Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (上海虹橋國際機(jī)場)
The airport was initially built in 1907 as a small military airfield. It was later reconstructed and expanded for civilian aviation. It served as Shanghai's primary airport until the completion of Pudong International Airport in 1999, when many international flights were shifted to Pudong. The airport was rated the most improved airport in the world by Skytrax in 2011.Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is located near the town of Hongqiao in Changning District, 13 kilometers west of downtown Shanghai, and is closer to the city center than Pudong Airport, Shanghai's main international airport.
The airport now connects Shanghai with 89 Chinese cities and 63 overseas cities. In 2010, Hongqiao Airport handled 31.30 million passengers, a growth of 24.8 percent over 2009, making it the 4th busiest airport on the Chinese mainland and the 41st busiest in the world.