Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport is the first 4F-level airport in Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Thanks to local government's support, the general aviation industry in Qingdao, Shandong province is expanding, with the industrial chain becoming more and more complete and the industrial ecology becoming gradually abundant.

Walking into the new aviation industry town of Laixi, a county-level city in Qingdao, a model aircraft stands at the gate and spreads its wings.

In the exhibition hall, a gray, red and black airplane stands in the center. It is the world's first Wanfeng Diamond DA50 aircraft made in Qingdao, which has entered the test phase. 

In a nearby aircraft parts workshop, production lines run smoothly and parts are being exported to the DA50 in Qingdao and Wanfeng Diamond's global production base.

The factory built by Wanfeng Aviation in Laixi is not only a complete aircraft manufacturing project, but also involves a number of links such as manufacturing of components for aircraft bodies, component assembly and complete aircraft assembly, said Luo Lidan, chairman of Qingdao Wanfeng Aviation Technology Co.

"Most of the parts production and assembly of the DA50 aircraft will be done in Qingdao, and in the future, DA50 aircrafts made in Qingdao will be sold around the world," said Luo.

The factory has attracted a number of general navigation related projects to settle in Laixi. The Qingdao General Aviation Industrial Park (Laixi area) has housed eight enterprises, and another six aviation projects are under construction.

The Laixi area is actively building a national demonstration zone for the aviation industry with industrial clusters specializing in general aviation operations, aviation education, aviation tourism and aviation manufacturing. It is expected that by 2025, the total output value of the general aviation industry will reach 10 billion yuan ($1.44 billion).