On August 27, 2025, the Hegang Luobei Airport in Heilongjiang Province officially broke ground. This marks the realization of Hegang's "flying dream" that has been in planning for ten years. As a key project in the national "14th Five-Year Plan" for civil aviation development, the airport is built to 4C standards with an investment of 10.66 billion yuan, designed for an annual passenger throughput of 450,000 passengers and cargo throughput of 1,600 tons, scheduled to commence operations in 2027.

Hegang once prospered due to coal but also experienced transformation challenges due to resource depletion. Six years ago, Hegang frequently made headlines for its "cabbage-priced" real estate, becoming many people's introduction to this city.

Many people might wonder: Why does Hegang need to build an airport? In fact, for Hegang, the airport is not just a "runway" but represents a "resource-based city's" determination to seek its future through transformation.

"For Hegang, the significance is different and requires moving beyond short-sighted economic profit-loss thinking," said Song Donglin, Professor at Jilin University's School of Economics. The tourism market is expected to benefit first and quickly demonstrate economic returns, while in the longer term, the airport will become an important pivot for Hegang to leverage its opening potential and reshape regional functions.

The inspiration brought by Hegang Airport extends far beyond one city. Song Donglin noted that regional development often requires long-term investment from "patient capital," and as the national aviation network gradually extends downward, it enables more "Hegangs" to see the dawn of transformation and revitalization.

**Time-Space "Acceleration": Tourism Market Will Feel the Impact First**

According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) classification, the "4" in 4C standards represents a runway length of at least 1,800 meters, while the letter "C" indicates compatibility with aircraft having wingspans of 24-36 meters and main gear spacing of 6-9 meters. Common civilian aircraft models like the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 fall into this category. These aircraft can carry 150-200 passengers with moderate range, capable of directly connecting to hub cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

In fact, Hegang began planning the airport project ten years ago. In 2016, the project was included in the "National Civil Transport Airport Layout Plan." In 2017, the airport site selection received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. In 2022, Hegang Airport received joint approval from the State Council and Central Military Commission. Since 2024, airport construction has entered the fast track, with feasibility studies, master planning, and preliminary designs successively approved.

This "breakthrough chess move" planned for ten years starts with transportation upgrades. Currently, Hegang lacks high-speed rail connections, and winter road travel is often constrained by weather conditions. The nearest Jiamusi Airport is over 70 kilometers away without direct bus service, significantly increasing time and economic costs for residents and visiting tourists or business travelers.

After the airport's completion, the area will have a comprehensive water, land, and air transportation system, achieving a leap in external connectivity capabilities. From a macro perspective, as outlined in the "Heilongjiang Province Comprehensive Three-Dimensional Transportation Network Planning Outline," by 2035, 54 general airports and 23 civil transport airports will be built, with transport airports' 100-kilometer service radius covering over 90% of the province's land area and population. Hegang Airport will be a crucial piece in this transportation network puzzle.

"The tourism market may be among the first to feel construction dividends and provide quick economic benefits feedback," Professor Song Donglin stated. The airport's completion and operation will most directly and rapidly improve regional accessibility, thereby stimulating tourism market vitality first.

Located in the golden triangle embraced by the Heilongjiang River, Songhua River, and Lesser Khingan Mountains, Hegang possesses ecological resources like the Dragon River Three Gorges and primitive red pine forests, as well as industrial heritage sites like mining parks. Public data shows that in 2024, it received 6.0858 million tourists, up 20.3% year-on-year, with tourism revenue of 4.804 billion yuan, up 20.07% year-on-year.

"Transportation convenience directly determines a destination's market radius and customer quality," said Wang Bing, manager of Heilongjiang Province Border River Travel Service Co., Ltd. Currently, tourists to Hegang mainly come from within the province and surrounding areas, while visitors from East China, South China, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions often abandon their itineraries due to transportation complications.

After the airport's completion, travel time from other regions to Hegang will be reduced from the current "most of a day" to "two to three hours." This leap in experience will help Hegang convert "internet celebrity" traffic into high-quality development "increment." Leveraging the "aviation + ice and snow + industry" model and strengthening airline networks with tourism product innovation, tourist numbers are expected to achieve 30%-40% compound annual growth, forming new growth in cultural tourism industry development.

According to publicly disclosed information, Hegang Luobei Airport initially plans to open routes to hub cities in Northeast, North China, and East China regions including Harbin, Beijing, Shanghai, and Qingdao. Medium-term plans include adding routes to Xi'an, Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou in Northwest, Southwest, and Central-South regions. Premium tourism routes within Heilongjiang Province will be opened according to tourism airline planning.

**"Looking Toward the Future"**

For Hegang in Northeast China, the airport's value extends far beyond promoting cultural tourism development. Hegang prospered due to coal, once ranking among the nation's top ten coal mines. With rolling "black gold," it achieved upgrades from town to county to prefecture-level city.

However, this city was also constrained by coal. In 2011, Hegang appeared on the national third batch of resource-exhausted cities list. Two years later, with the end of the coal industry's "golden decade," this once coal-driven city suddenly faced economic growth momentum gaps and urgent transformation challenges.

