2025 Air Force Aviation Open House & Changchun Air Show

Dates: September 19-23, 2025

Venue: Changchun International Aviation Expo City

Overview: During the five-day exhibition, Changchun will leverage a platform featuring "one central hub, three zones, and six pavilions," with "two performances, four exhibitions, and supporting events" as its framework, to create a grand aerospace event that showcases national defense technology, promotes aviation culture, aggregates industrial ecosystem, and provides public science education.

Key Highlights: This edition of the Air Force Aviation Open House retains the theme "Chasing Dreams in the Sky, Securing Victory for the Future" and centers around "A Pilot's Journey." It comprises four sections: aerial demonstrations, ground static displays, themed exhibitions, and supporting activities.

Event Timing: Audience Entry: 7:30 AM | Audience Exit: 4:30 PM

Aerial Display Sessions: Morning Session: 10:20 AM–12:10 PM  |  Afternoon Session: 1:30 PM–3:00 PM  

Note: Display content may be adjusted based on real-time weather conditions.

Performance Highlights: The aerial demonstrations will showcase the Air Force's combat training effectiveness over 10 performance items. The "August 1st," "Red Hawk," and "Sky Wing" aerobatic teams will deliver spectacular performances. Notably, the "Red Hawk" and "Sky Wing" teams from the Aviation University of Air Force will feature revised routines this year, emphasizing flight aesthetics and visual impact. Additionally, the university will host military camp open days, displaying aircraft maintenance scenarios and interactive experiences at training facilities to engage audiences, particularly youth, in understanding and appreciating the Air Force to foster enthusiasm for "Loving the Air Force, Soaring in Changchun."

Four Major Innovations

Greater Scale: The exhibition's operational capacity and spatial layout have undergone a comprehensive upgrade. This marks the first full activation of Changchun International Aviation Expo City, with a total area of 2.358 million square meters (double the previous edition, equivalent to 330 standard football fields). The venue features three interconnected zones (Flight Performance, Static Display, Comprehensive Support) and six themed pavilions (Air Force, Military-Industrial State-owned Enterprises, Jilin Provincial Pavilion, Unmanned Intelligent Equipment, Low-Altitude Economy, and Science Popularization Research), creating a synergistic exhibition landscape.

Advanced Technology: Cutting-edge equipment and industrial ecosystems will take center stage. The event gathers 209 exhibitors (69 more than the previous edition), including central enterprises (AVIC, AECC), state-owned enterprises, and key private companies across China. At an August 28 press briefing, the Defense Ministry confirmed that the Air Force will display over 100 in-service aircraft, ground equipment, and retired classic models, featuring the first-ever static display of the J-20 stealth fighter and bomber formation flyovers.

Enhanced Visitor Experience: Changchun remains committed to "exhibitions for the people, benefits for the people," ensuring efficient transportation, streamlined security checks, and thoughtful service amenities.

Deeper Integration: Changchun is forging synergies between the Air Show and urban cultural tourism, low-altitude economy sectors, and other industries. The city will create "richer" experiential scenarios, establish "more vivid" science popularization platforms, and map out "longer-term" brand blueprints, enabling Changchun to evolve beyond being merely a "destination for exhibition-going" into a "hub for the aerospace industry."

Cultural and Tourism Activities

Themed art flash mobs at the Aviation Expo City, street concerts in the Xinmin Street Historical and Cultural District, as well as over 50 aviation-themed activities hosted at key cultural and tourism venues such as Jingyuetan National Scenic Area, the Zoological and Botanical Garden, Changying Century City, and Lianhua Island—including the Aviation Carnival Season, Mythical Mountain-and-Sea Night, and Aviation Training Camps. The PLA Air Force will enhance public engagement with military equipment during the exhibition, setting up immersive experience zones for simulated flight, drone operation, and parachuting, while synchronously organizing military camp open days to provide the public with a more intuitive and in-depth understanding of the Air Force. Meanwhile, Changchun will establish the "Dreaming of the Stars, Enlightening the Future" themed science education and research pavilion at the exhibition area, featuring six distinctive sections—such as Universe Exploration, Stellar Dreams, and Interstellar Voyage—alongside 15 groups of science popularization experience projects, including model aircraft assembly, simulated flight, and drone operation. Additionally, Hongqi Street Tram Line 54 will be transformed into a "Mobile Aviation Museum," while libraries and professional performing arts troupes across the city will conduct aviation knowledge lectures and themed performances, allowing aviation enthusiasts, particularly young people, to immersively experience the charm of aerospace.

Source: Changchun Air Show  Editor: Liu Jiadi