Heathrow – Friday 31st October 2025
The second of my three planned trips to Far East countries, started today. Target countries being China, Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and finally Malaysia. Some of us are also stopping on the way back in United Arab Emirates to do Dubai airshow. I will go a few steps more, but more on that later.
The planning for this trip started off on a good note as travel within China got a lot easier. You might remember that on the first trip, we made use of the 144 hour (6 days) TWOV twice – on the way to China using Taiwan as the onward third country and on the way back using the UK as the third country. Doing it that way gave us more time in China and also enabled us to do both Beijing and Shanghai without breaking their entry and exit port rules. Now you can enter China in whatever city you choose (most are covered in the list of 65) and then transit between other Chinese cities without worrying about leaving the same way that you arrived. If that wasn’t enough, you also can stay for 10 days in one stint, instead of the previous maximum of 6 days. See the below link for more information. It was on this version of the free TWOV system, that I planned this trip out. Entry through Shenzhen, taxi to Guangzhou, fly to Xiamen and then depart to Taiwan.
UPDATE (December 17, 2024): The National Immigration Administration (NIA) of China has announced a major expansion and optimization of its visa-free transit policy, effective December 17, 2024. Under the upgraded policy, eligible foreign travelers transiting through China can now stay for up to 240 hours (10 days), a significant extension from the previous 72-hour and 144-hour visa-free transit policy. In addition, 21 new ports have been added, increasing the total number of visa-free entry/exit points to 60 across 24 provinces.
Check-in experience with Shenzhen Airlines was like last years’ experience with China Southern. Puzzled as to why I didn’t have a Chinese Visa in my passport, I then had to explain that I was using the Transit Without Visa (TWOV) scheme. This time I also had some paperwork explaining what this scheme was to help the process along. Once I had shown them the third country flight from China to the Philippines, they were happy enough and the boarding card was then issued.
I thought it was a good flight with attentive cabin crew and good timing with the two meals served. Late tea served about an hour into the flight and then lights off straight away so you could try and get some sleep. This Shenzhen Airlines flight on Airbus A330-343 B-1017, was through the night landing at Shenzhen on Saturday at 5pm local time (10am GMT). Another meal was served two hours before we landed.
5N-CEG, Boeing 777 246ER, Air Peace (33395)
9V-SKW, Airbus A380 841, Singapore Airlines (251)
A6-API, Airbus A380 861, Etihad Airways (233)
B-LRQ, Airbus A350 941, Cathay Pacific Airways (109)
B-329S, Airbus A350 941, China Southern Airlines (506)
B-20AA, Boeing 787 9, China Southern Airlines (63984)
B-1017, Airbus A330 343E, Shenzhen Airlines (1829)
B-16731, Boeing 777 300ER, EVA Air (41824)
D-AIJQ, Airbus A320 271NSL, Lufthansa City (12586)
EC-MXG, Airbus A320 232SL, Vueling Airlines (8192)
LN-FNB, Boeing 787 9, Norse Atlantic Airways/IndiGo (63346)
N4022J, Airbus A321 271NXSL(LR), JetBlue Airways (10303)
PH-NXO, Embraer EMB-195 E2, KLM cityhopper (19020085)
SU-GFP, Airbus A320 251NSL, Egyptair (10064)
VT-TSE, Boeing 787 9, Air India (66527)
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Shenzhen/Bao’an – Saturday 1st November
Having arrived on time at 5pm, we made our way to Immigration where we duly filled out our blue/white joint arrival & departure card. After that, as with both Beijing & Shanghai last year, I went to a Immigration official to complete formalities, but here they do things a little differently it seems. This official told me to go back to where I had filled in the arrival/departure card and wait. Wait we did until it became clear that one lady seemed to be taking paperwork and passports off people, disappearing with it and then coming back to repeat the exercise. Once she had dealt with your paperwork and passport, you get asked to take a seat and wait some more. After some time, she then retrieved the passports which now had the magic visa in.
