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Solar plane reaches China final leg Nanjing

Xinhua, April 22, 2015 Adjust font size:

Solar Impulse 2 arrived in eastern Chinese city Nanjing on Tuesday evening, the final leg in China for the solar-powered airplane's round-the-world trip.

The Swiss-made solar-powered plane arrived in Nanjing at around 11:26 p.m. after nearly 17 hours of flight from southwest China municipality Chongqing.

Powered by more than 17,000 solar cells installed on its wings, Solar Impulse 2 is circumnavigating the globe to promote green energy.

The plane landed in Chongqing on March 21, and was only meant to stay there briefly before heading to Nanjing, but the next leg was postponed due to unsuitable weather conditions.

The plane left Chongqing at 6:08 a.m. on Tuesday, with pilot Bertrand Piccard at the controls for the 1,190 kilometer flight to Nanjing.

Co-pilot Andre Borschberg had been scheduled to fly the plane to Nanjing but he had to return to Switzerland because of health problems.

The plane will make 12 stops in the around-the-world adventure. After leaving China, the solar-powered airplane will fly across the United States and stop at Africa before finally reaching Abu Dhabi, where it took off on March 9. Endi