Official taxi curb · ~60–75 min to 城关 / 兰州站, traffic depending (~71 km)
Where they are
One map, pinned from each airport’s published coordinates.
Category scores
Overall is the published weighted sum. A highlighted score is ahead; a tie stays plain.
Ease of use
25% · Wayfinding, security wait, and layout.
XNN7.6
LHW7.6
Comfort & amenities
20% · Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet.
XNN7.4
LHW7.4
Food & retail
15% · Food and retail quality and variety.
XNN7.0
LHW7.2+0.2
Ground access
15% · Transit, taxi, and parking to the city.
XNN7.2
LHW8.6+1.4
Reliability
15% · Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience.
XNN6.6
LHW6.6
Lounges
10% · Worth-it density and access quality.
XNN6.8
LHW7.0+0.2
Best for
XNN
Domestic Qinghai / plateau hops on a 2025 T3Hong Kong / Bangkok / Kuala Lumpur on T1Priority Pass hot food at Gate 317 A
LHW
Domestic connections on China Eastern through one T3 hallCheap 中川机场东站 high-speed access to 兰州西 / 兰州站A short international arrival that already holds a visa — this is not a 240-hour TWOV port
Watch out for
XNN
No metro and a ~28 km highway ride; last buses leftover around 18:30T2 / dual-runway / leftover 2,170 m Wikipedia facts are not the live campus240-hour TWOV does not cover Qinghai; skip-immigration is not here
LHW
T1 and T2 are not live check-in halls — T3 is the only passenger building240-hour TWOV does not apply; stay is not Gansu; the Nov 2025 NIA leftover is the Taiwan-permit listSpring / MU / FM / KN / AQ leftover cannot use B1 G — go to 3FPriority Pass leftover lhw7 at D60 is the snack CIP, not the China Eastern meal room
Amenities and tips
XNN
T3 domestic hallLounge 01 Gate 317T3 shops and 面馆GTC + airport busOxygen cabin / face boardingSnow-leopard T3 deck
Domestic desks close at 40 minutes
Official leftover from the 7 Aug 2025 T3 transfer: check-in stops 40 minutes before STD and the gate closes 15 minutes before.
Domestic is T3 — T2 is paused
Every live domestic flight uses the August 2025 T3 hall. International and HMT leftover stay in T1.
Eat in T3 — about 18 shops, not a food hall
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.
LHW
中川机场东站 under T3China Eastern lounge after T3 security舌尖尖 / 马子禄 noodlesRuyixing VIP Lounge at Gate D6024-hour night rest areaT3 parking garage cap ¥50
Airport leftover dies at 30; MU leftover still prints 40
T3 opening leftover stops check-in 30 minutes before STD. China Eastern leftover is bags 30 / counters 40 / boarding 15. Use 40 if you are checking a bag on MU metal.
There is only T3
Every domestic, international, and HMT flight checks in at T3. T1 and T2 are not live check-in halls.
Eat 马子禄 or 舌尖尖, not the Ruyixing CIP
Named T3 kitchens leftover on the DragonPass restaurant card. 马子禄 is landside opposite door 1. 舌尖尖 leftover faces Gate B11 after security.
XNN · 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.
LHW · Gansu's regional hub is a brand-new T3 plateau machine with a live high-speed rail station in the basement — the tradeoff is a 71 km road, a 30-minute cutoff you should not copy onto a Hong Kong sector, a snack-grade D60 Priority Pass pin unless you are on MU metal, and no 240-hour TWOV.
