to CAAC - Civil Aviation Administration of China

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Detail of CAAC's network of November 1960. The map shows to advantage how few flights there were within China. A prime example is Shanghai,
which had only ten return flights a week! There wasn't even a daily flight to Peking (Beijing), i.e. the route between China's two largest
multi-million cities. Of the five flights a week between Shanghai and Peking (Beijing), three were routed via Nanking (Nanjing) and Tsinan (Jinan)
and two via Hofei (Hefei) and Tsinan (Jinan). They took 7h to 7h 25m and were flewn with the standard equipment of the day, the Ilyushin Il-14
(red lines), seating approx. 26 passengers. Many routes were still operated with Lisunov Li-2s (blue lines), the Russian-built DC-3. Those were the days...

Among cities on the map which are transcribed differently nowadays are Sining (Xining), Langchow (Lanzhou), Sian (Xian), Chengtu (Chengdu), Chungking
(Chongqing), Kweiyang (Guijang), Haikow (Haikou), Chankiang (Zhanjiang), Canton (Guangzhou), Hangchow (Hangzhou) and Chengchow (Zhengzhou).

This page last updated November 12, 2014.