muddy dam about the size of a football field, without any safety facilities.[3]

Xiaomiao Airport was expanded in 1935, and upon completion, it was H-shaped, with two 50-meter-long and 19-meter-wide vertical runways and one 750-meter-long and 10-meter-wide horizontal runway. However, since its completion and expansion, the airport had never been put into use. In 1936, Chiang Kai-shek planned to have Yang Sen lead the 20th Army to garrison Xichang. In March of the same year, Yang Sen, commander of the 20th Army, arrived in Xichang, marking the first use of Xiaomiao Airport.[3]

In 1937, with the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Nationalist government planned to expand Xiaomiao Airport. The following year, the airport was expanded to a 750x50 square meter dirt-brick road. After completion, a Ministry of Communications postal plane successfully completed its trial flight from Chongqing to Xichang, thus opening the Xichang-Chongqing air route. This marked the beginning of Xiaomiao Airport's important role in transmitting postal information.[4]

In 1939, Xikang Province was established, and Xichang was under its jurisdiction. Due to the escalating War of Resistance against Japan, Chiang Kai-shek established his headquarters in Xichang and undertook a large-scale expansion of Xiaomiao Airport, reinforcing the runway to 1500 x 50 meters, constructing evacuation routes, and building dozens of aircraft shelters. These shelters were difficult to spot from the air or from a distance, so much so that even when Japanese aircraft bombed Xiaomiao Airport, they failed to detect the two fighter planes inside the shelters.[4]

In August 1940, the U.S. military sent a ground crew squadron of over 300 men to the airport. From then on, U.S. military transport aircraft took off and landed at Xiaomiao Airport daily. In 1942, for strategic reasons, the U.S. government incorporated the Flying Tigers into the 10th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Forces, making them the backbone of the U.S. Air Force Task Force in China. In March 1943, the Flying Tigers were reorganized into the 14th Air Force and ordered to be stationed at Xiaomiao Airport in Xichang, bringing with them a batch of bombers, transport planes, and ground crew. From then on, with the help and protection of the U.S. Allied forces, military transport routes were opened between Xichang and India, Xichang and Chongqing, and Xichang and Kunming. This made Xiaomiao Airport another important gateway for China's international connections, and due to its unique geographical location, it was highly concealed and difficult for the Japanese Air Force to detect.[3]

After several expansions and repairs, Xiaomiao Airport had taken initial shape by 1944, with a 1,560-meter-long and 400-500-meter-wide gravel runway. It had as many as five or six hundred aircrew and ground crew members, and various types of military aircraft took off and landed frequently, mainly various types of piston-engine aircraft.[3][4]

In 1946, China National Aviation Corporation began civil aviation operations in Xichang, opening the Xichang-Chongqing route. The airport was converted into a joint military-civilian airport, and later routes such as Xichang-Kunming, Xichang-Haikou, and Taiwan were opened.[5]

In October 1950, the civil aviation portion of Xiaomiao Airport was named Xichang Xiaomiao Airport, and the Chengdu-Chongqing route was opened to handle passenger and cargo transportation services. Operations ceased at the end of the same year, and the Xichang Civil Aviation Station was abolished. In March 1958, the Chengdu Administration of Civil Aviation opened the Chengdu-Xichang route at the Xichang Civil Aviation Station, and the station was reinstated.[3]

In February 1967, the State Planning Commission approved the Civil Aviation Administration of China's plan to construct Xichang Qingshan Airport (then named Guogailiang Airport) at Guogailiang (now Anning Town) in Xichang. Construction commenced in April of the same year. By the end of December 1974, the airport construction and communication equipment installation, which had lasted eight years, were essentially completed. The runway was 3,600 meters long and 50 meters wide, running due north-south. A parallel taxiway was 3,600 meters long and 18 meters wide. Six connecting taxiways connected to the runway, along with four aprons and one passenger apron.[5]

