As we all know, our country is a relatively late country in the world in developing civil aviation, but it is the fastest-growing civil aviation field in the world. Especially after entering the year 2000, airports across the country have sprung up one after another, including many fifth-line airports.

Small towns already have their own regional airports. For example, Bazhong, Sichuan, where I traveled a few days ago, is one of the last cities in the province in terms of economy, with a population of only 3.31 million people. It has also built an airport, as well as Wushan and Chongqing.

Airports such as Shennongjia in Hubei are extremely difficult and have small populations. They are indeed very powerful!

According to data from the National Civil Aviation Administration, there are now 76 cities in China officially open to navigation, and a large number of regional airports will be built in the future. By then, the total number of airports nationwide will reach an astonishing 350.

It is no exaggeration to say: "Air travel, which was once a high-end product, has now become a more economical and affordable way of life for ordinary people than trains." After all, those who have never flown by plane are still considered a minority, right?

Speaking of airports!

I have to mention the place I want to share with you today. It is Zhongchuan International Airport in Lanzhou City, the capital of Gansu Province. This airport is famous for being the international airport “farthest from the urban area in my country”. From Zhongchuan Terminal to The distance from Lanzhou city to the city is as high as 71 kilometers. It takes 1.5 hours to take a taxi from the city to the airport. If there is a traffic jam, forget about it. After all, friends who have been to Lanzhou know how congested this city is; although Lanzhou has also built an airport city International high-speed rail, but the entire running time is almost 50 minutes. Taking into account the delay in and out of the station, as well as the time between trains, tourists really have to leave the city for the airport 3 hours in advance to be safe.

Moreover, as an international airport with an annual throughput of 15 million passengers, the terminal building of Zhongchuan Airport is indeed too small. Every time you transfer from here, you feel like you are on the street, which is very noisy. In addition, the management of the airport is also a bit

The problem is, the drivers of illegal cars and the owners of small hotels can all enter the interchange hall between the airport and the airport station. The first thing that greets you when you get off the intercity train is a bunch of "men in black" and various "urban areas".

"It's just a matter of one person to leave or not, the hotel price is cheaper, our hotel has special services" and so on, and they are chasing you and shouting, waving their hands and saying "no, no, no" and not leaving.

To be honest, it's okay for frequent flyers like us who are familiar with it. For those outsiders who fly to Lanzhou for the first time, many people will have a bad impression, right?

Of course, to put it bluntly, the status of Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport is not low. After all, it is the third largest airport in the northwest region, second only to Xi'an Xianyang International Airport and Urumqi Diwopu International Airport in terms of area.

The airport was built in 1968 and officially opened to traffic in 1970. It can be seen that the scale of construction at that time was actually very small.

After two subsequent expansions, the current Zhongchuan Airport has 2 terminals and 38 parking spaces. There is only one runway that is 4,000 meters long and 60 meters wide. Although it cannot take off and land a 500-seat giant like the A380, it can

At present, domestic mainstream large wide-body passenger aircraft can take off, land and dock normally, ranking first in the five northwest provinces.

Although Zhongchuan Airport does not have many parking spaces, it achieved the annual passenger throughput target of 10 million in 2016, becoming one of the "10 million-busy airports" in China.

Moreover, according to the announcement on the official website of Zhongchuan Airport, the airport's third-phase expansion application has been approved, with a total budget of more than 30 billion yuan. Presumably, the standard of the entire airport will be raised to a higher level by then.

By the way, there is another advantage of Zhongchuan Airport that I forgot to mention earlier, which is the "rich catering". After you walk from the high-speed rail station to the boarding gate, there are various gourmet restaurants along the way.

Moreover, although it is located in the northwest, the VIP lounge of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is very good. Both the food and service are better than many provincial capital airports. This is something I must give praise. After all, I am a big foodie, haha

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As the only big city in the country where the Yellow River passes through the city, Lanzhou still has many interesting places. The main transportation for foreign tourists is to take the Zhongchuan Airport and the Xilan High-speed Railway, but the running time of the Xilan High-speed Railway is actually relatively long.

If you come from out of town, such a walk will take a long time and make you tired. In addition, air tickets are currently cheap, so many out-of-town travelers still give priority to flying.

So, here I will tell you about the situation at Zhongchuan Airport so that you can be prepared first, haha!

Thanks for reading and I wish you all a happy journey