ZHENGZHOU, May 25  -- China's air force for the first time test flew warplanes on a highway strip in central China's Henan Province on Sunday.

Flight tests of military aircraft including the third generation of warplanes were held on the Zhengzhou-Minquan highway, according to the military.

The strip is one of the best road runways in China, said Liu Shenyang, deputy chief of the Jinan Military Area Command.

The highway can serve as an alternative airport for civilian airplanes and allows take-offs and landings of cargo planes. It can also be used in exercises and training for military airplanes as well as emergency landings during wartime, he said.

The tests enhanced the air force's capabilities of emergency landing and coordination between military and civilian forces.