Transport · Airports
China Airport Guide
Reference pages for 22 major airports across mainland China and Hong Kong: terminals, transit visa rules, Priority Pass lounges, food, sleep options, and transfers to the city.
North & East China
Beijing, Shanghai, and the major airports of the northern and eastern provinces: Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Shandong, Liaoning, and Heilongjiang.
Beijing Capital International Airport
Beijing
Beijing's main international gateway with three terminals, an Airport Express train, and 72/144-hour transit visa exemptions.
Beijing Daxing International Airport
Beijing
Zaha Hadid's starfish terminal south of Beijing, hub for China Southern and Eastern, with its own metro express line.
Shanghai Pudong International Airport
Shanghai
Shanghai's main international hub, served by the world's only commercial Maglev line and a 144-hour multi-province transit visa exemption.
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
Shanghai
Shanghai's domestic-focused western airport, integrated with the Hongqiao high-speed rail hub, and closer to the city centre than Pudong.
Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport
Hangzhou
Hangzhou's growing gateway, now served by a metro link built for the 2022 Asian Games and included in the 144-hour Yangtze Delta TWOV zone.
Nanjing Lukou International Airport
Nanjing
Nanjing's international airport with metro access and inclusion in the 144-hour Yangtze Delta transit zone, serving Jiangsu's historic capital.
Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport
Qingdao
Qingdao's new Jiaodong airport replaced Liuting in 2021, with metro access and 72-hour transit visa exemption for qualifying routes.
Shenyang Taoxian International Airport
Shenyang
Shenyang's main airport, gateway to Liaoning province and the industrial northeast, with metro access and 72-hour transit exemption.
Harbin Taiping International Airport
Harbin
Gateway to China's far northeast, Harbin's airport is the entry point for the Ice and Snow Festival and shows the city's distinctive Russian-influenced heritage.
Tianjin Binhai International Airport
Tianjin
Tianjin's international airport, close to Beijing and served by metro, with a 144-hour transit visa exemption and direct access to one of China's oldest port cities.
Dalian Zhoushuizi International Airport
Dalian
Dalian's compact airport at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula, known for seafood, a Russian–Japanese colonial legacy, and easy metro access to the city.
Wuhan Tianhe International Airport
Wuhan
Central China's main hub airport, serving a city of 14 million with metro access and 144-hour Hubei province transit exemption.
Changchun Longjia International Airport
Changchun
The gateway to Jilin province's capital and the Changbaishan volcanic region, serving northeast China with direct connections to major cities.
Jilin Ertaizi Airport
Jilin
A small regional airport serving Jilin city and providing access to the Beidahu ski resort in winter.
Changbaishan Airport
Changbaishan
A purpose-built gateway airport giving direct access to Changbaishan volcanic reserve and its caldera lake, on the North Korean border.
Mohe Gulian Airport
Mohe
The northernmost airport in China, gateway to Mohe — the country's coldest and most northerly inhabited settlement on the Russian border.
Yanji Chaoyangchuan International Airport
Yanji
Gateway airport for the Korean Autonomous Prefecture of Jilin, with routes to South Korea and connections to Changbaishan.
Chengde Puning Airport
Chengde
A small airport serving the imperial summer resort city of Chengde in Hebei, with limited routes primarily to southern Chinese destinations.
Shijiazhuang Zhengding International Airport
Shijiazhuang
The gateway airport to Hebei province's capital, offering an alternative to Beijing for accessing the Great Wall, Chengde, Baoding and other northern Hebei destinations.
Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport
Jinan
The gateway to Shandong province's capital and a convenient hub for visiting the Confucian sites of Qufu and Zoucheng, Mount Tai and the Shandong coast.
Taiyuan Wusu International Airport
Taiyuan
The gateway to Shanxi province's capital and a hub for visiting Pingyao ancient city, Yungang Grottoes, Wutai Mountain, and other remarkable Shanxi heritage sites.
Datong Yungang Airport
Datong
The gateway to Datong's remarkable Buddhist heritage including the UNESCO Yungang Grottoes, the ancient city walls, and the Hanging Temple in the Heng Mountain gorge.
Weifang Nanyuan Airport
Weifang
A small regional airport serving Weifang, the Kite Capital of the World, in Shandong.
Weihai Dashuibo Airport
Weihai
The gateway to Weihai, a clean and relatively quiet Shandong coastal city at the tip of the Shandong Peninsula, with access to Liugong Island and routes to South Korea.
Yantai Penglai International Airport
Yantai
The gateway to Yantai, a Shandong wine-country city on the Bohai coast, and to the Penglai Pavilion — China's legendary isle of immortals.
