Beijing Nanyuan Airport poised to close its doors

Ma Huidi, director of the Center for China Leisure Studies at the China Academy of Art, said Nanyuan Airport is different from others and has its own peculiarities in terms of its history and location.

"Scientific and technological 'relics' such as Nanyuan Airport should enjoy the same important status as other historical and cultural heritage" she said. "Compared with the Capital Airport and Daxing Airport, Nanyuan has a rich and special history with numerous fascinating stories to offer to the public as the first airport in China, making it the perfect site for a civil aviation-themed museum."

With many neighborhoods close by on the one hand and a scarcity of historical resources in the southern part of Beijing on the other, Nanyuan Airport should be put to good use to balance development of the capital's cultural industry, she added.

"Though the airport will come to an end, its history can be passed on in this way and show the next generation what the country has been through to achieve the level of economic progress it has," she said.