After this, progress was swift with fingerprints and mug shot taken the border control official, luggage collection was just beyond that point and it was a short walk through customs to get to the International meet & greet area and into the arrivals hall through gates 11 & 23. From there we followed the signs for Hyatt Regency leading you to gate 16. Go through gate 16 and take lifts in front of you, up to level 3. You are on level 2 at this point. Follow the signs for the lobby of this very nice hotel. The check-in staff had some English and they were very helpful in helping us get the room views that we wanted.
I had asked in advance that 901, 903 etc were allocated but I think as we had Executive Twin Rooms, they gave us rooms on floor 10 & 11. There is also a floor 12, but that wasn’t offered up to us and we were unable to access it to give it a recce. Any odd numbered room between 1101 to 1115, 1001 to 1051, 0901 to 0965 and 0801 to 0871 to would give a view to the North and any even numbered room between 1102 to 1128, 1002 to 1048, 0902 to 0966 and 0802 to 0870 would give a view to the South. As there is a massive window looking to the South by the lifts up to these rooms, you should take a North facing room near the lifts as this will allow you to cover all the runways for arrivals and departures. I had room 1005 and I found that the door at the end of the corridor by rooms by 1001 & 1002, allowed a view across to runway 33/15 – very limited view but enough to get what you are after. This door also works on floor 11 but the view is even more limited – floors 9 & 8 offer no view at this end of the corridor.
Booking an Executive type room will get you access to the Lounge on floor 11 and this opens from 1pm to 9pm. Free drinks and nibbles and there is a happy hour between 6pm and 8pm. Crucially though, the views in the Lounge are very good and even if the arrivals/departures change runways, you can still cover it all. Inside the Lounge, you can see the runways heading North. There is also a small covered area outside from where you can view the Southern thresholds of both the runways. I also managed to get some OK photographs through the glass of those departing using Runway 34. Not easy to photograph airliners around Chinese airports unless you want to get yourself somewhere out on the airport perimeter, away from suspicion and infrastructure. It was at this very airport back in 2016, that we were accused of spying, purely because they had received a report of what looked to be a big camera lens – this was in fact a big telescope.
So to recap, it took the first group of us just over two hours from parking up at the gate to getting into our rooms, but the second group took even longer at just over three hours, so you have been warned to be both patient and polite during the TWOV process but also make sure you know what is going on in the area that you are directed to wait in – if you snooze, you lose as other people will push in if you are not pushy enough yourself, or as the second group found, it was late in the day, and there did not seem to be anybody around processing paperwork & passports. They had to draw attention to this themselves! Completely different experiences to entry at Beijing and Shanghai last year, where they both did seem geared up for TWOV and there is no big delay in getting it done.
Back to the hotel and a decent breakfast can be had just around the corner from the lobby, between 6am to 10:30am. With a decent breakfast taken and happy hour enjoyed in the Lounge, I did not feel the need to check out the restaurants within this hotel. However, if you did and found not to be to your liking, it is just a 10 minute walk back to the terminal, where you can find a Lawson, 7-11, McDonalds, Burger King & KFC. As is the norm with any Chinese airport I have been to, there is a small security check to go back into the terminal.
