Lishui Airport building design by MAD Architects, Zhejiang air hub LIJ Chinese architecture images

Lishui Airport building design news

post updated 9 February 2026

Mountain Airport | MAD’s Lishui Airport in Zhejiang Officially Opens

Design: MAD Architects

Location: Lishui, Zhejiang province, People’s Republic of China

photo : CreatAR Images

Lishui Airport Building Design by MAD Architects

The Lishui Airport in Zhejiang Province, designed by MAD, has officially begun operations, marking the region’s first direct connection to China’s national aviation network. Initiated in 2008 and completed after 17 years of planning and construction, the project signals a new chapter for the mountainous of southwestern Zhejiang.

Located about 15 kilometers southwest of Lishui’s center, the airport sits within a low mountain and foothill valley shaped through extensive land reclamation. The construction required significant earthworks with cut-and-fill differences reaching nearly 100 meters in certain areas. As a result, Lishui Airport ranks amongst the most topographically complex airport projects in East China.

photo : CreatAR Images

The airport site spans 2,267 hectares. The terminal building measures approximately 12,000 square meters and includes eight aircraft parking bays. In its initial phase, the airport is designed to handle up to one million passengers annually, alongside a cargo throughput capacity of 4,000 tons.

Traditionally conceived as purely functional infrastructure, airports are often detached from daily urban life. With Lishui Airport, MAD proposes an alternative model: a transportation hub that also operates as a civic space, an ecological landmark, and a place of psychological transition, offering travelers a moment of calm within the movement of travel.

photo : Arch Exist

The architectural concept draws directly from the surrounding landscape. The terminal follows the natural contours of the site, its gently sloping from integrating into the terrain. Soft, continuous volumes and fluid geometries give the building the appearance of a white bird resting quietly among the mountains and forests.

The terminal’s double-layered roof is clad in silver-white aluminum panels, creating a compact yet expressive silhouette that responds to changing light and weather. The roofline evokes the imagery of mist-covered hills and birds in flight, allowing the architecture to register as part of the broader landscape rather than an isolated object.

photo : CreatAR Images

Ma Yansong explains: “We used materials with warm tones and natural textures to create a bright and airy interior. By adopting a one and a half story layout, the airport remains compact, while supporting daily comfort and engaging in a dialogue with nature.”

Fourteen umbrella-shaped structural columns support the lightweight roof, while wood-toned interior grilles introduce warmth and visual rhythm. At the roof’s apex, a spindle-shaped skylight brings daylight deep into the terminal, animating the interior with changing natural light.

photo courtesy MAD Architects

Transparent curtain walls dissolve the boundary between inside and outside, framing views of the surrounding mountains. The first-floor lobby varies in height, ranging from approximately 4.5 meters to 13 meters, creating a carefully calibrated spatial experience that avoids the excess scale typical of large transport halls while reducing energy consumption. Narrow acoustic slots integrated between interior panels help absorb noise, contributing to a quieter and more comfortable waiting environment.

photo : Ding Junhao

The terminal is organized around a one-and-a-half-story sectional strategy, anchored by a double height entrance hall that links the ground floor arrival spaces with the upper-level departure lounge. This compact vertical organization streamlines passenger circulation while maintaining visual continuity across levels.

photo courtesy MAD Architects

Below the terminal, a sunken parking structure follows the natural terrain. A landscaped central promenade runs beneath the building, guiding passengers intuitively towards the departure hall and resolving the challenges posed by the mountainous site through architectural continuity rather than separation.

photo : CreatAR Images

The design also anticipates future growth. Under the long-term master plan, passenger capacity is projected to reach 1.8 million by 2030 and 5 million by 2050, with provisions for the addition of an international terminal.

By the end of 2025, Lishui Airport will operate multiple domestic destinations, establishing connections to major economic centers and key tourist regions, while positioning the airport as both an infrastructure gateway and a civic threshold to the city.

photograph courtesy MAD Architects

Lishui Airport, China – Building Information

Lishui, China
2018 – 2025

Site Area: 2,267 hectares
Building Area: 12,100 sqm
Building Height: 23.95 m

picture courtesy MAD Architects

Principal Partners in Charge: Ma Yansong, Dang Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners in Charge: Liu Huiying, Kin Li
Design Team: Sun Shouquan, Zhang Xiaomei, Peng Kaiyu, Lei Lei, Yang Xuebing, Sun Mingze, Luo Yiyun, Yin Jianfeng, Punnin Sukkasem, Zhu Yuhao, Yao Ran

