Beijing's oldest airport is being closed after 109 years of operation.

Nanyuan, China's first airport, closed on September 25, the same day Beijing's $11.5 billion Daxing Airport was inaugurated by President Xi Jinping.

The last flight at Nanyuan Airport, China United Airlines flight KN5830, took off at 10 p.m. By September 28, the airport's main sluice gates were closed and the parking lot was almost deserted.

Nanyuan Airport opened 109 years ago, in 1910, during the Qing Dynasty, China's last feudal dynasty. This century-old airport witnessed two world wars, the Chinese Civil War, and the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949. Later, the first squadron of the Chinese Air Force to fly over Tiananmen Square departed from Nanyuan Airport. In 1971, when then-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger secretly traveled to China to arrange President Richard Nixon's historic visit, he landed at Nanyuan Airport.

According to China Daily, Nanyuan will be transformed into an aviation museum, and flights to and from the airport will be transferred to Daxing Airport.

The stunningly modern Daxing Airport was designed by the late architect Zaha Hadid and her Chinese collaborators. The airport currently has four runways and a terminal the size of 97 football fields. Robots will also be used to provide airport and flight information.

Compared to Daxing, Nanyuan Airport is far more "outdated," with its boring, square shape, showing the rust of time, outdated facilities, and limited destination options. Nanyuan frequently experiences chaos due to delays, cancellations, and overcrowding. There is also no direct subway line or highway to the airport.

However, even days after its closure, Beijing citizens still flocked to the old airport to reminisce about a part of Beijing's history.

Huong Thao