Today, China is a powerful aviation hub offering comfortable transit and a safe alternative to familiar routes. If you are planning a long journey, we recommend buying tickets from Moscow to Beijing or considering tickets from St. Petersburg to Shanghai – this will be an excellent start to your Asian tour.

Why it's safe and efficient

Chinese airlines are currently among the most reliable and technologically advanced in the world. Transfers at major airports like Daxing (Beijing) or Pudong (Shanghai) are as smooth as possible: there is clear navigation in English everywhere, and staff are always ready to help. Moreover, modern terminals resemble mini-cities with gardens, relaxation areas, and huge food courts, where you can comfortably spend time between flights.

Trial visa-free regime

We remind you that Russians no longer need to apply for a visa to travel to China. From September 15, 2025, only a regular international passport is required for entry. So you can leave the airport in any city, book a hotel, and explore as much as you want, without being limited by a short transit window. The border crossing process now takes minimal time, and you can confidently buy tickets with different airlines to save money.

Top cities for advantageous transfers

If you want to do more than just wait for your flight, but effectively plan your route, take a look at these hubs:

Beijing (Beijing)

Here are two giant airports – Capital (PEK) and Daxing (PKX). Airlines Air China and China Southern provide STPC service (free transit hotel with transfer) for layovers from 6 to 30 hours (for Air China) and up to 48 hours (for China Southern). The service is available with a single booking and should be arranged in advance on the website or upon arrival.

Daxing Airport operates a biometric-based “Smart Path” system. After the initial passport registration in the system, you can pass security control and board through “smart gates” using facial recognition. The minimum connecting time (MCT) here is just 60 minutes.

Shanghai (Shanghai)

The base of carrier China Eastern and an ideal transfer point for travel to Japan (Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth), and Indonesia (Denpasar on Bali island, Jakarta).

The free hotel or lounge voucher service from China Eastern is available to all international flight passengers (except for the lowest promo fares like “Z” class), if the layover lasts more than 12 hours and is the closest available in the schedule. You can choose either a hotel outside the airport or a voucher for a business lounge or hourly hotel inside Pudong terminal if you do not wish to go into the city.

Harbin (Harbin)

For residents of Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, Yakutsk, and Blagoveshchensk, this is the most logical and fastest way to start a journey. The flight to Harbin takes from 1.5 to 3 hours. In 2026, through baggage check-in to the final destination (via Harbin to a third country) may be possible if both segments are operated by the same airline or alliance partners (for example, Aeroflot + China Southern flights).  From Harbin, there are convenient flights to Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), and Nha Trang (Vietnam).

Guangzhou (Guangzhou)

The southern gateway to China and the main hub for China Southern Airlines. The “Transit Accommodation” program guarantees a 4* or 5* hotel (for passengers with a single ticket, depending on ticket class and loyalty program status) for layovers in Guangzhou from 8 to 48 hours. Travel time to Hanoi (Vietnam) is 2 hours, to Bangkok (Thailand) – 3 hours, to Manila (Philippines) – 2.5 hours. Terminal T2 features a Self-Bag Drop system for baggage self-registration, which eliminates queues.

Chengdu (Chengdu)

An important hub thanks to Sichuan Airlines, offering the lowest prices in the region. Tianfu Airport (TFU) has implemented an APM system – driverless underground trains that transport passengers between gates of different terminal wings in 2 minutes. An intelligent RFID baggage tracking system also operates here: through the airline's mobile application (for example, Sichuan Airlines or China Eastern), you can see the status of your suitcase (“scanned”, “loaded on board”) in real-time.

Xi'an (Xi'an)

A convenient point for flights from Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk. A direct flight from Novosibirsk takes about 5 hours. In February 2025, Terminal 5 (T5) opened here – a modern hub with a “one-stop-shop” model for transfers. T5 features special Wi-Fi kiosks that issue login and password upon scanning an international passport. At Information Desks, staff help foreigners set up Alipay or WeChat Pay for convenient payments in the city.

Kunming (Kunming)

The shortest route to Laos and Cambodia from carrier China Eastern. The flight to Vientiane (Laos) or Phnom Penh (Cambodia) will take only 1.5-2 hours. Changshui Airport uses an intelligent A-CDM system, which coordinates the work of all services in real-time, minimizing flight delays even with very dense traffic.

China opens up a wealth of opportunities for those who value time and want to travel without unnecessary paperwork. It's not just a stopover, but a tool for planning the fastest and most advantageous routes.