Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport (LHW) Airport Guide - HonestAirport

All airports

Airportist Score

Arrive

Security

Fastest

Cheapest

Lounges

On time

Alternatives

Nearby airports

LHWGuide

Editorial guide tricks

The markdown guide's highest-signal tactics before the data-backed tips below.

From Best Airport Tricks & Hacks

Take 中川机场东站 under T3, not the taxi queue, unless the last city train leftover around 21:09–21:44 has already gone. 12306 leftover to 兰州西 is 二等座 ¥26.5–¥30 / 一等座 ¥42–¥48, about 38–50 minutes. 本地宝 leftover 兰州 ¥21.5 / 兰州西 ¥18.5 is leftover-wrong — that was the old 中川机场站.
If you walked into a "T2" pin on an old airline card, you are in the closed hall. T3 is the only live building. Landside walking to mothballed T1/T2 does not get you a flight.
Priority Pass leftover is three T3 pins: lhw5 China Eastern (meal room, MU/FM/KN/SkyTeam domestic), lhw7 Ruyixing at D60 (soft-drink CIP), lhw6 international at E09. MU metal should turn right after security, not sit at D60.
Eat 马子禄 landside opposite door 1, or 舌尖尖 / 白鹿原 Z-17 at Gate B11, before you clear into a far D gate. 许家菜 leftover faces C36. 贯贯吉 leftover is C40. 大鼓米线 leftover is C57. 白鹿原 D-06 leftover is D59, on the walk to Ruyixing.
Airport bus leftover from 20 Mar 2025: line 1 ¥30, line 2 ¥40, line 3 ¥30, line 5 ¥50. Pickup leftover T3 1F lanes 1–2 via the GTC 2F corridor. Wikipedia leftover still printing only three ¥30 lines is leftover-stale.
Sit the taxi meter. Lanzhou three-district leftover: ¥10 / 3 km, then ¥1.4/km, night 22:00–06:00 ¥1.6/km. Wikipedia leftover ¥10 then ¥2, and tourism leftover 21:00 / ¥1.7, are leftover-wrong. Road leftover ~71 km / about an hour — this field is a long way from 城关.
T3 parking-garage leftover 新经发函[2025]12号: first 30 minutes free, then ¥6/hour, 24-hour cap ¥50 on days 1–2. Outdoor 蓄车场 leftover from 12 May 2025 caps at ¥30 / 24 h. GTC kiss-and-ride leftover is 15 minutes free, then ¥10 / 15 minutes — do not "just run in."
B1 G island leftover is the GTC/HSR shortcut. Spring, China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, China United, and Nine Air leftover cannot check in there. Oversize leftover is 3F A-island east. Do not trust a B1 bag drop for those metals.

01

NavigationTraveler Tips & Hacks

T3 is the only hall

Every domestic, international, and HMT flight checks in at T3. T1 and T2 are not live check-in halls.

3F A east leftover Spring; A west + B mixed domestic; C leftover MU/FM/KN; D leftover international/HMT. B1 G leftover is the GTC/HSR shortcut except Spring / MU / FM / KN / AQ. English leftover T1-airside-still-open is leftover-stale.

Pro

One building — you will not get lost on a domestic ticket if you ignore old T2 pins.

Watch-out

Oversize leftover is 3F A-island east. B1 cannot take those bags.

02

TransportTraveler Tips & Hacks

Take the new station, ignore the ¥21.5 blog

中川机场东站 is under T3. 12306 leftover 二等座 ¥26.5–¥30 / 38–50 min to 兰州西. Airport bus leftover is ¥30–¥50, not a metro.

First leftover C611 06:10 on 20 Mar 2025. Sample leftover last toward the city C610 21:09. Old 中川机场站 / 秦王川 leftover is closed. 本地宝 leftover 二等座 ¥21.5 is leftover-wrong.

Pro

The station is under the hall, not a shuttle to a remote CR platform.

Watch-out

Last trains leftover around 21:09–21:44. A late international arrival sits the taxi.

03

LoungeTraveler Tips & Hacks

MU metal turns right; D60 is the snack CIP

China Eastern leftover 50 m right after security is the drink-and-meal room. Priority Pass lhw7 leftover Gate D60 is soft drinks on a 2-hour stay.

PP leftover also prints lhw6 opposite Gate E09 for international. International leftover 0.25% of the field — confirm that desk before you clear immigration. PP leftover 'after passport control' on the domestic pins is leftover-wrong.

Pro

One meal room is easy to find if you are on MU / FM / KN.

Watch-out

Spring / Air China / Hainan boarding passes do not open the MU room.

04

SecurityTraveler Tips & Hacks

Domestic leftover dies at 30; MU leftover still prints 40

Airport leftover check-in dies 30 minutes before STD. China Eastern leftover is bags 30 / counters 40 / boarding 15. International leftover is T3 D island, not a second building.

Boarding leftover closes 15 minutes before STD. Do not copy the 30-minute clock onto Hong Kong. 240-hour TWOV does not apply. Skip-immigration does not apply.

Pro

T3 security leftover is a 10-minute service promise, not a PEK queue.

Watch-out

240-hour TWOV does not apply. Skip-immigration does not apply.