--- iata: XNN name: Xining Caojiabao International Airport city: Xining country: China lastUpdated: '2026-09-20' officialWebsite: 'https://qhaport.cwag.com/' sources: - 'https://qhaport.cwag.com/' - 'https://www.cwag.com/info/1030/2279.htm' - 'http://www.qinghai.gov.cn/zwgk/system/2025/08/08/030078917.shtml' - 'http://www.qinghai.gov.cn/zwgk/system/2025/08/07/030078851.shtml' - 'http://www.qh.xinhuanet.com/20250731/89928af3dc8645afb267b680ae4d37b6/c.html' - 'https://www.caac.gov.cn/PHONE/XXGK_17/XXGK/TJSJ/202602/t20260226_230119.html' - 'https://www.huaon.com/channel/industrydata/1149886.html' - >- https://www.prioritypass.com/en/lounges/china/xining-caojiabao/xnn1-airlines-lounge-01 - 'https://www.dragonpass.com.cn/airport/XNN/' - 'https://www.nia.gov.cn/n897453/c1688948/content.html' - 'https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741577/c1731205/content.html' - 'https://www.nia.gov.cn/n741440/n741542/c1751080/content.html' - >- https://ca.china-embassy.gov.cn/lsyw/lszj/mqzc00/gjmq00/202501/t20250110_11530399.htm - 'https://www.chinanews.com.cn/aseaninfo/2026/09-06/10691354.shtml' - 'http://fuwu.caacnews.com.cn/1/5/202509/t20250916_1389989.html' - 'http://xn.bendibao.com/traffic/202489/16288.shtm' - 'https://www.flyert.com/a-517029-1.html' - 'https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xwdt/tzgg/202003/t20200311_1235928.html' - 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xining_Caojiapu_International_Airport' - >- https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%A5%BF%E5%AE%81%E6%9B%B9%E5%AE%B6%E5%A0%A1%E5%9B%BD%E9%99%85%E6%9C%BA%E5%9C%BA quickFacts: - >- Live passenger campus on 20 Sep 2026 is T3 for every domestic flight plus T1 for international / HMT. Official leftover 7 Aug 2025 00:00: T3 正式投入使用; first leftover MU2153 at 07:13. T2 paused that transfer. T3 leftover 15.8万 m² + GTC leftover 17.3万 m². English Wikipedia leftover still shows a single old hall. - >- One live 4E runway 11/29 leftover 3,800 × 45 m asphalt. Elevation leftover 2,184 m (western-airport-group leftover; English Wikipedia leftover 2,170 m is leftover-wrong). Phase-3 leftover is a second parallel taxiway 3,800 × 38 m, not a second runway. Operator leftover 西部机场集团青海机场有限公司. Info leftover 0971-96345. Official leftover https://qhaport.cwag.com/. Do not invent ZLXN as a public slug. - >- CAAC calendar 2025: 7,877,903 passengers (national #46, +12.1%), 63,344 movements (#53, +11.9%), 40,127.8 t cargo (#47, +7.6%). Huaon leftover 787.79 万人次 / 6.33 万架次 / 4.01 万吨 matches that rounding band. International leftover 6,500 (0.08%); HMT leftover 13,600. - >- Field leftover 27 Dec 1991 replaced civil 乐家湾 (now a military base, not this product). Named 西宁曹家堡国际机场 leftover 28 Sep 2018. Runway is in 海东市互助土族自治县, leftover ~28 km east of downtown Xining — not in Xining city proper. lib/airports.json leftover 36.527711, 102.041944 matches this field. - >- No metro. No airport railway station. West-Chengdu leftover 曹家堡机场站 ~220–230 m south of T3 is planning, not live. Airport bus leftover adult ¥23 after the 16 Aug 2025 T3 table. Taxi leftover East GTC 4F B. Parking leftover GTC east/west 2,319 spaces. - >- 240-hour TWOV is NOT. Stay is not Qinghai. NIA leftover 西宁曹家堡机场 on the 3 Nov 2025 page is the Taiwan-permit list, not the TWOV stay map. 24-hour sterile TWOV applies at every open port. 24-hour skip-immigration does not — that add-on ten from 5 Nov 2025 is TSN / DLC / NKG / FOC / TAO / WUH / NNG / HAK / CKG / KMG. bentoTips: - label: Timing title: Domestic