The China Aviation Museum

On an ancient glaciated plain about 100 kilometers North of the Chinese capital of Beijing, there is a treasure preserved beneath and around a solitary mountain.  Inside this giant survivor of the last ice age is stored a literal cornucopia of aviation treasures.  Nearly 40,000 square meters of tightly-packed historic aircraft are proudly displayed in this bombproof shelter.

Outside the mountain is an equally exciting and large collection of rare aircraft.

This past December, I visited the museum with my wife, Christina, who is from Taiwan.  We were in Beijing as part of the Asia Pacific Hong Kong to Beijing Air Rally.  (Look for a separate story and photos about the rally).

We arrived by taxi and my first impression was This place reminds me of  the boneyard at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.   By the end of the nearly four hour visit, I had added two qualifiers:  1.  There are more trees here. and 2.  MOST of the airplanes were built in Russia or China....

While Christina looked into buying the admission tickets (her Chinese is a lot better than mine), I stuck my head in the gift/snack shop.  In a few moments, I heard Christina calling me, "Honey, do you have your military I.D. card?"  What in the world possessed her to share my rather loose military affiliation with the staff at this People's Liberation Army installation???

"Why yes, Darling.  Whatever for?"

"Military people get in free." I don't think they mean American military.

It was too late to resist so I gave her my pink Army Reserve I.D. card.  She showed the card, bought one ticket, and led me through the gate.  My little bargain hunter had gotten me in for free!  Yes, an American military I.D. card (and presumably any other country's except maybe Taiwan's) will get you into the largest aviation museum in Asia at no charge.

Perhaps the cold war is really dead.  And the brotherhood of arms is alive and well in China.

Anyway, on to the museum.  I've tried to arrange the photographs more or less in the order I took them.  It was Wintertime-Save-Energy Day or some such thing so the Hangar-in-the-Mountain was very, very dark.  The puny flash on my digital camera was no match for the cave-like darkness so there are only a few photos of the inside.  Even those had to be digitally spruced up in order see anything and I regret my limited abilities in this regard leave something to be desired.  I hope you enjoy the pics anyway!
 
 
 

	This is the first thing you see when you step through the gate.  MiG 17's, an AN-30, helos, and lot's of other treasure just sitting there to be poked around in.
A copy of a familiar American product with what could be a simulator "pod" or some such device.  It's a metal "can" shaped and painted to look like an airplane (at least the nose cone) and it has an ordinary door on the back....
	Can anybody name this Russian-made traininer? If you look carefully, you can see the stars and bars painted on the fuselage.  An "aggressor" aircraft?
Red Star Over China? Christina and a Yak-11
	Look familiar?  If you guessed it's the cockpit of a C-47, you're half right!  It's a Russian-made Li-2, or a C-47 made under license through the Lend-Lease program.
Antonov AN-30, Chines A-5, and others...
	The remains of an Ilyushin IL-10 Attack Aircraft...
Helos and fighters under the wing of an Antonov AN-24...
	Look familiar?  The Tupelov Tu-4 is a reverse-engineered B-29 with turboprop engines.  This example is especially unique because of the air-launched drone hanging under the wing.  (The other wing has one just like it!).
This Tu-4 has an AWACS-esque radar dome mounted on top.  Another rare aircraft with the retired Orbis flying eye hospital aircraft in the background...
	A very well preserved P-51K inside the mountain hangar.
A monument to Chinese Women Pilots. In the background is a display photos of female pilots in China which was assembled for the 4th U.N. Conference on Women in September, 1995.
	This Fairchild PT-19 is part of the Chinese Female Pilot Display.  I include this one as a tribute to my father, who used to own a PT-19.  I also know that the chauvanist in him will appreciate that at about the same time his PT-19 was teaching him about flying, the Peoples Liberation Army Air Force deemed it appropriate to train women pilots. <big grin>
The cockpit of the PT-19...
	A Beriev Be-12 Turboprop Amphibian.  BIG!
The Steel of the Sky Soul A monument to all members of the Chinese Air Force who have given their lives for their country.   In the background, you can see the entrance to the "mountain hangar."

And I think you get the idea...
 

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