China’s biggest air show opened with a dazzling aerial display of its fighters, but crowds couldn’t see much through the smoke

• China’s hottest show kicked off with acrobatic team performances on Tuesday.

• But the beautiful display was brought down by smoke filling the sky over Zhuhai, Guangdong.

• This modest opening comes at a time when China is trying to destroy the reputation that its cities are highly polluted.

China’s largest air show opened on Tuesday, with smoky skies obscuring the complex performance of the country’s aircraft.

The Bayi aerobatics team, a team of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force that flies J-10 fighters, took off just after 10 a.m. local time from Zhuhai, Guangdong, where the China 2024 air show is being held.

But as crowds gathered on the tarmac to watch, low visibility made it difficult to spot the fighters and their colorful smoke trails.

At times, the shape of the J-10s could not be seen as they moved through the dark sky.

According to Accuweather, the air quality in Zhuhai that morning was “poor” – indicating a high level of pollution – as the city experienced high levels of nitrogen dioxide.

Bad weather continued to obscure the airfields an hour after the event opened, with muddy displays from China’s 150-foot-long YY-20 jet fighter and its Red Falcon team, which flies the Hongdu JL-8 fighter.

In contrast, practice photos show that the skies were mostly clear in the days leading up to the air show proper, which runs from November 12 to 17.

Attendees may get another chance to watch an aerobatics show under better conditions, with flying groups scheduled to perform each day of the conference.

The national air show, the only one in the country supported by the central government, is intended to be a major showcase of its latest aircraft, including the J-35A.

The medium-sized aircraft is a land-based version of the J-35, a fifth-generation fighter launched on aircraft carriers, and is seen largely as a rival to Lockheed Martin’s F-35.

In its first official appearance, the J-35A flew briefly at the launch in Zhuhai, soaring through the dark skies.

Commercial boats such as China’s domestically produced COMAC C919 aircraft also appear at the show.

COMAC revealed at the event that it is redesigning its regional aircraft, the ARJ21, as the C909 in a marketing effort to increase name recognition among Western competitors such as the Boeing 737.

The smoky opening comes as China seeks to rid its cities of air pollution. Over the past decade, China has pushed hard to curb the burning of coal in favor of green energy.

Its “war on pollution” has reduced smog levels by 41% from 2013 to 2022, but the country still has a long way to go, University of Chicago researchers said in a report published in August.

“Despite great progress over the past few years, 99.9% of China’s 1.4 billion people continue to live in areas where the annual average of particulate matter pollution exceeds WHO guidelines,” the report said.

Researchers at the University of Chicago estimate that in Guangdong, where the air show is being held, residents could gain 1.4 years of life if pollution levels there were in line with WHO standards.

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