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CONSTRUCTION STARTED ON KANGDING AIRPORT

KANGDING, Sichuan Province, Sept. 7, 2006 (Xinhua) -- Construction began on
Thursday on what will be the world's second highest airport in Kangding, a
predominantly Tibetan region in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

    The airport will stand 4,280 meters above sea level, second in height
only to the airport in Qamdo, Tibet.

    With a budget of 960 million yuan (about 120 million U.S. dollars), the
new airport will have a 4,000-meter-long runway and will be capable of
handling planes such as the Boeing 737-700 series and Airbus 319s, according
to Wu Hesheng, general manager of the Zhongnan Airports Construction
Corporation, builder of the Kangding airport.

    Plans for the airport were first drawn up 13 years ago but the go-ahead
for the construction by the state was only given last May. It will begin
service in 2008 and is designed to handle 330,000 passengers and 1,980 tons
of cargo and mail annually.

    Due to its rough terrain and high altitudes, the western region of
Sichuan was notorious for being difficult to access in ancient times.

    Li Bai, a famed poet from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), wrote that
traveling in Shu State (present-day Sichuan Province) was more difficult
than going to the heaven.