A Flying Replica of the First Plane to Take Off From Hong Kong Can Still Be Seen at Chek Lap Kok International Airport

Anyone who’s traveled to Hong Kong after 1998 will have noticed that strange-looking airplane from a bygone era, hanging from the ceiling of Terminal 1 of Chek Lap Kok International Airport, above Gate A.

This airplane is a flying replica of the "Spirit of Sha Tin" (originally named "Wanda"), a Farman Mark II biplane designed by French aviation pioneer Henry Farman.

In the late 1910s, Belgian test pilot and instructor Charles Van den Born arrived in Hong Kong by steamer with three Farman Mark IIs. Although wary that a foreign aviator might spy on the non-existent defenses of the colony, the British colonial government eventually granted Van den Born permission to attempt a flight over Hong Kong.

On March 18, 1911, at 5:10 in the afternoon, Van den Born took off from a makeshift airstrip in Sha Tin and became the first man to take off from Hong Kong.

To commemorate the feat that marked the birth of aviation in Hong Kong, Charles Van den Born’s flight was recreated on November 15, 1997, at Chek Lap Kok International Airport, only months prior to the official opening of Hong Kong's new international airport.

Ever since this flight, the replica of Van den Born's airplane has been displayed at Hong Kong International Airport. Look up next time you take off or land at Chek Lap Kok; you can't miss this relic of Hong Kong history.