NO.4 Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (上海虹桥国际机场)

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport

Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport is located near the town of Hongqiao in Changning District, 13 kilometers west of downtown Shanghai, and is closer to the city center than Pudong Airport, Shanghai's main international airport.

The airport was initially built in 1907 as a small military airfield. It was later reconstructed and expanded for civilian aviation. It served as Shanghai's primary airport until the completion of Pudong International Airport in 1999, when many international flights were shifted to Pudong. The airport was rated the most improved airport in the world by Skytrax in 2011.

The airport now connects Shanghai with 89 Chinese cities and 63 overseas cities. In 2010, Hongqiao Airport handled 31.30 million passengers, a growth of 24.8 percent over 2009, making it the 4th busiest airport on the Chinese mainland and the 41st busiest in the world.

NO.3 Shanghai Pudong International Airport (上海浦东国际机场)

Shanghai Pudong International Airport

Shanghai Pudong International Airport is located at the coastal plain of the Pudong New Area, about 30 kilometers away from Shanghai city center, covering an area of 40,000 hectares. The first phase of the airport construction project was completed in September 1999, and the airport was further expanded in 2008 prior to the Beijing Olympic Games. Shanghai became the first city on the Chinese mainland to have five runways for civilian aircraft (Shanghai Pudong airport and Shanghai-Hongqiao airport both included).

The airport connects the city with 62 Chinese cities and over 90 foreign cities through cooperation with 48 domestic and foreign airlines. From 2009 to 2010, passenger traffic increased 27.1 percent from 31.92 million to 40.58 million passengers, slightly less than that of Guangzhou Baiyun Aiport.

NO.2 Guangzhou Baiyun Airport (广州白云机场)

Guangzhou Baiyun Airport

Built in early 1930s, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong Province covers an area of 31,000 hectares. As one of the country's three major aviation hubs, the airport is a hub for China Southern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines.

In addition to its role as a major passenger hub, Guangzhou Baiyun Airport also serves as a major logistics center for South China and Southeast Asia. It hosts 33 airlines, which travel 110 routes per day connecting Guangzhou with over 100 cities in the world. Annual passenger traffic increased by 10.6 percent from 37.05 million in 2009 to 40.98 million in 2010.