The 2025 aviation open day of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force and the Changchun Air Show ended on Tuesday, capping the five-day show with record attendance while igniting nationwide enthusiasm for the aviation undertaking.
Held in the provincial capital of Jilin in northeast China, the event drew hundreds of thousands of visitors to dazzling aerial displays, cutting-edge military hardware, and immersive aviation experiences.
Over the five-day run, attendance surpassed 800,000, marking the highest turnout in the event's history since its inception in 2011.
"The visit was absolutely rewarding. I'll definitely come back next time. It was simply cool," said a spectator.
"We are from Jining and the visit was really worth the trip. It's about chasing dreams in the blue sky and securing victory for the future," said another spectator.
The event put up a dazzling array of China's most advanced aircraft, including the mighty YY-20A aerial refueling tanker, the versatile J-16 multirole fighter, the KJ-500 airborne early warning and control aircraft, and the J-20 stealth fighter, the undisputed star of the show.
The J-20 not only performed its first-ever joint flight demonstration with the KJ-500, but also made its public debut in static display, allowing visitors to observe it close.
Various heart-stopping performances pushed the event's atmosphere to a climax. The Bayi (August 1) and Lanying (Blue Eagle) parachute teams painted the sky with precision and grace, while the Bayi, Hongying (Red Eagle), and Tianzhiyi (Sky Wings) aerobatic teams carved the air with gravity-defying maneuvers, leaving crowds breathless and cheering.
"The choreography of the aerobatic performance was world-class -- truly international standard," said an aviation enthusiast.
"What impressed me the most was when our big, chubby YY-20A tanker took to the sky, it was truly overwhelming," said another enthusiast.
The event featured 41 aircraft of 16 different types in aerial displays and 93 types of equipment on static ground display. It also opened the aviation culture exhibition center, along with areas for simulated dogfights and parachuting experience.
New and exciting experiences were also offered through dedicated pavilions including the unmanned and intelligent equipment pavilion, low-altitude economy pavilion, and aviation education pavilion.
With record attendance and unmatched performances, the 2025 Changchun Air Show has cemented its status as China's premier public-facing military aviation event.
Changchun Air Show concludes with record-breaking attendance
China's commitment to its path of opening up will continue as a long-term national strategy and should increasingly be defined by inclusiveness, a national political advisor said Friday.
Zhou Hanmin, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the 14th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and president of the Shanghai Public Diplomacy Association, made the remarks in an interview with China Media Group (CMG) during the annual political "two sessions" underway in Beijing.
"Opening-up is and has been a long-term national policy and a strategy ever since China opened itself up (to the world) some 48 years ago. Ever since China joined WTO (World Trade Organization), you could see it has fundamentally changed the formats of economic movements. So opening-up is a reference and also a driving force," he said.
Zhou stressed China must also invite less privileged nations to share in the prosperity of a more open world.
"Inclusiveness is one word that should be used to modify China's opening-up. I (previously) submitted a bill in CPPCC for the zero tariff for those least developed nations' exportation to China. Because for each and every China International Import Expo, you can see quite a large number of exhibitors coming from the least developed countries. We need to give them very genuine help. We are just in the situation of that. We just try to do not only with developed nations, but the Global South and rest of the countries, all together," he said.
Zhou's comments come amid the ongoing "two sessions", the annual meetings of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body, the National Committee of the CPPCC. Both bodies serve a five-year term and hold a plenary session each year, generally in March.
The fourth session of the 14th NPC and the fourth session of the 14th National Committee of the CPPCC kicked off in Beijing on Thursday and Wednesday, respectively. A main focus is the adoption of the country's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), a key blueprint guiding China's drive toward modernization. When asked about key signals from the plan that the international community should closely watch, Zhou outlined several key issues.
"We are now carrying on this Five-Year Plan in the most crucial period of time. We are going to generally modernize the country (in) another 10 years. In this five-year period of time, we need to focus more on creation. Creation not necessarily in the field of technology. Creation means the modernization of the governance, create lots of new things in the system and methods of governance. This is also important," Zhou said.
"The modernization of industrial systems, the further expansion of the ability of consumption, and we try to know very well the longevity, whatever solves people's daily needs. The last but not least, we try to understand fully international collaboration. Opening-up is still a driving force," he said.
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
China's opening-up should continue path of inclusiveness: political advisor
