Countdown to the transfer airport after 68 years of service, Hohhot people "organized a group" to bid farewell to Baita Airport

China News Service, Hohhot, November 9th. Title: Countdown to the transfer station after 68 years of service. Hohhot people "organized a group" to bid farewell to Baita Airport.

China News Service reporter Liu Wenhua

On November 9, there are still 17 days until Hohhot Shengle International Airport is put into operation. According to plan, Shengle International Airport was put into operation on November 26, and the Hohhot Baita International Airport (hereinafter referred to as Baita Airport), an old airport that has served this city for 68 years, was closed at the same time.

These days, Baita Airport has become a popular "check-in" place in Hohhot. Under the airport nameplate in front of the terminal, some people took selfies with their mobile phones, and some took photos with their children. Outside the runway, aviation enthusiasts set up "long guns and short cannons", waiting to take pictures of every flight taking off and landing. On social media, topics such as "Farewell to Baita Airport" and "The Last Days of Baita Airport" are becoming more and more popular. Many people have posted photos and stories of themselves and the old airport.

An airport holds the "first time" for generations

"In 1987, my first flight was from here, to Beijing. I was so nervous that I couldn't sleep the night before." Wang Guilan, a retired teacher, wrote on the social platform. "Flying was a big deal at that time, and the whole family came to see her off." In the past few days, she asked her children to accompany her on a special trip back to Baita Airport and took a family photo in front of the terminal.

Battelle, a "post-90s generation" who works in Shanghai, left a message: "When I was 18, I flew here to Shanghai to study at university. Every time I came back during the winter and summer vacations, I knew I was home as soon as I stepped out of the cabin and smelled the dry and cold air."

Netizen "Qingcheng Xiaoman" posted a yellowed old photo: Twenty years ago, she was waiting at the arrival gate for her father who had returned from a business trip. "Now I take my daughter here to take pictures and tell her that my grandpa came out of this door back then."

On October 1, 1958, Baita Airport was completed and opened to navigation. It was named because it is not far from the Wanbu Huayan Sutra Pagoda (commonly known as Baita) in the Liao Dynasty. Baita Airport was officially opened to the outside world in 1992. Today, its annual passenger throughput exceeds 10 million, making it the largest airport in Inner Mongolia.

"The top of my head is quiet, but my heart feels empty."

Li Jianjun, who lives near Baita Airport, has listened to the roar of airplanes for decades. "When I was a kid, I would lie on the roof and sing the nursery rhyme 'Stop the plane and let my child sit for a while.' When I think about the silence above my head, I feel empty."

Some netizens said goodbye more relaxedly: "Baita: I'm off work first, and then I'll leave it to Sheng Le." This message attracted many netizens to like it.

The city has "grown up" and the airport has to "move" too

In addition to being reluctant to say goodbye to Baita Airport, more people see the urban growth behind the "retirement" of the old airport. The terminal building of Baita Airport, which was expanded and put into operation in 2007, has a designed annual passenger throughput of approximately 3 million passengers. The current passenger flow has far exceeded the designed capacity of that year. The airport is only about 14 kilometers from the city center, so there is limited room for further development.

Shengle International Airport, located in Horinger County, is the first 4F-level airport in Inner Mongolia. It has two runways planned and a terminal area of ​​320,000 square meters. It is designed to handle 28 million passengers and 320,000 tons of cargo and mail in 2030. Interestingly, the name of the new airport also comes from history: "Shengle" is the name of the ancient city of Shengle, the capital of the early Northern Wei Dynasty. From the "White Tower" to "Shengle", the city's aviation memory has always been connected with its thousand-year cultural context.

"The new airport's cargo capacity has increased. Inner Mongolia's beef, mutton, and dairy products can be transported to all parts of the country faster, and the channels to Mongolia and Russia will be wider," said Zhao Gang, who works in logistics.

Looking across the country, new airports replacing old airports have become a common story in the development of many cities. Old airports such as Beijing Nanyuan, Kunming Wujiaba, and Hefei Luogang have successively completed their historical missions. Among them, the former site of Hefei Luogang Airport has been turned into a city park, retaining the aviation memory of a generation. How to use Baita Airport after it is closed has also become a hot topic among Hohhot citizens. Netizen "Prairie Flying Bird" left a message: "I hope to leave a runway and a tower to let future generations know that this city flies from here to the distance."

In 17 days, Baita Airport will close its 68-year flight book. The ancient pagoda is still standing there, and the story of this city flying into the distance will continue to be written in Shengle.