Linlu Mountain International Gliding Base

Linlu Mountain International Gliding Base

The Linlu Mountain International Gliding Base is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction.

The Linlu Mountain International Gliding Base is located atop Linlu Mountain, which stands more than 1,600 meters above sea level. The mountain road winds upward to the summit, offering an unobstructed panoramic view of the entire Taihang Mountain Grand Canyon and the Linzhou Basin. It truly embodies the poetic feeling of “reaching the summit and overlooking all the lesser mountains.”

Linlu Mountain has now become an international gliding base that is “first in Asia and among the best in the world.” “Using sports as a platform and tourism as the show,” the annual Linzhou International Gliding Tourism Festival has become another new project launched by Henan Province to promote opening-up and develop tourism.

Overview of the Linlu Mountain International Gliding Base

In 1987, Zhang Jie, the then president of Anyang Aviation School, and his friend Li Kaihe conducted a survey at Linlu Mountain and concluded that it was an ideal location for gliding. In 1989, Lin County invited Wu Yingcheng, then president of the National Paragliding Association, to further assess the site, which led to additional confirmation. That November, José Hale, Secretary-General of the International Aeronautical Federation, who was invited to conduct on-site testing and test flights, praised the site as the “best in Asia and first-class in the world.” Subsequently, athletes from Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Poland, Switzerland, Belgium, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Lithuania, Iceland, the United States, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Taiwan (China), the northeast region of China, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Shandong, Sichuan, and other places conducted multiple gliding flights here. They unanimously agreed that the Linlu Mountain Gliding Base possesses numerous advantages, including favorable geographic conditions, excellent landing sites, beautiful scenic spots, and good transportation and communication infrastructure, backed by the national sports commission’s Anyang Aviation School, making it one of the most ideal and finest gliding locations in Asia and the world.

The Linzhou City Linlu Mountain International Gliding Base is situated on the eastern side of Linlu Mountain, where the mountain elevation ranges from 1,000 to 1,700 meters and the basin elevation is 280 meters. The flying area spans 50 kilometers from east to west and 150 kilometers from north to south. Among them, Takeoff Site No. 1 (Nanjiaochang, Shibanyan Township) sits at an elevation of 1,210 meters and is suitable for east and north winds; Takeoff Site No. 2 (Jiaoding Mountain, Chengjiao Township) is at 1,100 meters and is suitable for east, south, and north winds; Takeoff Site No. 3 (Tiantai Mountain, Heshun Town) is at 710 meters and is suitable for west winds; Takeoff Site No. 4 is located within Wulong Town. Takeoff Sites No. 1, 2, and 3 can be accessed directly by vehicle to the mountaintop. The mountaintop features a large parking lot, flat terrain, and favorable natural conditions.

Except for February to March, which is the windy season, the base is suitable for gliding flights throughout the year. From April to October, there are favorable thermal updrafts and dynamic updrafts, with an average updraft speed of 2–4 meters per second, reaching 5–8 meters per second between May and July. The base has a continental climate, with updrafts extending up to 2,000–3,000 meters, and over 4,000 meters in March and April, mostly cumulus updrafts that are easy to locate, with moderate cloud cover and numerous small cumulus clouds.

The base has clear landmarks for easy navigation. The landing areas are open and flat, connected by roads, facilitating retrieval.