The following log is in country prefix, then airline, type and reg order. As it was dark by the time we settled into our hotel, I’ve included some pictures taken from the next day for this blog post;
9M-RAL, Airbus A320 251NSL, AirAsia (8707)
A6-ENX, Boeing 777 31HER, Emirates Airline (42318)
B-304E, Airbus A320 214SL, Air China (8462)
B-1877, Airbus A321 232SL, Air China (6273)
B-30AG, Airbus A321 271NSL, Air China (9124)
B-30C6, Airbus A321 271NSL, Air China (9322)
B-6072, Airbus A330 243, Air China (759)
B-1180, Boeing 737MAX 8, Air China (60905)
B-1738, Boeing 737NG 89L/W, Air China (41325)
B-5426, Boeing 737NG 89L/W, Air China (36744)
B-5680, Boeing 737NG 89L/W, Air China (40035)
B-6496, Boeing 737NG 89L/W, Air China (44926)
B-2447, Boeing 747 4J6, Air China (25883)
B-1282, Boeing 777 300ER, Air China (65301)
B-322C, Airbus A320 251NSL, Air Travel (10475)
B-226Y, Boeing 777 F, Central Airlines (66079)
B-1028, Airbus A320 214SL, China Eastern Airlines (7893)
B-6673, Airbus A320 232, China Eastern Airlines (4340)
B-30DJ, Airbus A320 251NSL, China Eastern Airlines (9355)
B-30ES, Airbus A320 251NSL, China Eastern Airlines (9449)
B-6330, Airbus A321 211, China Eastern Airlines (3247)
B-8860, Airbus A321 211SL, China Eastern Airlines (8049)
B-6927, Airbus A321 231, China Eastern Airlines (5309)
B-32KT, Airbus A321 251NXSL, China Eastern Airlines (12121)
B-1319, Boeing 737NG 800/W, China Eastern Airlines (63765)
B-1421, Boeing 737NG 800/W, China Eastern Airlines (41508)
B-5515, Boeing 737NG 89P/W, China Eastern Airlines (36769)
B-1697, Airbus A320 232, China Southern Airlines (6612)
B-9913, Airbus A320 232, China Southern Airlines (5484)
B-9917, Airbus A320 232, China Southern Airlines (5602)
B-1690, Airbus A320 232SL, China Southern Airlines (6551)
B-305D, Airbus A320 251NSL, China Southern Airlines (8726)
B-32H3, Airbus A320 251NSL, China Southern Airlines (11856)
B-32N3, Airbus A320 251NSL, China Southern Airlines (12703)
B-8637, Airbus A320 271NSL, China Southern Airlines (7129)
B-1606, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (6385)
B-6353, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (3552)
B-6355, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (3566)
B-6356, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (3587)
B-6629, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (4224)
B-6630, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (4230)
B-6657, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (4266)
B-6659, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (4292)
B-6661, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (4341)
B-6687, Airbus A321 231, China Southern Airlines (4430)
B-32N5, Airbus A321 251NXSL, China Southern Airlines (12754)
B-32N7, Airbus A321 251NXSL, China Southern Airlines (12804)
B-303H, Airbus A321 253NSL, China Southern Airlines (8425)
B-30E2, Airbus A321 253NXSL, China Southern Airlines (9302)
B-30E6, Airbus A321 253NXSL, China Southern Airlines (9240)
B-30E7, Airbus A321 253NXSL, China Southern Airlines (9325)
B-30EV, Airbus A321 253NXSL, China Southern Airlines (9266)
B-5940, Airbus A330 323X, China Southern Airlines (1519)
B-329S, Airbus A350 941, China Southern Airlines (506)
B-1239, Boeing 737NG 800/W, China Southern Airlines (63260)
B-1402, Boeing 737NG 800/W, China Southern Airlines (63250)
B-5193, Boeing 737NG 81B/W, China Southern Airlines (35370)
B-5596, Boeing 737NG 81B/W, China Southern Airlines (38964)
B-5715, Boeing 737NG 81B/W, China Southern Airlines (38936)
B-30DY, Airbus A320 251NSL, Colorful Guizhou Airlines (9543)
