This photo was taken at a very tiny air museum that is the last remaining legacy of the infamous Longhua Airport that used to be the only airfield in Shanghai. The gates were locked but the security guards allowed me in to take a few shots from the outside; however, they seemed to get paranoid and asked me to leave because I took a few too many pictures of the vintage airplane. I was just looking for an interesting angle, but they must have been nervous about state secrets…. Does anyone know anything about this little air museum? My dad is a big vintage aircraft buff so would love to take him there next time they come to Shanghai.
Welcome to the Shanghai My Eye! photoblog project. Each entry features one photo taken somewhere around town that speaks in some way to the experience of living in this mad and marvelous metropolis. The goal is to build up a collection of images of Shanghai as seen through the eye of the www.shanghaimamas.org community – beautiful, strange, surprising, alarming, amazing. So please, send me your photos, along with a short paragraph about what the image means to you.
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I’ve been meaning to take a ride out there to have a look at the place since I finished reading Empire of the Sun a few weeks ago. Of course, I should have gone when the weather was still nice… ah well, maybe it will wait until spring…
There really isn’t much to see. I went looking for the old terminal, but it has since turned into a hotel/banquet fall. There are still shadows of the art deco archeitecture, but mostly it is torn down. The airfield is now an industrial area with security guards posted around the perimeter. I think there is a single active airstrip used for military/municiple aircraft. The only thing of the past is this tiny air museum with 3 rickety old planes rusting in the courtyard. I was hoping for at least historic plaque or a museum exhibit recounting the glory years of the 1930s and the role of the airfield during the Japanese occupation.
It’s probably not worth it’s on trip to the air museum, but if you are off to Longhua Temple then this is an interesting side trip…