Intro & Guide: Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX)

The new Beijing Daxing International Airport (IATA:PKX,ICAO:ZBAD) (CN: 北京大兴国际机场) is located approx 45km south of the city center in Daxing District of Beijing. It is the city’s second international airport alongside Beijing Capital International Airport.

It is expected to become the world’s busiest airport featuring 4 runways a gargantuan 700,000 square meter terminal area. Expectations are that the airport will handle 100 million passengers each year by 2040.

Beijing Daxing International Airport facts

  • Address: Lixian Town, Yu Town, and Langfang Town of Daxing District, Beijing
  • Chinese Name: 北京大兴国际机场 Běijīng dàxīng guójì jīchǎng
  • Nickname: Starfish
  • Project cost: 120 billion RMB ($17.5 billion USD), or 400 billion ($55.6 billion USD) including rail and road links
  • Terminal Designer: the late Zaha Hadid and her British firm along with the French ADPI
  • Master Plan: Netherlands Airport Consultants (NACO)
  • Capacity: 45 million passengers by 2021, 72 million by 2025 and 100 million by 2040
  • Airport ground size: 47 square km (18 square miles)
  • Airport terminal size: 695,000 square meters (7.5 million square feet)
  • Single terminal design
  • 46 km from Beijing central eg. Tiananmen Square
  • 67 km from Beijing Capital Airport
  • 85 km from Tianjin Binhai Airport

About Beijing Daxing International Airport

Beijing Daxing International Airport has a total investment of about 80 billion yuan. It will feature 4 runways and 700,000 square meters of terminals. The main building and the gallery are meeting the needs of 72 million and 45 million people respectively.

Beijing Daxing International Airport was opened by President Xi Jingping on the 25th September 2019 and saw its first commercial flight on the 26th September 2019. It is understood that China Eastern Airlines will invest 150 to 200 large-scale wide-body and narrow-body aircraft to operate here, opening links to the Americas, Europe, Australia, Japan, and South Korea, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan too and from Daxing International.

The new airport terminal parking building project is also China’s first energy-efficient building 3A project.

Floor Guide

  • International Departure: 4F
  • Domestic Departure: 3F
  • Domestic Arrival: 2F
  • International Arrival: 1F
  • Transportation Center: B1 & B2

Facilities at Beijing Daxing Airport

WiFi: The airport will feature free WiFi coverage throughout, you can easily log in using your Chinese mobile number or show your passport at a service desk to receive login details.

Mobile Coverage: All major mainland mobile carriers will be supported at the airport and it will also be a key area for new 5G coverage. Sim cards will be available for sale onsite.

Chinese Garden: covers an area of ​​about 2,000 square meters and is located at the end of the international passenger arrival at the south-central corridor. The park has pavilions and pavilions, which showcase the characteristics of traditional Chinese architecture and aim to show the world the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

Landside features: featuring childcare and nursery, planned interactive pet hotels, hybrid online retail, dining places, gym, spa, swimming pool, cinemas, and showrooms. Artworks and digital artworks feature prominently.

Left luggage: There will be several left luggage and baggage storage services.

Showers and change rooms: The public access toilet and bathroom facilities are comprehensive, and you cal also utilize the pay by the hour Aerotel hotel, and various lounges.

Comprehensive Service Building: This building will be divided into two parts. The northern part will be for hotels while the southern one which will be close to the terminal is for business and office.

Food and Beverage: there will be a large range of restaurants and options. Starbucks is expected to open 10 stores in the airport along with the usual fast food options inc. McDonald’s, KFC, Kungfu, Costa Coffee, Pizza Hut, Ajisen Ramen, and numerous local brands. Other cafes and restaurants include Blue Frog Bar & Grill (North American), Vege Tiger (vegetarian), Chee Kei (Asian noodle), Taoyuan Village (Chinese), Element Fresh (local brand), Hungry Korean (Korean), Laoshe Teahouse (Chinese), Hey Tea,  and Saboten (Japanese). There is a food policy at the airport of “same price and same quality as the city” which if effective would be a welcome change.

