As we all know, China is a country that develops civil aviation relatively late in the world, but it is the fastest developing country in the field of civil aviation in the world. Especially since 2000, airports have sprung up all over the country, and even many small cities with five lines have their own regional airports. For example, Bazhong, Sichuan, which I visited a few days ago, has built an airport as a city with a population of only 3,365,438+10,000.

According to the data of the National Civil Aviation Administration, there are as many as 76 cities in China that are officially open to navigation, and a large number of regional airports will be built in the future. By then, the total number of airports in the country will reach an astonishing 350. It is no exaggeration to say: "Air travel, which used to be very tall, has now become a more economical lifestyle than trains." After all, there are still a few people who have never been on a plane, right?

Speaking of airports! I have to mention the place where I live with you today. It is Zhongchuan International Airport in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province. This airport is very famous, because it is "the farthest airport in China". The distance from Zhongchuan Wharf to Lanzhou is as high as 7 1 km, and it takes 1.5 hours to take a taxi from downtown to the airport. If there is a traffic jam, it is another matter. After all, friends who have been to Lanzhou know how blocked the city is. Although Lanzhou has also completed the intercity high-speed railway at the airport, the whole running time is almost 50 minutes. Counting the delay of getting in and out of the station and the interval between trains, tourists really have to leave the city for the airport three hours in advance to be safe.

Moreover, as an international airport with an annual throughput of 6.5438+0.5 million passengers, Zhongchuan Airport's terminal building is indeed a bit too small. Every time I transfer from here, I feel like I'm in the street. It's very noisy. In addition, there are some problems in airport management. Drivers who drive black cars and shopkeepers who run small hotels can enter the intersection hall of the airport and the airport station. When you get off the intercity train, you are greeted by a group of "men in black", all kinds of "one step away from the city center, the hotel is cheap, our hotel has special services" and so on. They chase you and shout, waving and saying "no need" and still don't leave. To tell the truth, the frequent travelers we are familiar with are ok. Many foreigners who fly to Lanzhou for the first time will have a bad impression, right?

Of course, the status of Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport is still not low. After all, it is also the third largest airport in the northwest of China, second only to Xi Xianyang International Airport and Urumqi Diwobao International Airport. 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 two terminals and 38 parking stands, and only one runway is 4000m long and 60m wide. Although the A380, a 500-seat jumbo passenger plane, can not take off and land, the domestic mainstream large wide-body passenger plane can take off and land normally, and it belongs to the first echelon in the five northwest provinces.

Although Zhongchuan Airport has few parking spaces, it achieved the goal of annual passenger throughput100000 in 20 16, and became a member of China's "10 million-class busy airport". Moreover, according to the public announcement of Zhongchuan Airport in official website, the application for the third phase expansion of the airport has been approved, with a total budget of over 30 billion yuan. By then, the level of the whole airport will definitely reach by going up one flight of stairs.

By the way, another advantage of Zhongchuan Airport, which I forgot to mention before, is "rich catering". After coming out of high-speed railway station, I walked all the way to the boarding gate, and there were all kinds of food shops along the way. Moreover, although it is located in the northwest, the VIP room of Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport is well done, which exceeds many provincial capital airports in terms of meals and services. This is something I must highly praise. After all, I am a big eater, haha!

As the only big city in China where the Yellow River passes through the city, Lanzhou still has many interesting places. The main means of transportation for foreign tourists are to take Zhongchuan Airport and Xilan High-speed Railway, but the running time of Xilan High-speed Railway is actually longer. If it takes a long time to walk from other places, people will be very tired. In addition, the current air ticket price is also very cheap, and the priority of many foreign tourists is still to fly. So, I want to tell you something about Zhongchuan Airport here, so that you can get ready first, haha!

Thanks for reading. Have a nice trip.