China’s domestic flight network is one of the quiet wonders of traveling here: city pairs thousands of kilometers apart run multiple times a day, tickets often cost less than the high-speed train equivalent once time is counted, and the whole process, from booking to baggage claim, is designed around a phone and one identity document. For a foreigner that identity document is your passport. Everything else in this guide is detail: where to book, what security will and will not let through, the power-bank rule that catches travelers at the checkpoint, and the Chinese words printed on every screen you will face.
Booking: where, and the real-name rule
Two routes work well for foreigners. The English-language OTAs, Trip.com above all, list every major Chinese airline, accept foreign cards, and issue e-tickets with English interfaces. The airlines’ own apps and mini-programs (Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan) are usually cheaper after member discounts and make changes and refunds simpler, but their interfaces lean heavily Chinese. A common split is to search on an OTA, then compare on the airline app before paying.
One rule overrides everything else: Chinese domestic aviation is fully real-name. The name on the booking must match your passport exactly, letter for letter, and the same passport is what you present at check-in, security, and the gate. The CAAC public security bureau has explicitly confirmed that a passport is a valid boarding document for domestic flights, covering ticket purchase, check-in, and security inspection. The only mistake people make is mixing documents, such as booking on a passport number and then presenting a different ID at the airport. Keep the passport you booked with in your pocket, not the checked bag.
Timing: check-in windows and when the counter closes
Online check-in opens well before the flight and shuts while there is still time to spare. Air China opens domestic online check-in from 8 p.m. two days before departure until one hour before; China Eastern opens 48 hours ahead and closes 45 minutes before on many routes. These windows vary by airline and airport, so treat the numbers as examples and confirm on your ticket. If you have a bag to check, the app does not save you the counter visit anyway.
At the airport, check-in counters for domestic flights generally close roughly 30 to 45 minutes before departure, with the exact cutoff set per airport and airline; China Eastern, for instance, publishes a different closing time for every airport it flies from. The boarding gate closes earlier than the scheduled departure too, and your boarding pass prints the actual gate-closing time, which is the number to believe. A two-hour airport arrival is a calm default for domestic travel, and it is worth padding at giant multi-terminal hubs where a wrong terminal can cost 20 minutes by shuttle.
Security: the four rules people get wrong
Chinese domestic security is strict, fast, and almost entirely rule-based. Know these four before you pack.
Power banks (充电宝, chōngdiànbǎo). This is the rule that most often ends with a traveler dumping hardware at the checkpoint. Since June 28, 2025, a CAAC emergency notice has banned power banks without a clear CCC (3C) certification mark, with an unclear mark, or belonging to a recalled model or batch, from domestic flights. The rule applies to domestic flights only and sits alongside the older capacity tiers, which still stand: rated energy up to 100Wh needs no approval; 100Wh to 160Wh needs airline approval and is capped at two per passenger; above 160Wh is banned outright. Two more conditions never change: power banks travel in the cabin only, never in checked baggage, and most Chinese airlines also bar using or charging them during the flight. If your power bank is older, unbranded, or has a worn label, assume it will fail and leave it at home.
Liquids. On domestic flights, liquids are generally not allowed in carry-on baggage, with a narrow exception for personal cosmetics and toiletries: one item per product type, each in a container of no more than 100mL, presented for open-bottle inspection. Toothpaste and shaving cream follow the same 100g or 100mL limit, one of each. Baby formula and medically necessary liquids are allowed after inspection. Anything larger goes in the checked bag. Alcohol can never be carried on board; in checked baggage, drinks of 24 percent ABV or below are unrestricted, between 24 and 70 percent are capped at 5 liters, and above 70 percent is prohibited.
Lighters and matches. Forget the “one lighter in your pocket” habit from other countries. A 2015 CAAC reaffirmation (announcement No. 7) bans lighters and matches in carry-on, in hand baggage, and in checked baggage alike, and enforcement includes fines from public security police. Smokers buy a cheap lighter after landing.
