摘要
WHEN Guangzhou resident Liu Suqin got married in 1980. taking a flight was a luxury few could afford. So.before boarding her flight for Guilin, where the newly-weds would spend their honeymoon, they had a photo taken at Baiyun Airport. That old airport now exists only in photos like theirs： it has since been replaced by the new one opened in 2004 in Huadu District, where Liu Suqin now lives.
More than 500 planes land at and take off from Baiyun International Airport every day. They link nearly 100 Chinese and 30 international cities. The phase I project of the airport, built with an investment of approximately RMB 20 billion (US $2.4 billion),recently went into operation; it occupies an area of 16.5 square kilometers, and has an annual handling capacity of 25 million passengers and one milliontons of cargo. When all its projects are complete,Baiyun International Airport will have five runways,and an expanded annual handling capacity of 80 million passengers and 2.5 million tons of cargo.Baiyun International Airport looks set to be a key aviation hub in the Asia-Pacific reigion.