Yancheng Nanyang Airport
Yancheng
A regional Jiangsu airport serving the Yellow Sea coastal city of Yancheng, gateway to the Yancheng National Nature Reserve and the UNESCO Yellow Sea coastal wetlands.
South, Southwest & Northwest
Guangdong, Fujian, Sichuan, Chongqing, Yunnan, Shaanxi, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong SAR.
Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport
Guangzhou
China Southern's home hub and one of Asia's busiest airports, with outstanding Cantonese food, luxury airside hotels, and 144-hour transit exemption.
Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport
Shenzhen
Shenzhen's sleek Fuksas-designed terminal, connected by metro and ferry to Hong Kong, with a 144-hour transit exemption for the Pearl River Delta.
Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport
Chengdu
Chengdu's older airport closer to the city centre, now sharing traffic with Tianfu (TFU), with metro access and 144-hour Sichuan province transit exemption.
Chengdu Tianfu International Airport
Chengdu
Chengdu's new flagship airport 50 km south of the city, designed as the future primary hub for western China's busiest aviation market.
Xi'an Xianyang International Airport
Xi'an
Gateway to the Terracotta Army and the Silk Road, Xi'an's airport has metro access and authentic Shaanxi Muslim food stalls in the terminal.
Kunming Changshui International Airport
Kunming
China's gateway to Southeast Asia, Kunming's high-altitude airport serves Yunnan's diverse cultures and is a hub for cross-border routes to neighbouring countries.
Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport
Chongqing
Gateway to the Yangtze gorges and China's inland megacity, Chongqing's airport has direct metro access and Sichuan hot pot available airside.
Fuzhou Changle International Airport
Fuzhou
Fujian's provincial capital airport, serving a coastal city with strong overseas Chinese links to Southeast Asia and a distinctive local seafood cuisine.
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport
Xiamen
Xiamen's airport, home of Xiamen Airlines, serves a compact island city known for its colonial architecture on Gulangyu and the closest mainland Chinese airport to Taiwan.
Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport
Ürümqi
Gateway to China's vast northwest, Ürümqi's airport connects Central Asia routes and serves as the hub for Xinjiang Air's Silk Road network.
Hong Kong International Airport
Hong Kong
Asia's premier hub airport on its own artificial island, with Cathay Pacific's flagship lounges, in-town check-in, and Norman Foster's landmark terminal.
Macau International Airport
Macau
Macau's compact Taipa island airport, gateway to the casino resort strip, with free casino shuttles, ferry connections to Hong Kong, and separate visa-free entry from mainland China.
Sanya Phoenix International Airport
Sanya
Gateway to China's tropical resort island, Sanya's airport serves Hainan's beach and golf tourism with a 30-day island-wide visa-free scheme for many nationalities.
Quanzhou Jinjiang International Airport
Quanzhou
Fujian's third airport, serving historic Quanzhou — UNESCO-listed medieval trading port — with a compact terminal and strong connections to Taiwan and Southeast Asian Fujian diaspora communities.
Kashgar Airport
Kashgar
Gateway to the Silk Road's farthest Chinese oasis, Kashgar airport is the entry point for Central Asian bazaar culture and the western terminus of the Taklamakan highway routes.
Lhasa Gonggar International Airport
Lhasa
One of the world's highest commercial airports at 3,570m, gateway to the Tibetan Plateau and Lhasa, with mandatory permit requirements for most foreign nationals beyond the standard Chinese visa.
Altay Airport
Altay
The gateway airport to the Altay region of northern Xinjiang, serving as the primary access point for Kanas Lake and the Tuvan village areas.
Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport
Zhengzhou
The hub airport of Henan province's capital, a rapidly growing aerospace hub serving the historical heartland of Chinese civilisation — Shaolin, Luoyang, Dengfeng and the Yellow River.
Changsha Huanghua International Airport
Changsha
Hunan's capital airport with the world's first commercial maglev train to the city, serving as hub for the Zhangjiajie mountains, Fenghuang ancient town, and Hunan cuisine culture.
Diqing Shangri-La Airport
Shangri-La
A high-altitude airport in the Tibetan-Yunnan borderland serving Shangri-La and providing the main air access to the Three Parallel Rivers region.
Dali Yunnan Airport
Dali
A small airport serving the lakeside Bai minority city of Dali, a long-established backpacker hub and gateway to the Yunnan highlands.
Zhangjiajie Hehua International Airport
Zhangjiajie
The gateway airport to Zhangjiajie National Forest Park — the quartzite sandstone pillar landscape that inspired the floating Hallelujah Mountains in Avatar.
Haikou Meilan International Airport
Haikou
The northern gateway to Hainan Island and capital of China's tropical free-trade island province, with a 30-day visa-free programme for many nationalities.
