Hangzhou Xiaoshan Airport Closure — Chinese Aviation Authority

On the evening of July 7, 2010, air traffic controllers at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport — one of China's busiest airports — detected an unidentified object hovering over the airfield. Incoming commercial aircraft crews confirmed the sighting visually. Airport officials ordered the runway closed and diverted 18 inbound flights to other airports. The Chinese Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) opened an investigation. Chinese military authorities in Zhejiang Province stated they had no knowledge of any training flight, missile test, or military activity that could account for the object. The official Xinhua News Agency reported the incident publicly, an unusually transparent acknowledgment for Chinese aviation authorities. Photographs taken by a passenger on an inbound flight showed a bright elongated or orb-shaped object. CAAC investigators reviewed radar data but did not release specific findings publicly. The airport resumed operations approximately one hour after the incident. Subsequent media coverage in Chinese state-run newspapers included statements from multiple pilots confirming the object was in the controlled airspace. China's National Astronomical Observatory was contacted; no astronomical event was identified as a cause. The incident remains unresolved in CAAC records and is referenced in AARO's historical UAP record databases as a foreign aviation authority documented case.