China Aviation Museum 中国航空博物馆
昌平区, 离北京47公里. 走八达岭高速到刘欢, 往东走到白善乔, 走 S321
Part of A Better Guide to Běijīng’s coverage of Běijīng Suburbs and Beyond
Rusting MiG fighter planes and all kinds of troop transport, Chinese copies of Russian helicopters, missiles, field artillery, flying boats, early jets, VC10 lookalikes, AWACs planes and World War Two vintage mobile radar trucks fill the large apron of what was once a military air base. The site claims 300 assorted aircraft, some of which may be boarded on payment of extra small fees.
The machines, not all of which are whole, sometimes have English signs explaining what they are all about. One Convair 240 now missing its engines flew from Běijīng to Hong Kong in 1949 for the China National Aid Corporation and has ‘Běijīng’ in Máo’s calligraphy on the side. There’s also the first plane to fly onto the Tibetan plateau, and a British Vickers Viscount that was hijacked while carrying a foreign military delegation in 1982 — the crew subdued the hijackers and saved the day. One of many MiG fighters was supposedly the first Chinese plane to shoot down a US jet fighter during the Korean War. Here and there rows of bombs are lined up on their tips in a decorative fashion.
But the main interest is perhaps in a vast curved underground hangar tunnel, like a miniature NORAD, which passes right through the mountain. Inside, there’s a strangely chilly and misty atmosphere. Smaller aircraft line both sides. The display begins with copies of early planes of political significance, including those that defected to China during the civil war, and goes on via Spitfire and Messerschmidt fighters up to modern Hind helicopters and helicopter gunships. Some of these are full-scale models (such as one of an Apache helicopter) but are labelled as such when they are. At the entrances souvenir shops sell model kits and die-cast models as well as all kinds of flying toys, although other shops around the site are better stocked.
In other hangars and on other aprons there are further displays, such as special planes of former leaders, including a whole series of planes used by Máo. These are all officially ‘state important relics’ (the planes, not the leaders). In case you’re not sure what to feel, signs tell you that these aircraft make us ‘cherish the memory of revolutionary leaders’. Various other aircraft in the collection have been donated by foreign powers.
Swallows soaring joyfully around the site seem to mock what remains in such a leaden earthbound state, sagging on partly-inflated tyres.
▶ Hángkōng Bówùguǎn, in Chāngpíng District, 47km N of Běijīng, t 6178 4882, www.chn-am.com, 9am–5pm, Tues–Sun, but open all public holidays. ¥20. m to Tiāntōng Yuàn North (Line 5), then b to 航空博物馆: 643
taxi Bā Dá Lǐng Expressway, E at Sixth Ring Rd to 白善乔, E on S321 to marked turning N.
The bus should trundle up what looks like a runway and drop you at the gate. However, although this is an official stop, it may occasionally decide to drop you at the main road instead, a 10–15-minute walk from the entrance through cornfields, the road itself often in use for drying maize and herbs. Within the sprawling site itself electric cars will shuttle you around for a small fee.
Across the main road the local b 1 to Běi Qī Jiā village (北七家) will drop you at the entrance to the extraordinary Chateau Laffitte [sic], a copy of the French château standing in paddy fields, and it’s a short taxi ride from there back to m Tiāntōng Yuàn (Line 5). Fans of military hardware and ‘red tourism’ may also enjoy the (much smaller) Tank Museum, and the Military Museum of the Chinese People’s Revolution.
Next in Museums and Other Sights: Grand Epoch City
Previously: Sōng Shān Ancient Cave Dwellings
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For discussion of China travel, see The Oriental-List.
