China's homegrown C919 aircraft completed its first commercial flight to a feeder airport on Wednesday, a key step towards marking a nationwide aviation network of large domestic aircraft covering both major and feeder airports.
The C919-operated China Southern Airlines flight CZ3383, carrying 139 passengers, landed at the Jiangying Airport in Nanyang City of central China's Henan Province at 23:57 local time. The newly built airliner has ensured a smooth and stable trip, according to passengers.
"We are confident of the stability and safety of the flight," said one of the passengers.
The route from Guangzhou, a southern hub city and capital of Guangdong Province, was its maiden commercial service to a regional airport under China's "trunk-branch connectivity" strategy to expand domestic aircraft service coverage.
From Thursday to Friday, the crew members of the C919 aircraft will conduct intensive training sessions at the Jiangying Airport, covering subjects such as takeoff, landing, and go-around maneuvers. The exercises aim to gather operational data and promote coordination between the aircraft and ground services.
"Especially for our personnel, who has just finished training on flight simulators, to experience and control a real plane will help them to get familiar with the maneuverability and performance of the aircraft more quickly," said Qian Yining, head of China Southern's C919 fleet.
China's homegrown C919 aircraft completes first feeder airport flight
South China's Guangdong Province is accelerating its transformation into an international medical tourism hub, positioning itself as a destination for patients worldwide seeking affordable, high-quality care.
The push follows a joint initiative announced in late March by nine Chinese government departments, including the Ministry of Commerce, aimed at boosting spending by foreign tourists and enhancing exports of tourism services as part of broader efforts to expand the country's service sector.
Every day, some of the most complex surgeries are performed here. Li Zilun, deputy director of the division of vascular surgery at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat‑sen University, is among the doctors capable of carrying out these intricate procedures.
He recently completed surgery on a patient with an aortic aneurysm, a condition often described as a "time bomb" in the body’s main artery, increasingly common in aging societies around the globe. Li also specializes in highly difficult and pioneering procedures, including repairing leaks caused by failed grafts.
"This was a very challenging case. And then, we implanted the covered stent to eliminate the endoleak. Actually, the outcome was pretty good. The patient will be discharged today," said Li Zilun.
The ability to handle such complex cases -- combining international techniques with domestically produced devices -- is drawing patients from around the world to seek treatment. In addition, high safety standards and low costs are also major draws.
"Our government is encouraging innovation. So, lots of physicians -- including our vascular surgeons -- we are actively involved in the innovation that helps to increase the effectiveness and safety, and also bring down the cost," said Li.
This hospital is one of the first in Guangdong to be designated by the provincial health commission as a pilot site for building an international medical service hub.
The growing number of patients has pushed the hospital to explore new ways to transform every step -- from treatment to payment and everything in between -- into a seamless experience, reducing waiting times and delivering better care for patients.
"I think it's fast. When the patient come here for just about, I think, one week, you can solve the problem," said Xiao Haipeng, president of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University.
The hospital is also deepening its international cooperation with top-tier medical institutions, including those at Harvard University.
"Not just for China, for the whole globe, we are facing health care challenges -- emerging infectious disease and chronic, lung infectious diseases, and also the aging population, also the shortage of healthcare workforce," said Xiao.
In response to these challenges, China is promoting its own solutions, including aggressive innovation in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflows, while stepping up research and development investment and global engagement along the way.
"In recent years, the innovation in Western medicine is dramatically growing. An example of my hospital -- in the past few years, we have 140 innovations and seven of them are international leading innovations," said Xiao.
As global demand for medical tourism grows, China is positioning itself as a new destination. Official data shows that the number of foreign patients in Guangdong increased by 20 percent last year. Among them, the growth in inpatient admissions was even faster, rising by 76 percent.
Guangdong fast-tracks pilot for int'l medical service hub