Retail: There is a host of luxury brands names at the airport including a large Louis Vuitton store in the domestic terminal.

Duty Free: in the International terminal you’ll find China Duty Free Group and Lagardère Travel Retail.

Currency Exchange: There are full-service banks in the airport and currency exchange services from leading international brands. There are also ATM’s that can offer multiple currencies.

Signage: All signage in the airport is at minimum dual language Chinese/English with all customer service staff having English skills.

Hi-tech features of BJ-Daxing Airport

  • It is a 3A energy-efficient building featuring a solar farm, geothermal power station, hi-tech glazing that reduces energy needs for lighting and cooling, advanced controllable LED lighting
  • Baggage can be tracked by a mobile app throughout the airport (available with certain airlines)
  • Facial recognition systems used throughout the airport
  • Robot assistants are used by some airlines to help with check-in
  • Paperless customs – no need for boarding passes
  • VIP customer assistants with augmented reality glasses to identify VIP and more efficiently cater to their needs

Beijing Daxing International Airport Gallery

From construction to completion

Interesting Facts and Features

  • Featuring a central transport hub including high-speed rail, intercity trains, and subway.
  • Minimal walking distances – The distance between the transport hub and airport terminal center is less than 600m or 8 mins walk thanks to the starfish design
  • Speed of baggage delivery – the aim is for the first luggage item to appear on the carousel within 13 minutes of landing
  • Superfast transfer times between arrival to boarding/departure

Beijing Daxing Airport Map

Getting to/from the airport

The airport is connected via a new subway line to the central area of Beijing at Cao Qing Station where you can connect to other subway lines, more here. It will be the fastest subway/metro line in China allowing passengers to transfer easily and reach the airport in under 20 minutes.

Other transfer options include six city bus routes, intercity bus lines, taxis, the High Speed Rail Station at the airport connecting you to other cities. More detail on all transport options here.

In the near future, there will also be an interconnecting rail line between Beijing Capital Airport and Daxing Airport. Plus a High Speed Rail line between Beijing West Railway Station and the airport, and from the airport to Xiong’an.

See more about transport services at Beijing Daxing Airport

Hotels at Daxing Airport

The airport will feature over 800 rooms at its onsite hotels. The first hotel to open inside the airport is Aerotel Beijing which is a pay by the hour. There are also nearby offsite hotels in Daxing (15 mins by taxi) such as JI Hotel Beijing Daxing Airport or in nearby Langfun (25 mins by taxi) with the pick being the Four Points by Sheraton. See more about hotels at Daxin Airport.

Airport Lounges

The airport will be a hub for SkyTeam alliance airlines and some Oneworld member airlines who will offer lounges for its business and first-class passengers. Travelers can also use the pay by the hour Aerotel hotel located inside the airport.

Visa on Arrival and TWOV at Daxing Airport

Foreigners from select countries can get TWOV (Transit Without Visa) at the airport on arrival. This offers 144hrs free travel in Beijing, Hebei, and Tianjin.

Arrival Times for Departing Flights

  • You should arrive at the airport around 2-3.5 hours before flight time
  • Check-in closes (before take-off): Domestic Flight – 45 mins. International – 75 minutes
  • Close Time for Boarding: 20 minutes before take-off
  • Flight transfer times (est): Domestic to domestic – 30mins. Domestic to international – 60 mins. International to international: 45mins

Airport Layover Tours

Beijing Daxing Airport layover tours – depending on your time between flights. If more than 5 hours you may consider a small tour of the city highlights such as Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, and Jingshan Park where you can look over the Forbidden City. Longer layover times would allow for

  • Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square – layover time of 7+ hours
  • Badaling section of the Great Wall – layover time of 9-10 hours
  • Mutianyu Great Wall – layover time of 9-10 hours
  • Huanghuacheng Great Wall – layover time of 9-10 hours
  • Night Tour – inc. sights such as the National Performance Centre, CBD, Wangfujing St, and Houhai Lake
  • City Highlights – Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven and Summer Palace