As Beijing’s new, multibillion-dollar airport opened with great fanfare last Wednesday, a piece of China’s history quietly closed its doors on the other side of the city.
The country’s very first airport, Nanyuan Airport, shut its doors for good on September 25, the same date that Beijing’s new $11.5 billion Daxing Airport was opened by President Xi Jinping.
The last flight, China United Airlines KN5830, left at just after 10 p.m., state media said. By Saturday, its doors were firmly shut and the car park mostly deserted.
The few remaining dusty cars had a polite notice taped to their side window. “Hello! This airport has officially moved to Daxing International Airport on September 25 … I want to thank you again for putting your trust in Nanyuan Airport,” said the notice.
Nanyuan first opened in 1910, 109 years ago, when China was still ruled by the Qing Dynasty. It has seen two world wars, China’s civil war and finally the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949.
According to state-run China Daily, Nanyuan will become an aviation museum, while its practical functions will all be transferred to Daxing Airport.
Superficially the two could not be more different.
Daxing, designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid, is sleek and high-tech. Nanyuan is far more run down, with a brutally practical square shape and traces of rust showing.
Nevertheless, even days after its closure, Beijing citizens were still flocking to the old terminal to pay their tributes to a slice of the city’s history.
“The Chinese dream took off from here,” he said.
