Qualla: China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition

China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition: Introduction

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Dan3031949, CC BY-SA 4.0. In November 2008, COMAC sold 25 regional jets to a GE subsidiary on the floor of an airshow in Zhuhai, and somewhere nearby the Chengdu J-10 was making its first public appearance before a crowd. Both deals — one commercial, one military — happened at the same event. That compression of commerce and capability is the Zhuhai Airshow's defining characteristic. Since its first edition in November 1996, the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition has grown into the largest airshow in China and one of the most closely watched aerospace gatherings anywhere, drawing delegations from dozens of countries and generating headlines in equal measure for what flies and what gets signed.

Image: Dan3031949 | CC BY-SA 4.0

China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition: From Cobras to Stealth: Three Decades in the Air

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit 水餃喵, CC BY 4.0. The inaugural 1996 show ran from November 5 to 10 and featured a Su-27 performing Pugachev's Cobra — the dramatic nose-pitch maneuver that announced Russian air superiority fighter technology to the world — alongside Il-78 aerial refueling demonstrations and British aerobatic tea...

Image: 水餃喵 | CC BY 4.0

China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition: Flight Context

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Yuxuan1122, CC BY-SA 3.0. The Zhuhai Airshow venue is centered at approximately 22.01°N, 113.38°E, near Zhuhai Jinwan Airport (ZGSD/Zhuhai Sanzao Airport, ICAO: ZGSD). Approaching from the south at 3,000–5,000 feet, the wide runways and exhibition halls of the Zhuhai airshow complex are visible along the western edge of the Pearl River Delta. Macau International Airport (VMMC) lies about 25 km to the east-northeast. The Pearl River mouth spreads broadly to the north and east, with Hong Kong International Airport (VHHH) visible on clear days roughly 60 km to the northeast across the water.

Image: Yuxuan1122 | CC BY-SA 3.0

China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition: The Aerobatic Thread

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Yuxuan1122, CC BY-SA 3.0. Whatever the geopolitical temperature between nations, the aerobatic teams have kept coming. Britain's Golden Dream team appeared at the first three editions. Russia's Knights were regulars from 1998 onward, and at the 2024 show, prototypes of the Su-57 made what observers called...

Image: Yuxuan1122 | CC BY-SA 3.0

China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition: Zhuhai's Transformation

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Yuxuan1122, CC BY-SA 3.0. The airshow takes place at the Zhuhai Jinwan Airport area, and the city has grown around it in part because of it. Zhuhai sits at the western edge of the Pearl River Delta, across a narrow stretch of water from Macau, and the show has become a reliable engine of international att...

Image: Yuxuan1122 | CC BY-SA 3.0