Against this backdrop, Hegang decided to look toward "non-coal" alternatives. Looking back now, 2019 became a crucial year for Hegang. Through investment attraction, the "national team" China Minmetals settled in Hegang. In December of that year, China Minmetals, through deepening central-local cooperation and promoting state-owned enterprise reform, jointly established Minmetals Graphite Company with China First Heavy Industries, China Resources Group, and provincial, municipal, and county investment entities. Through forming mixed-ownership enterprises with multiple original mineral rights holders, it successfully achieved resource integration of the Yunshan Graphite Mine.

This thoroughly solved problems like "multiple mining of one mine, large mine small development," and serious resource waste at Luobei Yunshan Graphite Mine, making the Yunshan Graphite Mine area the world's largest single-body graphite mine by resource volume.

Public data shows Hegang has proven ore reserves of 2.289 billion tons with an average geological grade of 9.48%. Over 80% of graphite used in national anode materials comes from Hegang. Currently, the graphite industry has become Hegang's second-largest industry after coal-related industries, with 37 graphite enterprises clustered locally, forming a complete graphite new energy materials industrial chain from mining to anode material deep processing.

Notably, the Hegang Airport site is only 70 kilometers from Asia's largest single-body graphite mine. Such positioning reveals Hegang's far-reaching considerations.

"In the future, direct flights from Beijing to Hegang will take only 2 hours, saving half the time for business negotiations," said Sun Jinghan, Chairman of Hegang Baoquan Airport Construction Co., Ltd. This "runway" is not just a transportation route but a springboard for the "Graphite City" to connect globally.

However, Cai Yinyin, Chairman of the Low-Altitude Economy Professional Committee of the China Meteorological Service Association, noted that currently, emerging industries like new energy vehicles, energy storage, and aerospace have significant graphite demand. He pointed out that the airport's role in the graphite industry mainly lies in facilitating investment inspections and promoting efficient transportation of high value-added products, rather than directly handling bulk graphite raw material cargo functions.

It's worth noting that Gao Jian, Standing Committee Member of Hegang Municipal Party Committee, Director of United Front Work Department, and Party Group Member of the Municipal Government, publicly stated that after the airport's completion, it's not just about improving transportation but "moving toward the future." "We plan to build an airport economic zone, developing aviation logistics and high-end manufacturing around the airport."

**"Different Significance for Hegang"**

If calculating economic returns, what would be the benefits of Hegang Luobei Airport? Public data shows the airport is designed for annual passenger throughput of 450,000 passengers and cargo throughput of 1,600 tons.

Cai Yinyin noted that according to general domestic airport conditions, even small airports struggle to cover cash expenditures if annual passenger throughput doesn't exceed 2 million passengers; only exceeding 5 million passengers makes covering basic costs possible. For Hegang Airport with only 450,000 designed annual throughput, achieving break-even will face severe challenges.

So why does Hegang still want to build an airport?

"For Hegang, the significance is different; we can't just calculate economic accounts," Professor Song Donglin explained. The airport construction decision underwent strict scientific assessment and long-term consideration. Therefore, when viewing Hegang Airport, we need to move beyond short-sighted economic profit-loss thinking.

Fundamentally, Hegang's airport construction is about securing future development space and rights. According to statistics from the Aviation Economics and Development Research Institute (AIR) at Civil Aviation University of China, airports significantly promote local economic and social development. Taking 2024 as an example, national GDP grew about 5.5%, while GDP of cities with airports grew about 6.5%, and airport-located districts grew about 7.5%.

Previously, Hegang frequently made headlines for "cabbage prices," also attracting cost-conscious "digital nomads" and entrepreneurs to settle and take root. In early August, local housing authorities reported that foreign buyer purchases have climbed annually in recent years, from 1,134 units (16.31%) in 2019 to 5,680 units (34.05%) in 2024, nearly quadrupling. This means one out of every three property transactions involves new Hegang residents.

Song Donglin believes that as the airport becomes operational, Hegang's personnel flow scale will significantly expand, further promoting population structure changes.

On the other hand, as a border city adjacent to Russia's Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Hegang's airport construction has deeper strategic significance. Song Donglin pointed out that for border cities, airports are not just infrastructure but symbols representing the city's visibility and value in national development patterns. Simultaneously, airport operations will effectively aggregate personnel and logistics flows, injecting new vitality and further releasing the city's opening potential.

Notably, in the "14th Five-Year Plan for Civil Aviation Development," airports in Jincheng (Shanxi), Shangluo (Shaanxi), Jingmen (Hubei), and Hengshui (Hebei) are listed alongside Hegang Airport in the new airport construction list. These airports' cities are not economic highlands but carry special missions in promoting regional coordination.

Regional development often requires long-term investment from "patient capital." Song Donglin noted that as the national aviation network continues expanding and extending downward, airports represent not icing on the cake for these cities but timely assistance in snow. More profoundly, they enable more "Hegangs" to see the dawn of transformation and revitalization.

Meanwhile, Cai Yinyin also noted that while feeder airports can bring development opportunities to regions, the key lies in how to effectively transform them into tangible development momentum—a crucial question Hegang urgently needs to answer.