On May 1, 1975, Xichang Xiaomiao Airport was closed and the airport was moved to the newly built Xichang Guogailiang Airport. In 1988, the Xichang Guogailiang Airport expansion and renovation project commenced and was completed in December 1989. On May 12, 1997, Xichang Guogailiang Airport was renamed Xichang Qingshan Airport.[5]

After renovation and expansion in 2010, the airport is able to handle 1.1 million passengers and 4,950 tons of cargo annually. The runway is 3,600 meters long and 50 meters wide, with one parallel taxiway. The flight area is classified as 4D. There is a 10,000 square meter terminal building with 3 boarding bridges and 7 Category C aircraft stands. The old 2,000 square meter terminal building has been converted into a cargo terminal.[6][7]

In 2019, Xichang Airport launched a renovation and expansion project costing 200 million yuan. The project included upgrading the airport taxiways, VIP lounges and navigation lighting facilities, as well as building six new Category C aircraft parking stands.[8]

Airlines and destinations

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AirlinesDestinations
Air China Beijing–Capital, Chengdu–Tianfu
China Eastern Airlines Shanghai–Pudong[9]
China Express Airlines Chongqing,[10] Mianyang,[10] Yibin[10]
Colorful Guizhou Airlines Guiyang,[11] Hefei,[12] Ningbo,[11] Zhengzhou[13]
Qingdao Airlines Beijing–Daxing,[14] Xishuangbanna[15]
Sichuan Airlines Beijing–Capital, Changsha,[11] Chengdu–Shuangliu, Guangzhou, Haikou, Luzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Shenzhen, Xi'an, Zhengzhou[11]
Xizang Airlines Chengdu-Shuangliu[16]

See also

[edit]

References

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  1. ↑ 中国民航局 (2026-02-26). "2025年全国民用运输机场生产统计公报". 中国民航局. Retrieved 2026-03-12.
  2. ↑ 西昌青山机场改扩建工程昨开工 (in Chinese (China)). 2010-02-23. Archived from the original on 2012-03-31. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "【历史文化】从保路运动到动车时代——《迪山日记》研究之四⑥：小庙机场与青山机场‖罗瑾". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  4. 1 2 3 "【青年史苑】抗战时期的西昌小庙机场". www.sohu.com. Retrieved 2026-04-10.
  5. 1 2 3 "小庙机场与青山机场". 四川省情网. 2022-12-26.
  6. ↑ "西昌青山机场改扩建工程新航站楼正式启用_新浪航空航天_新浪网". mil.news.sina.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  7. ↑ "西昌青山机场 _中国民用航空局". www.caac.gov.cn. Archived from the original on 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2019-05-04.
  8. ↑ "川航西昌分公司揭牌，西昌航空小镇开建". Archived from the original on 2021-02-20. Retrieved 2019-07-26.
  9. ↑ 重磅！“魔都”来啦，西昌直飞上海7月14日首航！东方明珠，外滩，迪士尼乐园....... eastday.com news. 2019-06-27. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2019-07-01.
  10. 1 2 3 "‌华夏航空2025冬春换季，冬韵启航！". Retrieved 13 October 2025.
  11. 1 2 3 4 "‌重逢的航线，连接更多美好旅程！4月18日恢复西昌=西安航线啦！". Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "2026夏航季启幕｜合肥新桥机场航线焕新，一翼乘风，畅飞春夏好光景". Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  13. ↑ "‌2025年冬春航季航线一览，多彩贵州航空带您开启更多精彩旅程！". Retrieved 27 September 2025.
  14. ↑ "青岛航空冬春航季将通达50余个国内外航点". Retrieved 17 March 2024.
  15. ↑ "2023青岛航空夏秋换季航线发布；吉祥航空陆续恢复日本航班". Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  16. ↑ "新开直飞景德镇、飞西昌恢复晚班机、飞稻城可从双流出发！明日起赶飞机有变". 9 July 2026.
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