Client: Lishui Airport Construction Headquarters
Architectural Design: MAD
Executive Architects: CAAC NEW ERA AIRPORT DESIGN INSTITUTE COMPANY LIMITED
Interior Design: MAD, Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute CO., Ltd
Façade Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Landscape Consultant: Z’ scape Landscape Planning and Design, Huadong Engineering Corporation Limited
Architecture and Landscape Lighting Consultant: Ning field lighting design Corp., Ltd.
Interior Lighting Consultant: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute CO., Ltd
Construction: Beijing Construction Engineering Group

Photography: Ding Junhao, CreatAR Images, blackstation, Arch Exist
Video: blackstation

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Previously on e-architect:

22 November 2024

Design: MAD Architects

Location: Lishui, southwest of Zhejiang province, People’s Republic of China

Ma Yansong/MAD Architects Lishui Airport is Near Completion

photo : MAD Architects

MAD Architects is pleased to share the latest construction progress of Lishui (LIJ) Airport, is nearing completion and is set to open by the end of 2024.

Lishui Airport building construction near completion:

photo : Yongwei Liu

Lishui Airport building by MAD Architects

Located in the foothill valleys of Lishui, China, the airport’s design reflects the city’s identity as a “forest city,” integrating architecture with the surrounding natural landscape.

Lishui Airport building near completion:

photo : Hello Lishui

The project spans 2,267 hectares, with a terminal covering 12,000 square meters. To adapt to the area’s steep terrain, the airport required leveling nearly 100 meters of elevation, creating a terraced layout that integrates the terminal, parking, and office areas into descending platforms. This approach respects the land’s contours while ensuring a functional and efficient design.

building photograph : MAD Architects

The terminal’s design conveys harmony with its environment. Ma Yansong explains, “Lishui is a garden city, and her airport should also be in a garden. As a feeder airport, Lishui Airport shows another attitude as a public transportation facility in the city: not greedy for big, but pursuing convenience and humanity, and pursuing a dialogue with the natural environment.”

building photograph : MAD Architects

The terminal’s silver-white roof, made of aluminum panels, reflects lightness like feathers and is supported by 14 umbrella-shaped columns. Its flowing form anchors the building while maintaining openness. The roof’s 30-meter cantilever creates a welcoming concourse filled with natural light from a central skylight.

building photo : MAD Architects

Inside, passengers are greeted by wood-toned finishes and a human-scaled interior. The concourse height transitions from 4.5 meters at its lowest point to 13 meters at its highest, balancing intimacy and openness. The “one-and-a-half-story” layout combines arrival and departure areas into a compact, efficient space, with a double-height lobby ensuring smooth passenger flow.

picture : JK Wang

A landscaped walkway extends from the parking area into the terminal, enhancing accessibility and connecting travelers to their surroundings.

building photo : MAD Architects

Designed as a domestic regional airport, Lishui features three boarding bridges and five remote stands, with an initial capacity for one million passengers annually.

building photograph : MAD Architects

The design anticipates future growth, accommodating 1.8 million passengers by 2030 and up to 5 million by 2050. Provisions have been made for an international terminal, ensuring the airport can grow alongside the region.

photo : JK Wang

Lishui Airport China – Building Information

Lishui Airport
Lishui, China
2018 – 2024

Site Area：2,267 hectares
Building Area：12,100 sqm
Building Height：23.95 m

Principal Partners in Charge: MA Yansong, DANG Qun, Yosuke Hayano
Associate Partners in Charge: LIU Huiying, Kin Li
Design Team: SUN Shouquan, ZHANG Xiaomei, LEI Lei, YANG Xuebin, SUN Mingze, YIN Jianfeng, Punnin Sukkasem, ZHU Yuhao, ZHANG Yaohui, Alan Rodríguez Carrillo, Pittayapa Suriyapee, WANG Xinyi

Client: Lishui Airport Construction Headquarters
Executive Architects: CAAC NEW ERA AIRPORT DESIGN INSTITUTE COMPANY LIMITED
Façade Consultant: RFR Shanghai
Interior Design/Lighting consultant: Shanghai Xian Dai Architectural Decoration & Landscape Design Research Institute CO., Ltd
Landscape Consultant: Z’scape Landscape Planning and Design

Photography: JK Wang, Liu Yongwei, Hello Lishui, MAD Architects

MAD Architects

photograph : MAD Architects