Nanchang Qingyunpu Airport (), also known as Sanjiadian Airport (), is an airport in Qingyunpu District of Nanchang, Jiangxi, China. Originally constructed for use by the Republic of China Air Force, it was the largest airport in China when opened in 1935. The airport was destroyed during the Second Sino-Japanese War and rebuilt afterwards. After 1949, it was mainly used for test flights by the aircraft manufacturer Hongdu Aviation Industry Group, until its replacement by Nanchang Yaohu Airport in 2018. Location and facilities The airport is located in Qingyunpu District of Nanchang, the capital of Jiangxi Province, China. It has a cement runway that is long and wide, capable of handling Boeing 737 and similar aircraft. Its elevation is above sea level. History Republic of China Qingyunpu Airport, originally called Sanjiadian Airport, was built for Chiang Kai-shek's Encirclement Campaigns against the Chinese Soviet Republic, the rebel communist base in southern Jiangxi. Laoyingfang Airport was originally used for that purpose, but its proximity to the city center impeded frequent military operations by the 250 war planes based there. In September 1933, Chiang ordered the construction of Sanjiadian Airport in Qingyunpu, then in the far outskirts of Nanchang, and mobilized 290,000 labourers from 83 counties of Jiangxi Province. Construction officially began on 1 August 1934, and the airport was opened in the spring of 1935. At the time it was the largest airport in China, proclaimed to be the "No. 1 airport in the Far East". It was then often referred to as the New Nanchang Airport. In 1933, Chiang Kai-shek signed an agreement with Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini to establish a joint venture in China to manufacture airplanes. The company, called Sino-Italian National Aircraft Works (SINAW), was established in 1934 in Nanchang, with factories located at both Sanjiadian and Laoyingfang airports. It became the predecessor of Hongdu Aviation Industry Group, one of China's major aircraft manufacturers. After the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937, SINAW factories were severely damaged by Japanese aerial bombing. During a bombing of Qingyunpu on 22 December 1937, 9 Imperial Japanese Navy fighter aircraft led by Shiota Ryōhei flying out of recently captured Nanking and escorting 12 IJN bombers were intercepted by Chinese Air Force fighters; Shiota Ryōhei (潮田良平) himself was shot down and killed by Xu Baodi (徐葆畇), a pilot of the 5th Pursuit Group flying a Polikarpov I-15 acquired by the Chinese