The second China Airport Development Conference and Exhibition will be held from Sept 12 to 13 in Changsha, Hunan province, and this year's exhibition will showcase the achievements of China's aviation industry over the past 40 years, according to its organizer China Civil Airports Association.

By June, there were 232 transport airports and 168 certified general airports nationwide. In 1978, there were only 78 airports. During the 40-year period since China's reform and opening-up, passenger throughput has surged 499 times over, and freight throughput has increased 257 times, according to a statement released by the association on Monday.

In the past 40 years, the number of flight take-offs and landings has increased 299 times, and the number of regular flight routes has gone up 27.3 times over.

"The development of airports will help drive local economic growth, and fuel more opportunities in the manufacturing and service sectors. Airports also serve as the windows and namecards of cities and their urban civilization construction," said Sun Defu, deputy secretary-general of China Civil Airports Association.

For the past 13 consecutive years, total turnover volumes of China's air transportation have stood as second-largest in the world, following the United States. Air transportation accounts for 31 percent of volume in the comprehensive transportation system in the country, the statement said.

The exhibition, which is held every two years in Changsha, is the largest of its kind in the airport sector in China. This year, 21 domestic and overseas exhibitors will join the event.

The exhibition will showcase the latest technologies and equipment of airport safety management and security, operational control and information intelligence, the statement said.