Hundreds make farewell visit as facility closes after 76 years
When pilots from the fledging Chinese Air Force first landed on a stretch of barren land in Guangzhou more than 70 years ago, no one guessed the stark airstrip would someday become a famous airport.
But for much of the 20th century, Baiyun airport was one of the mainland's most important gateways to the outside world.
Last night that era came to an end as hundreds of people flocked to the site to get a last glimpse of the airport before it closed for good.
'We feel very sad. It is so close to the city centre and has been here for so long, it has become part of our collective memory,' said Sarah Li, who took her two-year-old son to see the last flight take off.
Baiyun airport, built in 1928 as an air force base, closed at midnight to make way for the new airport of the same name in the suburban Huadu district.