Photo: Dr. Jean-Paul Rodrigue, 1999.
Dun Huang (Gansu Province) is an oasis city located in the Gobi Desert, along the old Silk Road, and has become an important touristic destination. In order to keep the limited amount of arable land, the airport was constructed in the outlying desert. Although the airport terminal has been upgraded several times since this photo was taken, boarding operations still involve passengers walking to the plane. This is a minor inconvenience since the airport receives almost no rainfall. The plane is a BAe 146 (British Aerospace), a regional jet that ceased to be manufactured in 2001. Most of these planes have now been retired.