In Chapters 11 and 12, we learned about the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. I subsequently researched information regarding Xian's relationships with Hong Kong and Macau. Since Xian is the capital of Shaanxi Province and it is such a prominent city in China, I was interested to learn more about its transportation network and accessibility, including how citizens in Xian can travel to Hong Kong or Macau and vice versa.. According to an article by ChinaHighlights.com, the city of Xian is served by Xianyang International Airport, which is located about an hour outside of the city. The airport was opened in 1991, and as the article states, "The rapid growth in air traffic in north western China has led it to require further investment. Xi'an Xianyang airport will see its airport terminal building expanded with new investment buying boarding bridges, air conditioning equipment, and other passenger terminal building equipment."
According to the article, the Xianyang International Airport is the fourth largest airport in China and it provides several flights to China's major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, and Urumugi. The article also states, "There are also a few flights to Lhasa and international flights to Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan." Thus, Xian is connected to Hong Kong and Macau through the Xianyang International Airport, which is pictured below:
As I researched information regarding Xian's transportation network, I was surprised to learn about an airplane crash that occurred from the Xianyang Airport on June 7, 1994. A news report published by the New York Times on that day described the incident:
The cause of the crash was eventually determined to be a maintenance flaw. I had never heard of this plane crash before, and it is very tragic that none of the individuals on the plane survived.The aviation problems today began when a Russian-built Tupolev-154 operating as China Northwest Airlines Flight 2303 took off from Xian shortly after 8 A.M. Ten minutes later the control tower at Xianyang Airport lost contact with jet, which crashed 18 miles southeast of the airport. The official New China News Agency said tonight that none of the 146 passengers and 14 crew members survived. The official dispatch said 133 were mainland Chinese, 3 were Hong Kong residents, 1 was from Taiwan and 9 were from elsewhere.
(Sources: http://www.chinahighlights.com/xian/transportation.htm,
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/07/world/jet-crash-in-china-kills-160-another-flight-is-hijacked.html )
No comments:
Post a Comment