Beijing Daxing Airport

Some airports you visit for the aircraft, others for the building. Beijing Daxing manages both. The star-shaped terminal by Zaha Hadid Architects is one of the most photographed airport buildings in the world, and the apron in front of it is home to fleets you will rarely see in Europe: China Southern, the China Eastern group, Xiamen Airlines – and, with a bit of luck, a Comac C919. So you know what to expect, here is what makes Daxing special, who flies there and why you should plan more carefully as a spotter in China than at home.

Why Beijing needed a second major airport

For a long time, almost all of Beijing’s air traffic ran through the Capital Airport (PEK) in the northeast of the city. For years it was one of the busiest airports in the world and reached its limits. On top of that there was the small, old Nanyuan airport in the south – China’s oldest airfield, with just one runway and hardly any room to grow.

The solution was a completely new airport in the south, on the border between Beijing’s Daxing District and the city of Langfang in neighboring Hebei Province. The location is no coincidence: Daxing serves not only Beijing but the entire capital region of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. At the end of 2014, the national development and reform commission gave the green light, and construction began a few days later. Around four and a half years later, the airport was finished.

On September 25, 2019, Daxing was officially opened, and scheduled operations began the following day. The first official departure was flown by China Southern – symbolically, with an Airbus A380. In return, Nanyuan closed; China United Airlines, which was based there, moved to Daxing.

The starfish: the Zaha Hadid terminal

The heart of the airport is a single terminal building with around 700,000 square meters of floor area. It was designed by Zaha Hadid Architects together with the French airport planner ADP Ingénierie, while the Dutch firm NACO provided the master plan for the entire site. Detailed design was handled by the Beijing Institute of Architectural Design (BIAD).

From above, the building looks like a starfish – hence the nickname “Starfish.” At the center is a large courtyard from which the wings radiate outward. According to Zaha Hadid Architects, five concourses extend from the central area; together with the landside, this produces the typical six-armed shape. The idea behind it is simple and noticeable for passengers: all paths lead to the center, and according to the architects, the farthest gate is less than eight minutes’ walk away. For a terminal of this size, that is remarkably compact.

The roof is the real trademark. Six flowing shapes sweep down from the vaulted ceiling to the floor, carry the structure and bring daylight into the building at the same time. Long skylights also serve as signposts to the gates. According to the architecture firm, the spans reach up to 100 meters – inside, this creates a large hall with few supports.

Technically, too, the building is designed for scale. Zaha Hadid Architects cites 79 gates with jet bridges directly at the terminal and states that the building can handle the passengers of six fully loaded A380s at the same time. Beneath the terminal is a ground transportation center where the metro, intercity rail and other trains stop. For sustainability, the firm cites photovoltaics, heat recovery and a large network of wetlands and water surfaces that collects rainwater.

Zaha Hadid herself did not live to see the opening: she died in March 2016. Daxing is now considered one of the best-known works of her firm – alongside buildings such as the opera house in Guangzhou and the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku.

Four runways, three directions to keep in mind

The runway system is generously laid out. All four runways are concrete, three of them 3,800 meters long, the fourth 3,400 meters. According to the available data, Daxing is also the first airport in China built with two control towers.

Air traffic control decides which runway is used for takeoffs or landings at any given time based on wind, traffic volume and time of day. The basic rule applies in Beijing too: takeoffs and landings are made into the wind. How to estimate this in advance is explained in the article Understanding runway direction in use at airports. You can follow the active runways live with a flight tracker – the basics are covered in the article on flight tracking with ADS-B.

In the long term, the site is designed for significantly more traffic. The first phase targets 72 million passengers per year, and additional runways and a further increase in capacity are planned for later phases. Exact timetables for these expansions have not been officially fixed.

Who flies at Daxing

With the opening, the Chinese aviation authority reshuffled the Beijing market. The basic rule: airlines from mainland China have to choose one of the two major Beijing airports. Foreign airlines – including those from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan – may use both. The result is a rough split: many airlines from the SkyTeam orbit and China Southern went to Daxing, while most Star Alliance airlines and Hainan Airlines stayed at the capital airport.

China Southern

China Southern Airlines is the defining user. The Guangzhou-based airline has made Daxing one of its three major hubs and moved all of its Beijing operations here in October 2020. Since early 2019 it has no longer been a member of the SkyTeam alliance. On long-haul routes, China Southern deploys the Airbus A350-900, the Boeing 787-9 and the Boeing 777-300ER, among others. It retired the A380 in November 2022 – so the superjumbo from opening day is history.

China Eastern and China United

The group around China Eastern Airlines from Shanghai is the second big player. It includes China United Airlines, which used to be based at Nanyuan and moved to Daxing when the old airport closed. For you, that means: lots of narrowbody jets such as the Boeing 737-800 or types from the A320neo family, plus widebodies on selected routes.

