Today’s traveller is seeking affordability, value-adds, safety, and ease when booking their flights to Europe. For many, transiting through China conjured preconceptions that Chinese airports were something to be endured. With the help of Sydney Airport, we looked at the most common China transit myths to see if they could be busted.
Sydney Airport have been shouting from the rooftops that Europe has never been closer with connections via China. Dubbed The Silk Skyway, three major airlines – Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern – can whisk your clients from the Opera House to the Eiffel Tower, the London Eye or Rome’s Colosseum with more ease.
We asked around, though, and found there were still myths about what travel to Europe via China looked like. We even had some ourselves. So, we did what you’re too busy to do and researched what still stands and what’s no longer true.
Read on to find out what we discovered.
Myth 1: Chinese airports are drab & boring
Busted: If we teleport you to 2006, you’d discover that Chinese airports were utilitarian buildings where brown was the primary colour and boredom your top feeling. Functional, yes. Fun, no.
Today, when your clients travel from Sydney Airport to Beijing Capital Airport, Shanghai Pudong, and Guangzhou Baiyun, they’ll enjoy consistent facilities and terminal experiences. These airports are polished, high-capacity gateways with futuristic architecture, rest-supportive spaces, and contemporary passenger and retail services that exceed expectations.
Each airport is also on a mission to expand, upgrade, and impress. Pudong is adding new dining, pop-ups, and digital services, and in October 2025, Guangzhou opened a major new nature-inspired terminal, alongside upgraded passenger support services.
Myth 2: Chinese layovers are long with nothing to do
Busted: As you may have read in our recent review of transiting China (URL #3), you can get from Sydney to Paris in under 24 hours with China Southern, with layovers around 80 minutes.
When Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern have layovers around the eight-hour mark, your clients are automatically approved to join one of the complimentary transit tours offered.
What’s boring about spending your layover time visiting the iconic Great Wall of China? Or witnessing history and high-tech collide from the Bund in Shanghai? Or sampling free dim sum in Guangzhou?
Zilch, that’s what.
Myth 3: It’s hard to stopover in China
Busted: If you ever waited hours in a Chinese embassy for a visa, you can be forgiven for thinking Chinese stopovers are challenging before you’ve even left the country.
Australian passport holders currently qualify for a free 30-day Chinese visa for transits and touring. It’s an ideal way to break a long journey without any visa application hassles. For non-Aussie passport holders, there is 24-hour visa-free transit, too.
Tell us what’s hard for today’s transiting traveller when they can secure a free airport hotel with Air China, China Eastern, and China Southern? Each offer complimentary airport transit hotels for layovers between six and 24-30hours, which include transfers and breakfast.
This myth is definitely busted.
Myth 4: If you don’t speak Chinese, the airports are stressful
Busted: If your Mandarin is limited to xie xie and your Cantonese to dim sum, we can understand why you might be nervous about navigating a Chinese airport.
Except, not on their watch, say the big three hubs, with more support for international travellers. Each has multilingual signage, free Wi-Fi, and accepts overseas bank cards.
Beijing Capital Airport has dedicated service counters with English-speaking staff. At Pudong, your clients will find one-stop service centres, with mobile payment support, including SIM card services. Guangzhou Baiyun’s international service centre provides tourist support for communication, payments, and transport.
It’s also worth recommending your clients download the relevant Google Translate language pack (Mandarin for Beijing and Shanghai; Cantonese for Guangzhou) to use while transiting.
Myth 5: Chinese airports are too far from the city
Busted: What is too far when you have high-speed train lines and integrated metro systems? Sure, in the old days, you might have sat bumper-to-bumper in a smoke-filled cab to get to your destination, but today’s rail and metro services have eliminated that need.
For instance, in Pudong, travellers can hop on the Maglev train, whizzing 30 kilometres in eight minutes (an attraction in its own right) or use the Airport Link Line.
In Beijing, the airport express connects the airport with downtown Beijing, running every 10-12 minutes. Guangzhou’s Metro gives visitors access to the city’s 300 stations.
Myth 6: It’s a compromise to transit through China
Busted: Comfort or speed were previously considered a necessary sacrifice for an affordable airfare when transiting to Europe via China. Today, your clients can secure comfort, speed, and convenience, and a value-laden airfare with those epic layover perks.
In 2026, transiting via China is the smarter routing option. When you consider visa-free entry for Australians, free tours, transit hotels, upgraded terminals, and fast city access, travelling via Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou make stopovers part of the value, no longer something to endure.
Learn more
So, there you have it, six preconceptions smashed. Bust more China transit myths on Sydney Airport’s dedicated Silk Skyway page.
This article is brought to you by Sydney Airport.
