Yilan Airport
Yilan Airport | |
|---|---|
| Summary | |
| Airport type | Defunct |
| Owner | Civil Aviation Heilongjiang Provincial Administration |
| Location | Yilan County, Heilongjiang in China |
| Opened | 1958 |
| Closed | 1979 |
| Built | 1932 |
| In use | 1933 — 1945 Imperial Japanese Army Air Service |
| Elevation AMSL | 321.52 ft (98.00 m) |
| Coordinates | 46°17′48″N 129°35′07″E / 46.29667°N 129.58528°E |
| Map | |
  Yilan Airport Location in China  Yilan Airport Yilan Airport (Heilongjiang) | |
Yilan Airport, also known as Yilan Forest Protection Airport (IATA: YLN, ICAO: ZYYL) was an airport in Yilan County, Mainland China. It was established in 1932 by the Japanese in Manchuria, and was subject to heavy attacks by the Red Army during World War II. Following the war, it remained inactive until it was reactivated in 1952 to serve forest protection interests in the region. Civilian operations began in 1958, though it had low passenger numbers and minimal facilities. After newer and larger airports were opening up in the region, Yilan Airport was closed in 1979.
The airport is not to be confused with Yilan Airfield in Taihoku Prefecture, Taiwan, which was also built by the Japanese.
History
In May 1932, Yilan County was captured by the advancing 10th Division of the Imperial Japanese Army. Subsequently, Chinese forces were withdrawn from Yilan on the 17th of that month.[1] Afterwards, the division constructed Yilan Airport in 1932, entering service in September 1933.[2] It was established as part of a larger network of Japanese airfields, including Zhengjiatun (Shuangliao), Tao'an (Taonan), and Nenjiang, Hailin, and Hailun, the three of which located in Heilongjiang. In July 1934, the Japanese opened the Harbin-Yilan route, having round trips every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.[3]
Post-war
After Japanese surrender in 1945, the airport remained inactive during the following years. In 1946, Communist cadre Wei Jian and his colleagues began investigating airports and searching for aviation equipment to help establish the Northeast Democratic Allied Army Aviation School. During the search, he briefly surveyed Yilan Airport, noting that it had been destroyed.[4] In 1952, the airport was reactivated as Yilan Forest Protection Airport, supporting Heilongjiang's aviation focus in aerial forest protection. Personnel and equipment would be supplied by the Beijing Professional Flight Brigade. In 1958, it was fully repaired and the Yilan Civil Aviation Station was opened, operated by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Following opening, the Harbin—Yilan route was reinstated. The airport was equipped with two main runways, one measuring 1,000 meters long and 50 meters wide made of grass and the other measuring 600 meters long and 48 metres wide made of concrete. Both had 50 meter earthen safety areas at either end, and there was a second secondary grass surface runway measuring 550 meters long and 50 metres wide. Each runway was capable of handling Shijiazhuang Y-5 aircraft. It had an aircraft parking apron with a capacity of two Y-5 aircraft, and facilities included an air-route navigation station, control tower, and air-ground radio station. It was not equipped with night-flight equipment.[2]
Closure
By the 1970s, Yilan Airport remained among the few airports in China that were poorly equipped and mostly unpaved. It was also unable to accommodate CAAC's widely used Hawker Siddeley Trident aircraft.[5] By 1978, the airport only served five routes and handled 51,800 passengers annually. The newer and larger Harbin Yanjiagnag Airport entered service in 1979, and the Yilan Civil Aviation Station was withdrawn and closed.[2][6]
By 2010, only the concrete runway survived reclamation, though it was in bad condition. The grass runways and concrete taxiways have since disappeared. In 2013, Yilan County recovered the state-owned land-use right of the former airport to develop the Yilan Economic Development Zone. Afterwards, the Chengnan grain-processing and logistics industrial park was established over the eastern half of the derelict runway.[7]
Satellite imagery dated 2025 reveals that the western of the runway is still visible, and the taxiway is still distinctive from the surrounding agricultural land.
References
- ↑ Nishimura, Shigeo (30 November 1987). "中国東北地域における植民地支配と農村社会 : 「東安省」地主権力の変容" [The Agrarian Society in Northeast China under Japan's Rule: The Transformation of the Landlord Power during the Sino-Japanese War of 1931–1945] (PDF). 大阪外国語大学学報 [Journal of Osaka University of Foreign Studies] (in Japanese). 74 (3). Osaka University of Foreign Studies. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 "第一节 航空运输机场". 黑龙江史志网 (in Chinese). 中共黑龙江省委史志研究室. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ 薄喜如; 陈继权, eds. (2002). 黑龙江省志·第59卷·旅游志·侨务志 [Heilongjiang Province Gazetteer, Volume 59: Tourism Gazetteer and Overseas Chinese Affairs Gazetteer] (in Chinese). Vol. 59. 哈尔滨, China: 黑龙江省地方志编纂委员会. p. 157.
- ↑ 黄春一 (8 November 2024). "从大地读懂长空：探寻老航校精神的历史印记" [Understanding the Sky from the Earth: Exploring the Historical Imprint of the Old Aviation School Spirit]. 光明网 (in Chinese). 中国军网-解放军报. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ 中国民航的改革开放（1979—1991） [The Reform and Opening Up of China Civil Aviation, 1979–1991] (in Chinese). Beijing, China: International Culture Publishing Company. 1992. p. 399.
- ↑ "为黑土地插上腾飞的翅膀" [Giving the Black Soil Wings to Soar]. 首都机场集团 (in Chinese). 首都机场集团有限公司. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2026.
- ↑ "黑龙江工业和信息化" [Heilongjiang Industry and Information Technology] (PDF). 黑龙江省中小企业协会 (in Chinese). 黑龙江省工业和信息委员会；黑龙江省中小企业协会. 2013. p. 36. Retrieved 8 August 2026.