Russian aircraft will not perform any stunt of flying through a tourist mid-air mountain hole in Zhangjiajie, central China's Hunan Province.

The information was released at a press conference Friday before the aerobatic show was launched.

The decision is made out of consideration on ecological and environmental protection, since heavy aircraft can cause powerful air current when flying low, that might damage both the aircraft and the cave, according to the Russian stunt team at the conference.

Embedded in a mountain, the Tianmen Hole, or Sky Gate Hole, is about 131.5 meters above the ground, 60 meters in depth and 57 meters in diameter. The narrowest part is about 28 meters in diameter, said Wang Jianjun, an official on media in Zhangjiajie.

It turned famous after an aerobatic competition was held there in 1999 when some pilots flew through the gate-like hole, Wang said.

The three-day aerobatic performance in Zhangjiajie is in celebration of China's Year of Russia, which includes a wide range of cultural and economic exchanges between China and Russia throughout the year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 18, 2006)