Xining Caojiapu International Airport , is an airport serving

Xining Xining (; ), alternatively known as Sining, is the capital of Qinghai province in western China and the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau. The city was a commercial hub along the Northern Silk Road's Hexi Corridor for over 2000 years, and wa ...

, the capital of

Qinghai Province Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest pop ...

, China. It is located in

Huzhu County Huzhu Tu Autonomous County (), or in short Huzhu County (), is an autonomous county under the jurisdiction of the prefecture-level city of Haidong, in the east of Qinghai province, China, bordering Gansu province to the northeast. It has an area ...

Haidong Haidong (; Wylie: Haitung) is a prefecture-level city of Qinghai province in Western China. Its name literally means "east of the (Qinghai) Lake." On 8 February 2013 Haidong was upgraded from a prefecture () into a prefecture-level city. Haido ...

, on the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

about east of downtown Xining. The airport began operation in 1991. In October 2011, a new 3,800-meter runway entered service. The older runway now serves as a

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with aprons, hangars, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as asphalt or concrete, although smaller general aviation airports sometimes use gravel ...

History

The first airport in the area was located near the town of Lejiawan, west of the current airport. Built on the orders of warlord

Ma Bufang Ma Bufang (1903 – 31 July 1975) (, Xiao'erjing: ) was a prominent Muslim Ma clique warlord in China during the Republic of China era, ruling the province of Qinghai. His rank was Lieutenant-general. General Ma started an industrialization pro ...

in 1931, it saw limited use by commercial

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...

s in 1933. In 1957, the runway was expanded to and more facilities were added. A commercial route flew between Xining,

Lanzhou Lanzhou (, ; ) is the capital and largest city of Gansu Province in Northwest China. Located on the banks of the Yellow River, it is a key regional transportation hub, connecting areas further west by rail to the eastern half of the country. H ...

Baotou Baotou (; mn, Buɣutu qota, Бугат хот) is the largest city by urban population in Inner Mongolia, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, as of the 2020 census, its built-up (''or metro'') area made up of its 5 urban districts is h ...

, and

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

with fewer than 1,000 passengers per year. The airport was shared with the military. In 1975, plans were made to relocate the airport, as the Lejiawan Airport was limited by a one-way gravel runway. Construction of Caojiapu airport was approved by the

State Council State Council may refer to: Government * State Council of the Republic of Korea, the national cabinet of South Korea, headed by the President * State Council of the People's Republic of China, the national cabinet and chief administrative auth ...

on 17 May 1985 and started in 1989. The airport opened in December 1991. The site of the former airport is now a military base.

Airlines and destinations

References

External links

Official websiteChina West Airport Group website
{{authority control Airports in Qinghai Buildings and structures in Xining Airports established in 1991 1991 establishments in China 1991 in Xining

History

Airlines and destinations

See also

References

External links