2010-11-17 16:31

NANJING - A village in East China's Jiangsu province has announced plans to buy 20 aircraft for pilot training and tourism, after the government said it would open low-altitude airspace for private planes.

Huaxi, the richest village in China, said it would have its own fleet of aircraft in the next five years, with the aim of establishing a pilot training base.

"We've waited so long for the low-altitude airspace to be opened. The two helicopters in the village will take off in mid December," said Zhou Li, manager of the Huaxi Village tourism company.

According to a circular jointly issued by the State Council and the Central Military Commission, China will open part of its low-altitude  airspace in an orderly manner to promote the country's general aviation sector.

Huaxi's two helicopters -- one manufactured by McDonnell Douglas and one by Eurocopter -- cost almost 90 million yuan ($13.56 million). Two pilots are doing the trial tourist flights.

"It will help upgrade the village's tourist industry and attract more wealthy visitors," said Zhou.

Visitors would be able to have a bird's eye view of the village for about 300 to 500 yuan.

With steel, textiles and tourism as pillar industries, Huaxi was the first Chinese village to generate 10 billion yuan of gross domestic product in 2003.

"The difficult task ahead will be training pilots," Zhou said. "It also suggests a huge but untapped market for pilot training."

Zhou said that a pilot training program, with the help of local professional colleges, was also under consideration.

"We plan to train at least 100 people as pilots and we will 'rent' them to other parts of the country," said Zhou.

The village, covering an area of 0.96 square kilometers, has a population of about 1,500.