spotting around china

[Key]

Merged into this older topic, possibly even some info already here?

Erik

[ehusmann]

Not sure if the following questions belongs in this forum. My brother and I are going to Beijing in May. We are supposed to travel with Emirates via Dubai leaving from Düsseldorf. For the moment we are looking for a place to stay in the Chinese capital. Could anyone of you recommend an airport hotel? Is it wise to stay in the center of Beijing and commute to and from the airport? Is it difficult to get to the runways and do some spotting? What are your experiences?

There are quite some hotels around the airport. I know of at least four, but I am sure there are more. The problem however is, most of these are not well situated. Getting dinner is often a problem....
Commuting from the city takes anywhere between 30 minutes and 90 minutes, depending on traffic conditions. There is supposed to be a train now going between the city and the new terminal, but I haven´t used that one.

Spotting can be done from the new terminal building, if you are only going for numbers. The terminal has glass all over and you can see almost everything, except for local traffic that lands and departs on the most western runway. From the terminal building you can walk to the treshholds of the center and eastern runway, but I haven´t really been there, so I don´t know the situation. You can also take a bus to the old terminal (for free) and from there walk to the western runway. There are some spots near that runway where you can take pictures.
Biggest problem with Beijing is now that is has three runways, and there is no one place with an overview of everything. For the numbers the new terminal is the best, for pictures you need to be very lucky.....

Erwin

[United 777]

Spotting can be done from the new terminal building, if you are only going for numbers. The terminal has glass all over and you can see almost everything, except for local traffic that lands and departs on the most western runway. From the terminal building you can walk to the treshholds of the center and eastern runway, but I haven´t really been there, so I don´t know the situation. You can also take a bus to the old terminal (for free) and from there walk to the western runway. There are some spots near that runway where you can take pictures.

Is spotting from the terminal building possible for everyone or only for airside visitors? In the meantime I found an IBIS hotel quite near the airport. It should be easy to reach from the terminal, being really close to the first stop of the airport train. Six months ago on my way to Osaka the Finnair MD-11 flew over Beijing. Down below I could see the giant new terminal of Capital Airport. At that time I could not imagine that I would see the airport again so soon. I am looking forward to my first trip to China!

[Trabanti]

there is also a heliport on the eastern side of the river inside the city

Do you mean VGL - Hanoi Gia Lam? Did you find a good observation spot from outside the base?

The good news for the military guys is that they do fly in the weekend

Does this apply to Vietnam as well?

Other question: Is there an up-to-date VPAF order of battle online somewhere?

Thanks and regards,
Bart

[Stefan]

there is also a heliport on the eastern side of the river inside the city

Do you mean VGL - Hanoi Gia Lam? Did you find a good observation spot from outside the base?

The good news for the military guys is that they do fly in the weekend

Does this apply to Vietnam as well?

Other question: Is there an up-to-date VPAF order of battle online somewhere?

Thanks and regards,
Bart

Gia Lam is included in our airfield guides.

Can not tell you whether the Vietnamese fly during the weekend. Did not see or hear anything on Sat/Sun.

The Vietnam Orbat is not online yet, but since we are nearing completion of a new application to self-publish them this may change in the near future. Do have a text-file from a couple of years ago.

Regards,
Stefan

[Trabanti]

Dank Stefan, no internet at home so will bring the latest Scramble to work to log in and shock some colleagues.. Yeah baby yeah!

And if you could send me that draft overview, great! Possible by PM or e-mail?

Bart

[Hans]

Shanghai Aviation Museum is at:
31° 8'18.36"N 121°24'5.94"E
have not found a website.

The website is www.shapc.org, but this supposedly is a malware site.

Another site with more information is http://www.afwing.com/gallery/saec/1.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, but this one opened some 30 %^&$^@!! pop-up screens with me (for those how this works, just redirect "u291014.778669.com" to 127.0.0.1 in your hosts file before you visit this site).

More info (in Chinese) can be found by google'ing at "上海航宇科普中心".

Regards,

Hans

[ollieb]

Hi

I'm heading to Guangzhou and Shanghai next month, any info on spotting much appreciated.

Pudong - is it ok to spot on the approach road to the terminals as it appears this is the only place to be able view movements on all runways?

Hongqiao - the recently opened terrace at new terminal 2 as temporary closed, any info?

Guangzhou - staying at the Southern Pearl Hotel which I believe as good views, what are the oppotunities like in the surrounding area outside the hotel?

Thanks in advance

Ollie

[streep]

All locations seem to be inside hotel rooms.
Im heading to Shanghai next week,
Are there any 'outside' locations for viewing/photography at :
Shanghai Pudong
Shanghai Hongqiao
Hangzhou Xiaoshan