Day 24: At the Airport — Learn Chinese in 30 Days

What You’ll Learn Today

Chinese airports are massive, efficient, and well-signed in English — but knowing Chinese gives you faster navigation and helps when things go wrong (delays, missed connections, lost luggage). Today covers everything from check-in to baggage claim.

Check-In & Boarding

At the check-in counter:

我要办理登机手续。— Wǒ yào bàn lǐ dēng jī shǒu xù. — I’d like to check in. 我要一个靠窗的座位。— Wǒ yào yī gè kào chuāng de zuò wèi. — I’d like a window seat. 我要靠过道的座位。— Wǒ yào kào guò dào de zuò wèi. — I’d like an aisle seat.

At the gate:

几号登机口？— Jǐ hào dēng jī kǒu? — Which boarding gate? 几点开始登机？— Jǐ diǎn kāi shǐ dēng jī? — When does boarding start?

Customs & Immigration

Chinese customs form requires declaring goods. Common questions at the immigration counter:

您来中国的目的是什么？— Nín lái Zhōng guó de mù dì shì shén me? — What is the purpose of your visit to China?

Common answers:

• 旅游。(Lǚ yóu.) — Tourism.
• 商务。(Shāng wù.) — Business.
• 探亲。(Tàn qīn.) — Visiting family.

您会在这里待多久？— Nín huì zài zhè lǐ dāi duō jiǔ? — How long will you stay?

Dealing with Problems

Flight delayed:

我的航班延误了。— Wǒ de háng bān yán wù le. — My flight is delayed. 什么时候起飞？— Shén me shí hou qǐ fēi? — When does it take off?

Lost luggage:

我的行李丢了。— Wǒ de xíng li diū le. — My luggage is lost. 我需要填写一份行李丢失报告。— Wǒ xū yào tián xiě yī fèn xíng li diū shī bào gào. — I need to fill out a lost luggage report.

Airport Layout Words

Chinese	Pinyin	English
到达	dào dá	Arrivals
出发	chū fā	Departures
安检	ān jiǎn	Security check
免税店	miǎn shuì diàn	Duty-free shop
行李领取处	xíng li lǐng qǔ chù	Baggage claim

Cultural Note

China’s airports are among the world’s busiest and most modern. Beijing’s Daxing Airport (大兴机场) opened in 2019 and was called the world’s largest single-structure airport. Shanghai’s two airports (Pudong and Hongqiao) handle over 100 million passengers combined annually.

Arrival customs: Don’t bring: fresh fruit, meat products from most countries, excessive cash (over USD $5,000 must be declared), and narcotics of any kind. Penalties for drug smuggling in China are extremely severe.

Practice Exercise

1. You want a window seat at check-in — what do you say?
2. Your flight is delayed — how do you report it?
3. What’s 行李领取处?
4. The immigration officer asks your purpose of visit. You’re a tourist — what’s your one-word answer?

Answers: 1) 我要一个靠窗的座位。2) 我的航班延误了。3) Baggage claim. 4) 旅游。