Laptops and cameras. Laptops come out of the bag for scanning, as in most airports; camera batteries and spare lithium cells stay in carry-on with their terminals protected. DJI has confirmed separately that drone batteries are not classed as power banks under the CCC rule, though local airport practice can vary, so call your airline first if you fly with one.
Baggage: full-service versus budget airlines
This is where the two airline families differ most, and where cheap tickets quietly become expensive.
Full-service carriers (Air China, China Eastern, China Southern, Hainan, and similar) typically include around 20kg of free checked baggage in an economy ticket, plus one cabin bag up to roughly 7kg with dimensions near 56 by 36 by 23 centimeters. Exact allowances print on the ticket and vary by fare class, so read the fare rules rather than this paragraph.
Budget carriers play a different game. Spring Airlines (9C), one of China’s largest low-cost carriers, sells its cheapest domestic fares with cabin baggage only: one piece up to 7kg and 20 by 30 by 40 centimeters, with zero free checked allowance. Checked weight must be bought separately, and buying it online in advance is markedly cheaper than paying the penalty rate at the counter or gate; online baggage purchases close one hour before departure. The lesson transfers to every budget fare in China: before you book, open the baggage section, price a 20kg add-on, and compare the total against the full-service ticket sitting one tab over. The “more expensive” flight is often the cheaper one once a suitcase exists.
The airport in eight words
Every sign and announcement in a Chinese airport uses the same small vocabulary. Learn these eight and the building reads itself.
- 护照 (hùzhào, passport) — the document every checkpoint asks for.
- 值机 (zhíjī, check-in) — counters and self-service kiosks; the verb for the whole desk process.
- 托运 (tuōyùn, to check baggage) — what you do with a suitcase at the counter.
- 登机牌 (dēngjīpái, boarding pass) — paper or electronic QR, scanned at security and the gate.
- 安检 (ānjiǎn, security check) — the scanner zone; follow the crowds and the signs.
- 候机 (hòujī, waiting for the flight) — the departure hall after security, where gates live.
- 登机口 (dēngjīkǒu, boarding gate) plus 登机 (dēngjī, boarding) — watch the screens, because gates sometimes switch.
- 取行李 (qǔ xíngli, baggage claim) — after landing, follow this sign to the carousels.
Two more you hope not to need: 晚点 (wǎndiǎn, delayed) and 取消 (qǔxiāo, cancelled). If either appears, handle rebooking through the app or OTA you paid with; for the phrases that get a human being to help, our guide to asking for help in Chinese has the sentences.
At the gate, onboard, and after landing
Domestic boarding is orderly and identity-checked again: have the passport and boarding pass ready at the gate, where staff scan both. Announcements run in Chinese and English, seat numbers are printed in Arabic numerals, and cabin crew on major routes usually manage basic English. Window or aisle seat selection is often free during online check-in on full-service airlines and a paid extra on budget ones.
After landing, aircraft-to-hall times are short, but checked bags can take 20 to 40 minutes at busy hubs; the carousel number appears on screens keyed to your flight number. Most major airports connect straight into the metro, which is the cheapest way into the city and a known quantity after our metro guide. For distances under about five hours of rail time, compare the high-speed train before booking, since station-to-station total time often beats flying; our train ticket guide walks through that system.
One last thing: your name, everywhere
Notice how often this guide returns to one detail: the name on the ticket, the passport at every checkpoint, the boarding pass, the refund form. Chinese aviation runs on exact-name matching, and a mismatch, even one letter, means a desk visit and a possible rebooking fee. That same exact-name logic runs through the rest of life in China, from bank forms to rental contracts. If you are settling in rather than just passing through, it is worth settling on one consistent Chinese name early. ChineseToolkit’s personal name checker helps you pick one that reads consistently on tickets, forms, and apps, so the name at the gate is never a problem.
