China Aviation Museum to reopen to public

The undated photo shows a J-10 Jet Fighter in Beijing's China Aviation Museum, which is set to reopen to the public on November15, 2009 after renovation work that lasted four months. ( Beijing News Photo)

China's largest aviation museum, located in the northern outskirts of Beijing, is to reopen to the public on November15 after a four-month renovation, the Beijing News reported on Monday.

As China's only and Asia's largest aviation museum, the newly-renovated museum displays 309 aircraft of 136 types, ranging from China's first airborne early warning to the official plane of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

In celebration of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force's 60th founding anniversary, which falls on November 11 this year, new sections have been added to the museum showcasing the history and great achievements of New China's air force.

In those sections, apart from sophisticated weaponry such as the J-10, the Chinese-made third-generation fighter and advanced surface-to-air missiles displayed during last month's National Day military parade, people will also see a memorial wall engraved with names of 1,551 servicemen that have lost their lives as well as a number of planes that have witnessed historical moments, including a F-5A fighter aircraft donated by Vietnam and a F-104 starfighter, a gift from the Italian Air Force.

A newly built runway for model aircrafts will also be available for aircraft lovers at the museum, the report said.

Source: CRI online