Xining Caojiabao Airport XNNZLXN

Xining Caojiabao (Caojiapu) International Airport (XNN) is the gateway to Xining, capital of Qinghai, sitting on the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau at roughly 2,170 m elevation and about 30 km east of the city. It is a regional hub rather than a global connecting point: it handled close to 7.9 million passengers in 2025, overwhelmingly on domestic routes, with only a limited international and Hong Kong/Macau/Taiwan schedule. Tibet Airlines bases operations here, and Air China, China Eastern and China Southern all fly heavily, so most connections are domestic-to-domestic within China. The big change for frequent flyers: a new T3 terminal opened on 7 August 2025. Since then all domestic flights operate from T3, while T1 is dedicated to international and HK/Macau/Taiwan services — so an international-to-domestic connection means moving between two terminals, and you should budget extra time. T3 is linked to a new Ground Transportation Center (GTC) where buses, taxis and ride-hailing are all reachable under cover, making the hop to the city straightforward. For lounges, DragonPass-network access is available landside-to-airside via a business lounge after security, alongside airline first/business lounges. Given the altitude, treat a long layover as a chance to rest and hydrate rather than over-exert.

Timezone: Asia/Shanghai

Airport lounges

Lounge access is reference info; commission never ranks.

Official info

Official site

http://qhaport.cwag.com

As of 2026-06-21 — confirm with the airport.

Airport facts

ICAO

ZLXN

Elevation

7119 ft

Scheduled service

Yes

Runways

1

Longest runway

12467 ft

Terminals

To the city

• Airport bus / shuttle (机场巴士) → Xining city centre via City Air Terminal (西宁城市候机楼, 八一路客运站) · First bus 06:00; last departs ~1.5 h before final flight; fare ¥21 (info only). Airport is ~25.5 km from Da-Shizi (大什字) downtown, ~30 km east of Xining

Bus / coach

Airport bus to city centre via City Air Terminal (八一路客运站); fare ¥21

Taxi

~¥100 airport→city (meter start ¥8 / first 3 km); info only

Airport services

Cities served

Hotels near the airport