In the long history of modern China, a work called "Map of the Current Situation" reveals the grim situation faced by the country in the late Qing Dynasty with its vivid and profound pictures.
However, what is less known is that Xie Jintai, the author of "The Map of the Current Situation", was not only an innovative painter, but also the first airship designer in Chinese history, who expressed his deep love for the motherland with aviation technology.
In 1899, under the background of the times surrounded by foreign powers and national crises, overseas Chinese Xie Jintai was born in Sydney, and with his outstanding talent and patriotic enthusiasm, he designed China's first airship - "China". Undoubtedly, the airship was an important breakthrough in China's aviation history, with a fuselage made of advanced aluminum, electric motor-driven propellers, advanced timing-controlled powerful deck thrusters, and the creative use of self-retracting steel wings to reduce flight drag. What is particularly striking is that the airship is prominently marked with "China", and the tail is hung with the Daqing Yellow Dragon Flag, which symbolizes the dignity of the Qing Empire.
Full of expectations, Xie Zhangtai presented this design plan that embodies wisdom and dreams to Qing **, eager to be able to mass-manufacture and establish China's first air force. Unfortunately, the Qing court did not respond positively to this, resulting in this epoch-making initiative not taking root in China.
In the face of difficulties, Xie Jintai did not give up. He sent design drawings and detailed proposals to the UK for international support and recognition. Finally, at the London Exposition in 1910, the airship made according to Xie Yitai's design plan was unveiled, although its name was no longer "China" at this time, it still carried the Chinese aviation dream.
At the beginning of the same year, after ten years of hard work, Xie Zhangtai successfully built a 4-meter-long, 17 meters wide airship, and for the first time achieved a successful test flight. This feat made China one of the first countries in the world to have its own design airship at that time, showing the tenacity and unyielding spirit of the Chinese nation on the road of scientific and technological progress.
Xie Jintai's story is a historical hymn to the interweaving of scientific and technological innovation and patriotic feelings. He spent ten years practicing a dream of soaring into the sky, sowing the seeds of hope for the development of China's aviation industry. Looking back on this period of history, we should not only feel the arduous exploration of the pioneers, but also draw the strength to forge ahead, inherit and carry forward this unswerving spirit of innovation, and continue to strive for the realization of the "Chinese Dream" in the new era.