B-227S, Boeing 737MAX 8, Donghai Airlines (61290)
B-1415, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Donghai Airlines (61276)
B-204N, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Donghai Airlines (43899)
B-7300, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Donghai Airlines (61278)
B-1705, Boeing 737NG 86J/W, Donghai Airlines (39387)
B-7100, Boeing 737NG 8Q8/W, Donghai Airlines (41810)
B-225R, Boeing 737MAX 8, Hainan Airlines (64318)
B-1141, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Hainan Airlines (63622)
B-1787, Boeing 737NG 84P/W, Hainan Airlines (41379)
B-1799, Boeing 737NG 84P/W, Hainan Airlines (41381)
B-5662, Boeing 737NG 84P/W, Hainan Airlines (38153)
B-2750, Boeing 787 8, Hainan Airlines (34942)
B-1270, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Jiangxi Air (63691)
B-209R, Boeing 787 9, Juneyao Air (64315)
B-1059, Airbus A330 343E, Lucky Air (1838)
B-20A2, Boeing 767 36DBCF, SF Airlines (35155)
B-224S, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shandong Airlines (61457)
B-6351, Airbus A320 214, Shenzhen Airlines (3366)
B-6855, Airbus A320 214, Shenzhen Airlines (4876)
B-6937, Airbus A320 214, Shenzhen Airlines (5082)
B-9910, Airbus A320 214, Shenzhen Airlines (5550)
B-8077, Airbus A320 214SL, Shenzhen Airlines (6708)
B-8219, Airbus A320 214SL, Shenzhen Airlines (6721)
B-8220, Airbus A320 214SL, Shenzhen Airlines (6911)
B-6691, Airbus A320 232, Shenzhen Airlines (4409)
B-6692, Airbus A320 232, Shenzhen Airlines (4407)
B-6935, Airbus A320 232, Shenzhen Airlines (4977)
B-1602, Airbus A320 232SL, Shenzhen Airlines (6217)
B-8181, Airbus A320 232SL, Shenzhen Airlines (7420)
B-32LZ, Airbus A320 251NSL, Shenzhen Airlines (12566)
B-32NA, Airbus A320 271NSL, Shenzhen Airlines (12808)
B-32CF, Airbus A321 271NXSL, Shenzhen Airlines (11108)
B-32CG, Airbus A321 271NXSL, Shenzhen Airlines (11210)
B-32DS, Airbus A321 271NXSL, Shenzhen Airlines (11227)
B-1036, Airbus A330 343E, Shenzhen Airlines (1839)
B-1146, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61135)
B-1160, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61136)
B-207D, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61141)
B-207E, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61140)
B-20DP, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61149)
B-20ER, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61154)
B-224Y, Boeing 737MAX 8, Shenzhen Airlines (61155)
B-1475, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Shenzhen Airlines (61126)
B-1517, Boeing 737NG 87L/W, Shenzhen Airlines (37626)
B-1758, Boeing 737NG 87L/W, Shenzhen Airlines (40825)
B-7749, Boeing 737NG 87L/W, Shenzhen Airlines (61118)
B-5357, Boeing 737NG 8AL/W, Shenzhen Airlines (35081)
B-1881, Airbus A320 214SL, Sichuan Airlines (6339)
B-30CH, Airbus A320 271NSL, Sichuan Airlines (8836)
B-32H2, Airbus A321 231(PCF), Sichuan Airlines (2974)
B-9936, Airbus A321 231SL, Sichuan Airlines (5670)
B-1672, Airbus A320 214SL, Spring Airlines (6358)
B-1313, Boeing 737NG 800/W, Suparna Airlines (60169)
B-8420, Airbus A330 243, Tibet Airlines (1730)
B-321T, Airbus A321 211SL, West Air (7358)
B-1707, Boeing 737NG 85C/W, XiamenAir (39906)
B-7179, Boeing 737NG 85C/W, XiamenAir (40960)
B-7559, Boeing 737NG 85C/W, XiamenAir (42928)
B-320E, Airbus A320 251NSL, Zhejiang Loong Airlines (9490)
B-329Q, Airbus A321 251NXSL, Zhejiang Loong Airlines (10648)
B-7765, Bombardier Global 5000 (9713)
Photo credits: Grant Robinson
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Best regards,
Grant Robinson
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