By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-14 22:15:24 | Updated at 2024-11-15 01:46:25
3 hours ago
China’s flagship civilian aircraft maker, which is now competing with Airbus and Boeing in the home market, is weighing plans to turn its C919 factory compound into an industrial tourism hotspot and base of patriotism education, according to a company source.
The state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (Comac) will let tourists visit portions of its 2.67 million-square-metre (28.74 million-square-foot) factory site near Shanghai Pudong International Airport, the source told the Post this week at the Zhuhai air show.
The manufacturer was inspired by how Boeing made its Everett Production Facility – known as the world’s largest building by volume – into a popular tourist attraction in the US state of Washington, the source said.
Comac’s success in turning China’s jumbo-plane dreams into reality is widely touted by state media and its ambitions of grabbing a share of the global aviation market also fit into Beijing’s narrative of self-reliance and creating high-quality productive forces.
Comac kicked off trial operations of a large-aircraft technology “camp” for teenagers in September. The study programme, organised by China Travel Service, is open on certain weekdays, with an admission price of around 600 yuan (US$82).
The camp includes visits to the C919 aircraft assembly site, “experience classes” and on-site interactions with test pilots, the manufacturer said in a statement, adding that the scheme offers “vivid on-site experience and in-depth professional exploration”.
