Weining Caohai Airport (under construction)

The airport was never operational; its construction was halted and effectively cancelled. The primary reason was the official rejection of its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection on December 31, 2014. The ministry determined that the airport's proposed location and flight paths were too close to the Caohai National Nature Reserve, a vital wetland and wintering habitat for critically endangered birds, most notably the black-necked crane. The construction and operation of the airport were deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the sensitive ecosystem and its protected wildlife.

The site remains abandoned in a partially constructed state. Satellite imagery of the coordinates shows a clearly defined, graded, but unpaved runway strip. No terminal, control tower, hangars, or other airport infrastructure were ever built. The graded land is slowly being reclaimed by vegetation and appears to be used informally for agriculture or grazing by local residents.

The airport was never active and therefore has no operational history. Its significance is as a case study of a major infrastructure project being halted by environmental regulations in China. Planned as a 4C domestic regional airport under Guizhou Province's 12th Five-Year Plan, it was intended to boost tourism and economic development in the Weining region. Preliminary site work, including extensive earthmoving and grading for a runway, was undertaken between 2013 and 2014. However, the project never progressed beyond this initial stage and never handled any air traffic.

There are no known plans to reopen or restart construction at this specific site. The environmental objections that led to its cancellation remain, making revival of the project at this location highly improbable. However, local and provincial authorities have continued to pursue the goal of an airport for Weining. Recent plans (such as those in the 14th Five-Year Plan) have focused on identifying a new, more environmentally suitable location for a general aviation airport, far from the Caohai Nature Reserve. Therefore, any future airport in Weining would be a new project at a different site, not a reopening of the CN-0381 project.