Other Chinese airlines

Other users include Xiamen Airlines as a SkyTeam member, Beijing Capital Airlines from the HNA group and Hebei Airlines. Air China is also represented with part of its traffic, even though its focus remains at the capital airport. The exact split can change – so always rely on the current schedule.

Comac: China’s own jets

For European spotters, Daxing is a good chance to see aircraft from Comac. The narrowbody jet Comac C919 now flies with the three big state-owned airlines, and China Southern has had its own examples in its fleet since 2024. Then there is the smaller regional jet, which became known as the ARJ21 and now goes by the designation C909.

At first glance, the C919 resembles an A320 or a 737. At second glance, you can tell it by the distinct shape of the cockpit windows, the wingtips and the engines. Whether one is currently operating a Daxing route depends on the rotation – a flight tracker will show you. The articles A320neo or ceo? and Telling Boeing 737 generations apart are also helpful for identifying the type, because you place the C919 best by comparing it with these types.

International guests

Daxing is not a purely domestic airport. The list of foreign airlines ranges from Gulf carriers such as Qatar Airways and Etihad Airways through Southeast Asian carriers such as Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and Vietnam Airlines to low-cost carriers from Hong Kong and South Korea. Russian and Central Asian airlines such as Aeroflot and Uzbekistan Airways are also represented.

Flights to Europe are mostly operated by Chinese airlines. China Southern connects Daxing with Amsterdam, London Heathrow and Helsinki, among others, and Air China flies from here to Frankfurt, for example. The offering changes constantly, so always check specific connections in the current schedule before building a trip around them.

Spotting at Daxing: plan realistically

This is where Daxing differs significantly from airports like Munich or Amsterdam. We are not aware of an officially promoted visitors’ hill or observation deck for spotters. And the legal situation around airports in China is stricter than in Central Europe: if you stand at the fence with a big telephoto lens, you stand out quickly and have to expect checks. In addition, the Nanjiao military airfield is nearby – photographing military facilities is expressly a bad idea in China.

The most sensible opportunities therefore arise when you are traveling through Daxing anyway:

• From the terminal: Large glass surfaces at the concourses give a view of the apron. Taxiing and parked aircraft can be captured well from here – if you reduce reflections with a dark cloth or by holding the lens directly against the glass.
• From the aircraft window: While taxiing and on approach, you see the starfish terminal and the parking areas from a perspective that is barely possible from the ground.
• Note it down at the gate: Even without a camera, you can collect sightings by noting registrations and types at the gate.

Climate and light

Beijing has a pronounced continental climate. In summer, temperatures often climb above 35 degrees, and in winter they drop well below freezing. Humidity is highest in midsummer, and the air above the apron asphalt then shimmers so strongly that long focal lengths hit their limits. In winter, haze and air pollution often make for flat, gray light.

As a rule, your best chances of clear pictures are in spring and fall, preferably in the morning. For photos through terminal windows, there is another factor: depending on the sun position, the panes reflect strongly. With the article on the sun position at the photo spot, you can plan which side of the building has the better light at a given time of day.

Access

Daxing is far out but well connected. The fastest means of transport is the Daxing Airport Express, a Beijing metro line that has shuttled between the airport and Caoqiao station on Line 10 since opening day. It takes you just under 20 minutes to reach Caoqiao. In parallel, the Beijing–Xiong’an intercity line connects the airport with Beijing West station; the travel time is just under half an hour.

By road, the Daxing Airport Expressway leads into the city, and bus lines run to major train stations. If you have to transfer between Daxing and the capital airport, allow plenty of time: the two airports are around 65 kilometers apart.

Daxing in comparison

Among the new major airports of recent years, Daxing ranks alongside Istanbul Airport, which also replaced a downtown predecessor in 2019, and BER, which opened in 2020 after long delays. What sets Daxing apart is the speed: less than five years passed between the start of construction and opening.

Within China, it is worth comparing it with Shanghai Pudong Airport, the hub of China Eastern, and with Hong Kong Airport. Hong Kong is far more accessible for spotters and has an established scene – tips are in the article Plane spotting in Hong Kong. In East Asia, Seoul Incheon Airport also makes a good addition if you are planning a spotting trip through the region.

Conclusion

Beijing Daxing is one of the most exciting new airport buildings of the 21st century. The starfish terminal by Zaha Hadid Architects combines a spectacular form with short walking distances, the four long runways leave room for further growth, and on the apron stand fleets that are real novelties for European spotters – above all China Southern, the China Eastern group and the Comac jets.

What Daxing does not offer is the classic spotting day at the fence. If you want to take photos here, you rely on the terminal, the view from the aircraft window and clean notes on type and registration – and you respect the strict local rules. That way, you take home from Beijing not just pictures but sightings that appear in hardly any European collection.