CHINESE AVIATION

Hokitika Guardian, 10 February 1934, Page 6

CHINESE AVIATION

MODERN TRANSPORT METHODS

•SHANGHAI,. February 6

Wing shadows are ' blazing trails across China’s distances for future webs of steel.

Air lines in the Occident ; took _ off over patterns fixed by the Railroad Age. China Nias jumped from a, scattering groundwork of raiiways, directly to an infant, but thriving air .transport system that .pulls rails m . its wake.

In little more than three, years, a service of 1,500,000 passenger-miles a year lias been built. Aeroplanes drone daily up and down the Yangtse River amphibians over a continuous lauding field. Already they strike 1100 miles straight inland from’ Shanghai to Chungking in the shadow of Tibet.

As far as Hankow, large, passenger boats crawl below on the river’s siltyellow ribbon. Three days before they reach Hankow, aeroplanes that left with them slide to a landing. From China’s “New York” touts “Chicago’' takes seven hours. No continuous rail line follows this central inland route. Yet on the Shanghai-Peking run, the famous Blue Train runs a better race with the aeroplanes that can be offered by river junks. Here rails preceded the air line., . In line-milage air still falls considerably short of rail. The figures are s o me 1880 miles against -13,000. But the projected Hong Kong and Canton services will'add 1100, over areas scarcely touched by rail and requiring weeks of toilsome travel on land. Projects are also-well organised for linking China to Europe.- Disturbed conditions cause- delay, but this and Other air developments in China are held certain by competent observers. Nor is it residents, from abroad who use-the air lines exclusively. Chinese predominate- among the present 200 passengers a month. To be sure, pilots carry occidental names and bring to China years of seasoned experience.. The Nanking Government is pushing rail construction as part of its revivifying programme, but a-prominent engineer estimates that centuries .will elapse : at present rates of progress before mileage is anywhere near Western standards.