Beijing Nanyuan Airport


Airport Code: NAY

 Location: Around 15 km (about 9.3 miles) south of downtown Beijing, Nanyuan Airport is situated in the Fengtai District, and is closer to downtown Beijing than Beijing Capital International Airport is.

 Brief Intro: Nanyuan Airport is a relatively small when compared with other Chinese airports. First constructed during the Sino-Japanese War, it became an important a military airfield upon the founding of the People's Republic of China. During the 1990s, China United Airlines was established and opened a dozen of domestic passenger and cargo flights. Since then, civilian use has grown and it now has the capacity for handling 1.2 million passengers annually. The development of China's Civil Aviation has meant that China United Airlines' services at Nanyuan Airport has achieved a yearly passenger flow of nearly one million, while there is still capacity for further growth. The airport offers air routes from Beijing to Wuxi, Dalian, Hohhot, Harbin, Chengdu and Hailaer, amongst other destinations.

 Facilities: The terminal building has a capacity for about 200 people as the lounge is not very spacious. Generally passengers are taken directly to the terminal building by the airport bus or taxi. However, those using the public bus will have to walk from the bus stop at the airport gate to the terminal building. This will take approximately 15 minutes.

 Services: 
Discounted tickets: Compared with Beijing Capital International Airport, Nanyuan Airport offers passengers more cut-price tickets. However, these discounted tickets are typically for places that are not among the more conventional tourist destinations, so they are most likely to appeal to the more adventurous traveler. As it is not possible to buy discounted tickets in advance, they have to be purchased upon your arrival at the airport.
Boarding: There is no need to arrive at the airport as much as an hour prior to your flight departure since the boarding procedure is less complex than at other airports due to there being fewer passengers. 

 Airport Transportation

 By Airport Bus
Nanyuan Airport → Xidan Aviation Building
Departure time: 12:40, 17:10, 20:50 (time adjusted to the arrival of flights)
Duration for the trip: about 1.5 hours
Xidan Aviation Building → Airport
Departure time: 06:00, 10:40, 15:10 (time adjusted to the arrival of flights)
Duration for the trip: about 1.5 hours
Ticket fare: CNY16 (free for passengers hold the valid air tickets of the day)

 By City-bus
Bus No.501 runs between Caoqiao and Nanyuan Airport. Passengers can board the bus at the airport terminal for a fare of CNY1. It takes about 10 minutes to get to Sanyingmen where passengers can change to a Speed Line 1 or 729 reaching Qianmen in 25 minutes.
Operating hours: 06:00-22:00
 
The bus stop at Nanyuan Airport is called Xinhua Lu Nankou (south end of Xinhua Lu). In addition to the Bus 501, there are more buses 610, 369, 353, 953, Yuntong 115 and Mini Bus 13, 62 for passenger to choose. Sanyingmen Station which is two stops away from the Xinhualu Nankou is a better transfer station, for there are more bus routes. For example, Bus 742, 729 run straightforward to Qianmen. 

 By Taxi
This is an indication of taxi fares from Nanyuan Airport to important places in the city center, for your reference.
To Tian'anmen Square: about CNY150
To Wangfujing: about CNY35 for half a hour
To Beijing Railway Station: about CNY40 for 25-30 minutes
To Beijing South Railway Station: about CNY50 for half an hour 
 

Travelers' Voices on Beijing Nanyuan Airport

1.

Nov. 8,2009 06:58 Reply

Mr.Bess(China ) said:

The guys driving taxis and the cars for hire outside of the airport are crooks. The airport should do a better job at regulating this. They cheat both foreigners and nations alike, but you may end up paying as much as 4 times what you would pay if they ran the meter. These people really are scum. For those of us who have no other choice but to pay the outrageous fee, we feel very violated and angry for being taken advantage of. For this reason alone I have paid more for flights to the Peking Airport.

2.

Sep. 24,2009 03:39 Reply

Mr.atia(egypt) said:

i want ask about transportation between your airport and capital airport haw,cost, time needed and the distance ??

Sep. 24,2009 04:58
Mr.Kim replied:

Mr Atia, take the following information as referrence.
1. take airport shuttle bus No 6 from Nanyuan Airport to reach Xidan(around 1 hour with the fare of CNY16.00), then change to Shuttle bus No 2 from Xidan to reach the Capital Airport(around 50 minutes with the fare of CNY16.00). It takes around 2 hours for the total transportation without traffic jam.

2. take a taxi, around 50 minutes and CNY150.00-CNY200.00 will be needed. Hope it helps.

3.

Jul. 13,2009 13:38 Reply

Mr.Henry Kingsbury(USA) said:

As a Lt in the 30th Naval Construction Battalion I was attched to the 3rd Marine Amphibious Corps and put in charge of a 75 man group to go by train from Tientsin to Peking to work at the Nan Yuan Airport. We arrived there on November 4, 1945 and found out that all they wanted was a quonset hut built for the officers club. We had our men and 50 coolies and completed the work in a few days. Had liberty in Peking

4.

Jun. 11,2009 09:34 Reply

Mr.Henry Kingsbury(USA) said:

I was at the airfield in Nov, 1945 as a Ltjg in the US Naval Construction Battalion (30)
fixing up the airfield for the US marine Corps.

5.

Mar. 30,2009 21:06 Reply

Mr.Scott(Australia) said:

Thanks for the history, interesting reading.

The current status of the airport you are quite correct. This is not a new airport.
This airport was (and still is) a military airport. China Untied Airlines that operates from here was a military owned airline for civil aviation, albiet they only owned one plane. Now The airline is now owned by Shanghai Airlines and another (hence united) but still has the privledges of using military airfields.

6.

Feb. 6,2009 12:08 Reply

Mr.Tom Nallen(USA) said:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Your statement above that Nanyuan Airport is new is incorrect. The Airfield there is regarded as the "Birthplace of Chinese Aviation". It is my understanding that aircraft manufacturing took place there in the early 1900s.

I was stationed there in 1946-47 with Marine Air Group 24 (Mag 24) of the U. S. Marine Corps. Our purpose in North China was to repatriate Japanese troops who had occupied North China during WWII and to keep open the Peiping-Mukden Railroad which was critical to the delivery of coal to much of China in the immediate Post-WWII period.

We,(the 900 men stationed at the field)took liberty (or leave)in Beijing (Peiping, at that time). A semi-trailer truck conveyed us to the British Legation in Peiping from which we rode via rickshaw to other destinations in the City and surrounding areas.

The population of Peiping at that time was 6 million people and there were no skyscrapers. It was a turbulent time for the Chinese people.

If you should know of anyone interested in Nanyuan Airfield history of the period, please have them contact me. Tom Nallen e mail tom.nallen@verizon.net

Feb. 8,2009 21:12
Mr.William(USA) replied:

Well, it is so excited after reading your experience. Really something different to learn about China. Looking forward to knowing more about China from you. Keep on!

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