Hohhot Baita International Airport
Hohhot
The gateway to Inner Mongolia's capital, with access to the Mongolian grasslands, Genghis Khan Mausoleum, and the desert dunes of Kubuqi.
Hefei Xinqiao International Airport
Hefei
The gateway to Anhui province's rapidly growing capital, a hub for visiting Huangshan, Jiuhua Mountain, the Hongcun UNESCO villages, and the Six Dynasties cultural heritage.
Hulunbuir Hailar Airport
Hulunbuir
The gateway to Hulunbuir — China's finest remaining Mongolian grassland — and the Russian and Mongolian border region of northeastern Inner Mongolia.
Hotan Airport
Hotan
The gateway to Hotan, the silk and jade oasis city on the southern Silk Road in Xinjiang, at the edge of the Taklamakan Desert.
Yinchuan Hedong International Airport
Yinchuan
The gateway to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region's capital, with access to the Western Xia imperial tombs, the Yellow River at Shapotou, and China's emerging wine region.
Jingdezhen Luojia Airport
Jingdezhen
The airport for Jingdezhen — the Porcelain Capital of the World — in Jiangxi, giving direct access to a city whose entire culture is shaped by 1,000 years of ceramic production.
Jiujiang Lushan Airport
Jiujiang
A small Jiangxi airport at the foot of Lushan, giving access to the historic summer resort mountain, the Yangtze river city, and Jingdezhen porcelain.
Nanchang Changbei International Airport
Nanchang
The capital of Jiangxi province, historically significant as the site of the 1927 Nanchang Uprising and as gateway to Lushan, Jingdezhen and the Poyang Lake wetlands.
Daocheng Yading Airport
Daocheng
One of the world's highest commercial airports at 4,411 m, providing the primary air access to the Yading alpine reserve and its three sacred Tibetan peaks.
Dunhuang Airport
Dunhuang
The desert gateway airport for Dunhuang — the Silk Road oasis city holding the Mogao Buddhist cave complex (UNESCO) and the Crescent Moon Lake sand dunes.
Yan'an Nanniwan Airport
Yan'an
The airport for Yan'an — the revolutionary capital of the Chinese Communist Party during the Yan'an Period (1935–1947) — a pilgrimage site for Chinese patriotic education tours.
Shennongjia Airport
Shennongjia
A small mountain airport giving direct access to the UNESCO-listed Shennongjia forestry district in western Hubei, home to golden snub-nosed monkeys and a remarkable primeval forest ecosystem.
Jiayuguan Airport
Jiayuguan
The desert gateway airport for the western terminus of the Ming Great Wall at Jiayuguan Fort — the First and Greatest Pass Under Heaven on the ancient Silk Road.
Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport
Xishuangbanna
The tropical gateway to Xishuangbanna's Dai minority culture, ancient tea forests, and rainforest wildlife, with the Mekong River and the borders of Myanmar and Laos nearby.
Jiuzhaigou Jiuhuang Airport
Jiuzhaigou
The high-altitude gateway airport for Jiuzhaigou UNESCO valley and Huanglong UNESCO site in northern Sichuan.
Kuqa Quici Airport
Kuqa
A small Xinjiang airport serving Kuqa — the ancient Kucha Silk Road oasis kingdom, gateway to the Kizilgaha Beacon Tower, Kizil Caves, and the Tianshan Mysterious Grand Canyon.
Kangding Airport
Kangding
One of the world's highest airports at 4,278 m, serving Kangding — the gateway town on the Sichuan-Tibet Highway and a centre of Khampa Tibetan culture.
Guiyang Longdongbao International Airport
Guiyang
The gateway to Guizhou province's capital and hub for the entire Guizhou tourist circuit — Zhangjiajie gorges, Miao minority villages, Kaili, Anshun's Huangguoshu Falls, and Fanjingshan.
Guilin Liangjiang International Airport
Guilin
The main gateway to Guilin and the Li River karst landscape — one of China's most internationally recognised sceneries, widely depicted on the 20 RMB banknote.
Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
Lanzhou
The hub airport for Gansu province's capital — the centre of the Silk Road corridor, gateway to Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, the Tibetan Plateau and the Yellow River.
Lijiang Sanyi International Airport
Lijiang
The gateway airport for Lijiang — the UNESCO Naxi old town, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, and the southern gateway to Tiger Leaping Gorge and Shangri-La.
Luoyang Beijiao Airport
Luoyang
The gateway airport for Luoyang — one of China's Four Ancient Capitals, home to the Longmen Grottoes (UNESCO) and the finest peony gardens in China.
