Beneath the airline schemes sits a second layer — a dozen Chinese airports that will put you up for the night whoever you flew in with. Almost none of it is documented in English.
🏨 Airport-run, not airline
📱 WeChat mini programmes
🚩 One already expired
Last verified: August 2026.
⚡ Quick reference
The AIRPORT, not the airline
A dozen Chinese airports, listed below
Mianyang — bed, breakfast AND a transfer
Jieyang Chaoshan — 48 hours
WeChat mini programme or a Chinese phone line
4 hours to 3 days, depending on airport
One bed, shared, same gender
Quanzhou — dates ran to 31 Dec 2025
Every other guide in this series is about an airline. This one is about the thing sitting underneath
them, which almost nobody writes about in English: Chinese airports run their own free transit
accommodation schemes, independent of which carrier you flew in on. They are documented in the
transit annexes that airlines publish for their own passengers, in Chinese, and they are the reason a
traveller can end up with a free room at an airport whose airline offers nothing of the kind.
The list below is drawn from Hainan Airlines’ own published transit-accommodation document and Spring
Airlines’ partner-airport reference. Terms differ at every airport, and the differences are not trivial.
| Airport | What is published | How to claim |
|---|---|---|
| Mianyang (MIG) | Overnight air-to-air transit: one person, one bed, one night, including breakfast and one transfer — the most complete offer on the list |
Apply as an overnight connecting passenger |
| Jinan (TNA) | Overnight air-to-air transit with a connection of 6 to 48 hours: one person, one bed, one night |
At least one day ahead, via the Jinan Airport WeChat account or the Transit Passenger Service mini programme. Airport 0531-96888; transit line 0531-82086485, 08:00–22:00 |
| Hohhot (HET) | Overnight transit inside 24 hours: one free night, plus one free return transfer between hotel and terminal. Pay the difference for a single room |
Individuals: phone at least 12 hours before the first flight. Groups: at least three days. Hotel 0471-4942700 / 4942777 / 18547117381 |
| Lanzhou (LHW) | Overnight transit inside 24 hours: one night, two same-gender passengers per room, checkout before 14:00. Plus a meal voucher if you land in a meal window |
Call 13669336855 at least four hours before the first flight, 07:00–23:00. Airport enquiries 0931-96556 |
| Shijiazhuang (SJW) | Next-day overnight connection: a free bed at a designated hotel plus free terminal shuttles. No meals. Checkout by 12:00. Unaccompanied 12–18s get a single room free; under-12s unaccompanied are excluded |
At least one day ahead through the Hebei Airport WeChat mini programme, or 0311-96360. Applications 08:00–22:00, up to 7 days ahead |
| Jieyang Chaoshan (SWA) | Overnight transit inside 48 hours — the widest window here — and one room per person rather than a shared bed. Plus a 30 yuan meal voucher |
Phone a day ahead. At busy periods the airport may offer its own apartment block instead, with your agreement |
| Chongqing (CKG) | Airport-provided transit accommodation | Via the “重庆飞会员” or “中转旅客服务通” WeChat mini programmes |
| Guiyang (KWE) | Airport-provided transit accommodation | Via the Guizhou civil-aviation service platform. Must be booked 24 hours before the flight date. Enquiries 15180890703 |
| Kunming (KMG) | Transit accommodation for passengers whose final destination is Xinjiang or Tibet |
Kunming Changshui WeChat mini programme, under service booking then transit services. 0871-96566 / 0871-67093724 |
| Korla (KRL) | Transit accommodation voucher | Via the Transit Passenger Service mini programme. Enquiries 0996-2364008 |
| Quanzhou (JJN) | 🚩 Service dates ran 1 Nov – 31 Dec 2025 and have passed. Listed here so you know not to rely on it |
Was via the Transit Passenger Service mini programme |
| Nanchang (KHN) | No accommodation. Domestic-to-domestic passengers without checked bags skip the second security check; shopping discounts |
Transfer desk. Enquiries 0791-87652114 |
The three things that decide whether you actually get a room
1. You have to ask before you fly
Not one of these airports will reliably sort you out on arrival. The lead times range from four hours
at Lanzhou to three days for groups at Hohhot, and Guiyang insists on 24 hours before the flight date
rather than before the flight. The single biggest reason travellers miss these schemes is not
ineligibility; it is turning up and asking.
2. The channel is almost always a WeChat mini programme
One name recurs across the network: 中转旅客服务通 — “Transit Passenger
Service” — which covers Chongqing, Jinan, Korla and Quanzhou among others. Others use their
own: the Hebei Airport service for Shijiazhuang, the Kunming Changshui programme, the Guizhou platform.
If you do not use WeChat, your fallback is a Chinese-language phone line, and the numbers are published
above for exactly that reason.
3. A bed is not a room
Most of these schemes specify one person, one bed, with same-gender sharing as the default and
a supplement if you want the room to yourself. The exceptions are worth knowing: Jieyang Chaoshan gives a
room per person, and Shijiazhuang gives unaccompanied 12- to 18-year-olds a single room at no extra
charge.
and one entry on this page has already lapsed — Quanzhou’s ran only to 31 December 2025. Treat every
row as a prompt to check rather than a promise, and confirm on the published number before you build a
night around it. This page reports what the airlines’ own transit annexes said when it was written.
How this fits with the airline schemes
The two layers stack, and knowing which one you are claiming under changes who you ask. If you are on a
through ticket with Air China, China Southern, Sichuan, Shandong or Xiamen, start with the airline —
their schemes are better documented, more generous on hotel grade, and bookable in English through an app.
If your carrier offers nothing, or you fall outside its cabin gate, check whether your connecting
airport is on the list above. That is the route most people never think to try.
Frequently asked questions
Are these run by the airline or the airport?
The airport. That is the whole point of this guide. Alongside the airline schemes from Air China, China Southern, Sichuan, Shandong and others, a parallel network of airport-run transit accommodation exists at a dozen Chinese airports. It is documented mainly in Chinese, inside carriers’ own transit annexes, and it is almost invisible in English.
Which airports give a free bed?
On Hainan Airlines’ published list: Chongqing, Guiyang, Hohhot, Jinan, Korla, Kunming (for passengers onward to Xinjiang or Tibet), Lanzhou, Mianyang, Shijiazhuang and, on Spring Airlines’ list, Jieyang Chaoshan and Nanchang. Terms differ at every single one.
Which is the best?
Mianyang, on the published terms. It is the only one that specifies one person, one bed, one night including breakfast and one transfer. Most of the others give the bed and stop there.
How far ahead do I need to book?
It varies sharply and none of them are same-day. Hohhot wants 12 hours for individuals and three days for groups. Guiyang requires booking 24 hours before the flight date. Lanzhou wants four hours. Jinan, Shijiazhuang and Jieyang want a full day. Assume you must arrange it before you travel.
Do I need Chinese to claim these?
Realistically, yes, or help from someone who has it. Almost every channel is a WeChat mini programme — “中转旅客服务通” (Transit Passenger Service) recurs across several airports — or a Chinese-language phone line. This is the main practical barrier for foreign travellers, not eligibility.
Is any of this time-limited?
Yes, and one entry has already lapsed. Quanzhou’s listing carries service dates of 1 November to 31 December 2025, which have passed. Treat that one as expired unless the airport confirms otherwise, and treat the rest as reviewable — these are airport programmes, revised far more often than airline ones.
Related guides
- China Southern transit hotel — the largest airline-run scheme
- Sichuan Airlines transit hotel — Chengdu, with the widest connection window
- All airline stopover hotel programmes compared — every carrier in this series side by side