desks close at 40 minutes detail: >- T3 leftover opens 04:30 and closes with the last flight. The Xining Evening News leftover also said boarding starts 40 minutes before — treat the company notice (stop check-in 40 / close gate 15) as the live cut. International/HMT leftover still uses T1 and needs the CIQ extra; do not copy the domestic 40-minute cut onto a Hong Kong / Bangkok / Kuala Lumpur bag. summary: >- Official leftover from the 7 Aug 2025 T3 transfer: check-in stops 40 minutes before STD and the gate closes 15 minutes before. category: timing - label: T3 + T1 title: Domestic is T3 — T2 is paused detail: >- Economy leftover check-in is T3 islands B/C/D; first/business, gold/silver, and military leftover use island A. 43 leftover self-service kiosks. Navigate to 西宁曹家堡国际机场T3航站楼（国内出发）. Do not follow a leftover T2 pin, leftover 乐家湾, or leftover dual-runway map. summary: >- Every live domestic flight uses the August 2025 T3 hall. International and HMT leftover stay in T1. category: terminal - label: Food title: 'Eat in T3 — about 18 shops, not a food hall' detail: >- FLYERT leftover T3 First Class Lounge 01 A has a real hot line and noodle counter; B is rest-only. Do not copy T2 restaurant maps. Landside leftover also has overnight rest seating on T3 2F. summary: >- Opening leftover: roughly 18 shops covering 生活便利店, 面馆, Qinghai specialty, and Tangka gifts. Restrooms, nursing rooms, and drinking-water leftover share one cluster. category: food - label: Live checks title: 'Treat Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur as the live international bank' detail: >- Thai Vietjet leftover VZ3691/VZ3690 weekly Monday from 15 Sep 2025. Do not copy 2014 leftover Seoul / Taipei / Tokyo, or English Wikipedia destination tables, as a September 2026 bank. Confirm the boarding pass on T1, not T3. summary: >- T1 is the international hall. China News leftover 6 Sep 2026: Hong Kong twice weekly from September, Bangkok already flying, MH8856 Kuala Lumpur first arrival 5 Sep 2026. category: status lounges: - name: Airlines Lounge 01 / First Class Lounge 01 zone: domestic hours: '05:30 until last scheduled departure' access: - Priority Pass - DragonPass - Business class ticket - First class ticket bestFor: - Domestic waits - Priority Pass - Hot food summary: >- PP xnn1 / DragonPass 头等舱休息室01(T3国内) at T3 domestic airside 2F near Gate 317. FLYERT leftover A has six hot dishes plus a noodle counter; B is rest-only. PP leftover snacks / 2-hour cap / unlimited guests / children under 2 free. PP leftover also prints after passport control — leftover template; this is a domestic room. Crowded at lunch. verdict: worth-it terminal: Terminal 3 amenities: - Air conditioning - Hot meals in A - Noodle counter - Soft drinks - Recharging stations - Digital card accepted - Wi-Fi - name: T3 VIP Hall (CIP) zone: landside hours: 'Dinner leftover 17:30–19:30 in the shared B restaurant' access: - ABC Infinite / bank VIP - Other bank VIP in B bestFor: - Bank-card landside waits - Drop-off with a driver summary: >- FLYERT leftover: old 贵宾楼 stopped with T2. Navigate 西宁曹家堡国际机场T3航站楼VIP贵宾厅, not leftover 曹家堡机场贵宾厅. A is Agricultural Bank only (guest +1 leftover). B is the other banks. Shared B restaurant leftover has a noodle counter and a simple hot line. Not on Priority Pass. verdict: depends terminal: Terminal 3 amenities: - Landside CIP - Snacks - Hot dinner in B - Private restrooms waterOptions: - kind: purchase name: T3 convenience store (生活便利店) zone: airside price: typically ¥3–8 for a 550 ml domestic bottle (no published T3 price list) summary: >- Opening leftover photographed a 生活便利店 in T3. Empty the bottle at security, then buy here. No official fountain map. location: >- T3 passenger hall among the opening leftover ~18 shops (specialty, noodles, convenience) terminal: Terminal 3 isBestValue: true - kind: free name: Clustered drinking-water point zone: airside summary: >- Qinghai Airport leftover on opening day: restrooms, nursing rooms, and drinking water share one area. Best leftover free refill once you are through T3 security. location: Same cluster as T3 restrooms and nursing rooms (operator leftover 饮水区) terminal: Terminal 3 - kind: free name: Lounge 01 complimentary bottled water zone: airside summary: >- FLYERT leftover: bottled mineral water is complimentary in the lounge even when the smart cooler charges for branded soft drinks. Use only with PP / DragonPass / two-cabin access. location: 'T3 domestic airside 2F First Class Lounge 01 near Gate 317, A dining side' terminal: Terminal 3 isBestQuality: true - kind: purchase name: T3 noodle shop (面馆) zone: airside price: paid drinks with a meal; bottles leftover-typical ¥3–8 summary: >- Opening leftover named a 面馆 among the T3 shops. Backup paid drink if the convenience store is queued. Not a lounge. location: 'T3 commercial island among the leftover ~18 shops, airside after security' terminal: Terminal 3 airportistScore: 7.2 slug: xnn region: Asia-Pacific --- > Markdown for [/airports/xnn](/airports/xnn). Append `.md` to any page URL (or send `Accept: text/markdown`) for an agent-readable copy. - [HTML page](/airports/xnn) - [Lounge directory](/airports/xnn/lounges.md) - [Sitemap](/sitemap.md) # Xining Caojiabao International Airport (XNN) Xining, China · Asia-Pacific A brand-new T3 in Huzhu, 28 km from downtown with no metro: easy once you are inside, a road trip on the way, and a thin T1 international bank that Wikipedia destination tables still overstate. ## Airportist Score **7.2 / 10** Weighted sum of the six published categories (no holistic fudge). - Ease of use (25%): 7.6 — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout. - Comfort & amenities (20%): 7.4 — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet. - Food & retail (15%): 7.0 — Food and retail quality and variety. - Ground access (15%): 7.2 — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city. - Reliability (15%): 6.6 — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience. - Lounges (10%): 6.8 — Worth-it density and access quality. ## At a glance - Passengers: 7,877,903 (CAAC 2025) - Terminals: T3 domestic + T1 international (T2 paused 7 Aug 2025) - Typical security: 12 min - On-time: 0% - Disruption: normal ## Best for - Domestic Qinghai / plateau hops on a 2025 T3 - Hong Kong / Bangkok / Kuala Lumpur on T1 - Priority Pass hot food at Gate 317 A ## Watch out for - No metro and a ~28 km highway ride; last buses leftover around 18:30 - T2 / dual-runway / leftover 2,170 m Wikipedia facts are not the live campus - 240-hour TWOV does not cover Qinghai; skip-immigration is not here ## More intel - [Lounge directory](/airports/xnn/lounges.md) (free) - [Getting there](/airports/xnn/getting-there.md) (free) - [Amenities](/airports/xnn/amenities.md) (free) - [Traveler tips](/airports/xnn/tips.md) (free) - [Water](/airports/xnn/water.md) (free) - [Full guide](/airports/xnn/guide.md) (free) - [Disruptions](/airports/xnn/disruptions.md) (free) - [Reviews](/airports/xnn/reviews.md) (free)