Nyingchi Mainling Airport
Nyingchi
The lower-altitude gateway to Tibet's Nyingchi Prefecture — the 'Switzerland of Tibet' — with peach blossom valleys, the Yarlung Tsangpo gorge, and Namcha Barwa peak.
Ningbo Lishe International Airport
Ningbo
Gateway to Ningbo — one of China's greatest historic ports, the access point for Putuoshan Sacred Island, and a hub of the Zhejiang economic powerhouse.
Nanning Wuxu International Airport
Nanning
The gateway to Guangxi's capital — the Zhuang minority cultural centre, gateway to Guilin, Zuojiang rock art (UNESCO), and the Vietnam border crossing at Friendship Pass.
Panjin Airport
Panjin
A small Liaoning airport serving Panjin, gateway to the Red Beach wetlands — a seasonal Suaeda succulence phenomenon that turns the coastal tidal flats vivid scarlet in autumn.
Shigatse Peace Airport
Shigatse
The high-altitude airport serving Shigatse — Tibet's second city, home to the Tashilhunpo Monastery and base for visits toward Everest Base Camp and the Nepal border.
Simao Pu'er Airport
Pu'er
The gateway airport for Pu'er — the origin city of Pu'er tea, home to the UNESCO-listed Jingmai Ancient Tea Forest and the diverse ethnic cultures of southern Yunnan.
Tengchong Tuofeng Airport
Tengchong
A small Yunnan airport serving Tengchong — an extraordinary geothermal and volcanic landscape near the Myanmar border, with jade markets, World War II cemeteries, and hot spring resorts.
Tongren Fanjingshan Airport
Tongren
The gateway airport for Tongren and Fanjingshan — a UNESCO World Heritage mountain in Guizhou with a remarkable twin-peak rock formation, primeval forest and endemic wildlife.
Tianshui Maijishan Airport
Tianshui
The gateway airport for Tianshui and the Maiji Mountain Buddhist grottoes — a monumental face of cliff-side caves and sculptures in southeastern Gansu.
Turpan Jiaohe Airport
Turpan
The airport for Turpan — the hottest inhabited place in China, below sea level, a desert city of extraordinary ancient ruins and extraordinary grapes.
Huangshan Tunxi International Airport
Huangshan
The gateway airport for Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) — a UNESCO World Heritage site of granite peaks, ancient pine trees and seas of clouds — and the Huizhou villages of southern Anhui.
Wenzhou Longwan International Airport
Wenzhou
The gateway to Wenzhou — one of China's most entrepreneurially dynamic cities, with a large overseas diaspora and coastal access to the Zhejiang island archipelagos.
Wuyishan Airport
Wuyishan
The dedicated gateway airport for Wuyishan — a UNESCO World Heritage mountain in Fujian, the origin of Wulong tea, with bamboo raft river trips and cliff coffin burial sites.
Wuxi Sunan Shuofang International Airport
Wuxi
A secondary Yangtze Delta airport serving both Wuxi and Suzhou — positioned between the two prosperous lake cities and providing an alternative to congested Shanghai Pudong.
Xilinhot Airport
Xilinhot
The gateway airport for Xilinhot — the administrative centre of the Xilingol Grassland, one of China's most intact and representative Mongolian steppe ecosystems.
Yichang Sanxia Airport
Yichang
Gateway to Yichang — the Yangtze River city that is the departure point for Three Gorges cruises and home to the Three Gorges Dam visitor facilities.
Yining Huocheng Airport
Yining
The gateway airport for Yining — the hub city of the Ili Valley in central Xinjiang, with access to the Nalati grasslands, Sayram Lake, and the historic Kazakh cultural landscape.
Yiwu Airport
Yiwu
The airport for Yiwu — the world's largest wholesale small-commodity market, a destination for global traders rather than leisure tourists, with some international routes to trading partner countries.
Yangzhou Taizhou Airport
Yangzhou
A shared airport serving Yangzhou — the classical garden city and home of fried rice and huaiyang cuisine — and Taizhou in Jiangsu.
Zhangye Ganzhou Airport
Zhangye
The airport for Zhangye — the Silk Road oasis city famous for its Rainbow Mountains (Danxia landforms), the Giant Buddha Temple, and its position between Jiayuguan and Dunhuang.
Zhangjiakou Ningyuan Airport
Zhangjiakou
The gateway airport for Zhangjiakou — the 2022 Winter Olympics co-host city with ski resorts at Chongli, significant Great Wall sections, and Bashang grassland scenery.
Zhuhai Jinwan Airport
Zhuhai
The airport for Zhuhai — Guangdong's resort city adjacent to Macau, linked to Hong Kong by the world's longest sea bridge, with access to the Pearl River Delta attractions.