As a key part of China's national productivity strategy, Ezhou Huahu International Airport leverages its exceptional geographic position to establish a fast cargo logistics network that reaches every corner of China within a day and connects globally overnight. This creates an "Air Silk Road" linking domestic and international economic circuits, using its aviation hub advantage to fully stimulate industrial growth.

On China's economic map, the four major growth poles—Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu-Chongqing—form a diamond shape. Positioned precisely at the center of this diamond, on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Ezhou has risen as a dedicated cargo hub. With Huahu as its core, a 1.5-hour flight radius covers 80% of the nation's population and 90% of its economic output.

Just four years into operation, 122 cargo routes now traverse the night skies, including 59 international routes reaching over 170 countries and regions across five continents. In 2025, cargo throughput surged 32.4% year-on-year—ten times higher than the global average air freight growth rate of just 2.9%—earning Huahu the title of global "growth champion."

This success is no coincidence. The airport's explosive growth stems from the perfect alignment of three factors: its superior geographic location, its specialized cargo-focused positioning, and the structure of national freight flows. As the geometric center of China's four major economic zones, nearly 5,000 tonnes of goods transit through here daily, ranking it fifth nationwide in cargo volume. Shipments from the Yangtze River Delta, Greater Bay Area, Chengdu-Chongqing, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei converge here for sorting and redistribution across the country, while high-value domestic manufactured goods and cross-border e-commerce parcels fly directly overseas, and global products flow from here to the vast domestic hinterland.

Zhang Dongdong, head of China Eastern Airlines Cold Chain's Central China Fresh Food Port Project, notes: "Customs' 24/7 clearance support ensures our products move rapidly from overseas to our facility. The Phase 2 pharmaceutical island project and Phase 3 imported fruit distribution and live seafood holding all demand extremely high last-mile delivery standards. For example, targeted therapies we handle must be injected within 48 hours of preparation—Ezhou's location advantage directly solves this challenge."

Beyond the transport corridor, industries are flourishing. Leveraging its national-level cargo hub capacity, Huahu Airport is rapidly transforming from a "logistics channel" into an "industrial engine." In Ezhou, six airport-linked industrial clusters—including aviation logistics, aircraft maintenance, cross-border e-commerce, and biomedicine—are taking shape. Industry leaders like SF Express, Ali Health, and Meituan Medical have established operations, driving Ezhou's transition from a steel city to an aviation new town.

For Hubei province, Huahu Airport works in tandem with Wuhan Tianhe International Airport to create a dual-hub structure, strongly supporting the overseas expansion of local advantages like Wuhan's "optical, chip, screen, terminal, network" industries and Huangshi's PCB circuit boards. In the first half of this year, Ezhou contributed over 46% of the province's total import-export growth—meaning for every 100 yuan of foreign trade increase in Hubei, more than 46 yuan flows through Huahu Airport.

Professor Zou Wei from Wuhan University's School of Economics and Management observes: "Through Huahu Airport, we narrow the time gap with high-tech industries in other countries and regions. Moreover, the dual-airport architecture provides a support platform for our development as a national regional science and innovation center. Huahu Airport must anchor itself in Hubei, radiate across central China, reach out to the whole nation, and engage with the world."

Once, being inland meant distance and cost. Today, Huahu has brought the "seaport" into the heart of central China, enabling cross-regional flows of industrial factors and overnight port arrivals for inland production capacity. This "Air Silk Road" connects the dual circulation and redefines the aviation coordinates of China's supply chain.