VINTAGE PLANE: This airplane on display at the exhibition marking the 60th anniversary of the PLA Air Force is a replica of the Red Army's first plane (QIAO TIANFU)

Chronology of PLA Air Force Development

In March 1946, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) founded its first flight academy to train pilots.

On October 1, 1949, 17 airplanes flew at the military parade for the founding of the People's Republic of China.

On November 11, 1949, an air force command headquarters was set up in Beijing, marking the birth of the PLA Air Force.

By July 1953, the PLA Air Force was comprised of 28 air divisions and 70 air regiments.

In 1980, China's first supersonic fighter trainer began trial flights.

In the 1990s, President Jiang Zemin proposed to "build a forceful and modernized air force with both sound attack and defense capabilities."

Since March 2000, the PLA Air Force has hired members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering as consultants to formulate hi-tech development strategies and train research staff.

On October 1, 2009, 151 aircraft ranging from China's most advanced J-10 and J-11 fighter jets to early warning and control aircraft, bombers and aerial tankers flew over Tiananmen Square during the parade marking the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Facts and Figures of the PLA Air Force's Civilian Missions

In March 1951 during a serious ice block in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Air Force sent four bombers on 37 flights to destroy 11 massive ice blockages. The mission protected 500,000 people and 66,700 hectares of farmland from flooding.

In 1982, the Air Force started to modify its planes for aerial seed-sowing missions that, by 2009, have created forests totaling 5.2 million hectares.

During 1998's massive floods in several southern provinces, 15,000 airborne soldiers successfully defended several hundred miles of dams and embankments in 11 cities and counties.

During the massive earthquakes in Wenchuan in May 2008, the Air Force relocated 18,886 residents, transported 9,222 injured people and dug 328 people out of earthquake debris.

During its 60 years, the Air Force has helped open more than 700 civilian air routes and has conducted aerial surveys of 14.4 million square km of land. The Air Force has also founded 88 charity schools and sponsored schooling for more than 10,000 dropouts.

(Source: Xinhua)