Jingmen builds low-altitude economy beyond the factory floor

At Zhanghe General Airport in Jingmen, Hubei province, aircraft do more than take off and land.

New models are tested, pilots are trained, helicopters are maintained, and tourists take sightseeing flights, while locally developed aircraft are being prepared for uses ranging from emergency response to aerial surveying.

The activity reflects Jingmen's effort to turn more than six decades of aviation research and testing into a broader low-altitude economy — extending beyond making aircraft to keeping them flying and finding practical uses for them.

"We are building a whole industrial chain covering research and manufacturing, application scenarios and operational services," Hu Yuan, deputy director of the Jingmen Aviation Industrial Park Service Center, said.

The park covers 25 square kilometers and is one of China's first comprehensive general aviation industry demonstration zones, as well as the only one in Hubei.

At its center is Zhanghe General Airport, the country's only A1-category general aviation airport with two land runways and one water runway. It has access to about 2,600 square kilometers of airspace and nearly 300 flyable days a year.

Those conditions have helped turn Jingmen into a testing base for aircraft including the AG600 amphibious aircraft, while attracting developers from elsewhere in China.

The park's technological base is anchored by the Special Vehicle Research Institute under Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The institute has developed a model in which research is carried out partly in Wuhan while testing and production are concentrated in Jingmen.

Nearly 50 aviation-related companies are now clustered in the park, including seven aircraft manufacturers, according to Hu. Thirteen types of aircraft are in production or development.

One of the most visible is the AS700 Xiangyun manned airship. The aircraft can carry up to 10 people, stay airborne for as long as 10 hours, and travel up to 700 kilometers.

Hu said cumulative orders for the AS700 have exceeded 200 units. Jingmen is also promoting an integrated model combining the airship itself with routes and tourism-related services.

But manufacturing is only one part of the strategy.

The park has built five public service platforms covering flight testing, inspection, airworthiness certification, maintenance, and training. In 2025, it supported more than 15,000 flight hours and over 30,000 sorties, Hu said.

Applications have expanded into tourism, emergency response, logistics, agriculture, education, and urban management. The park has also opened a cross-provincial low-altitude freight route and developed aviation tourism and study programs.

Maintenance is another essential link.

Hubei Hephaestus Aviation Services Co received a civil aviation maintenance license in August, allowing it to conduct scheduled inspections on several Bell helicopter models and major overhauls of Robinson R44 helicopters.

General manager Zhou Youwu said the company chose Jingmen partly because repaired aircraft can be tested directly at the nearby airport.

"The airport gives us the conditions to carry out post-maintenance flight checks, while the surrounding aviation companies create a strong industrial chain," Zhou said.

He said local maintenance capabilities can reduce the time and cost of sending helicopters to other regions for major repairs, while supporting services such as emergency rescue, agricultural operations, aerial inspection, and low-altitude tourism.

The company plans to expand into component and engine overhaul.

For Jingmen, that is the broader logic of its low-altitude economy: an aircraft can be developed, tested, certified, produced, maintained, operated, and put to work within the same industrial ecosystem.