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February 22, 2019Nanjing Lukou International Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on April 2, 2020
Nanjing Lukou International Airport (NKG/ZSNJ) is the gateway of Jiangsu Province and Nanjing City, which is the main hub airport of China and the main freight airport in East China. This airport is located in Jiangning District, about 40km from the center of Nanjing.
Nanjing Lukou International Airport was officially opened in July 1997, terminal 2 and runway 2 were opened in July 2014. At present, this airport is a 4F airport with two runways, two terminal buildings (terminal 1 is undergoing renovation and expansion), two freight terminals and a transportation center. In 2018, 63 companies operated regular passenger flights and cargo flights at NKG, routes reached 122 cities, including 89 cities in China and 33 cities in international and regional areas. Passenger throughput in 2018 is about 28 million, ranking 11th in China.
Flight information can be accessed on the airport official website.
General tips for China
Some websites and app don’t work in China (like Whattsap or Facebook/Messanger ecc.) so you might need a list of useful apps:
- WeChat: every Chinese person has this app, it also has a good translation function that helps really a lot because the language is the main barrier. You can translate from Chinese writings and they can translate your English into Chinese characters. This is a must have.
- Didi: the Chinese “Uber”
- Mobike: If you need to rent a bike (not totally needed in Sanya)
- Baidu Maps: This is the “Google Maps” that works, instead of the Google one
We recommend to buy a prepaid card at the airport during transit as the chance to talk to an english speaking seller is much bigger there.
Guide was written by Qiao Zheng. Last Update: February 2019
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety | |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Visitor Rating How was your trip? Rate this airport! |
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 06/24 | 3.600m (11.811ft) |
| 07/25 | 3.600m (11.811ft) |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | Closed due to ongoing renovation and expansion works. |
| Terminal 2 | Hosts all airlines at the moment. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | It’s not necessary. If you have a ladder will be better, because some of the bamboo poles in bird nets are relativley high, will block the aircraft tyres. |
| Car/Public Transport | Car is recommended. If there is no car, you need to take the subway or bus, then ride a shared bicycle to spot, and will take a long time. |
| Restrooms | There is nothing at the spots themselves. |
| Drinks/Food | There is nothing at the spots themselves. |
| Hotels | The only hotel connected to airport grounds is the Pullman Nanjing Lukou Airport Hotel. It is connected to the departure floor of Terminal 2. Other nearby hotels include Atour Hotle, Ramada Hotel, etc. |
| Season | Sunny days are rare in winter months, but common in summer. Therefore heat distortion is a big problem around noon in summer months. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 06/24 | Usually used for departures. |
| 07/25 | Usually used for arrivals. |
Due to national security concerns, the use of geographic information in China is restricted and the layers in google maps don´t fit. The satellite images are correct but the street layers are displaced!
Please click on the link at each location (WHERE) to get to the chinese website baidu where you find an exact map with satellite and street view images. If you use a smartphone please download the Baidu App.
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Spot #1 – Shanghong Road – 07/25 activities |
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| WHERE | There is no convenient public transport to Spot#1 from Terminal 2, you need to drive to this spot. Drive southward along Lutong Road(No. 103rd Village Road) to Jincheng College, then turn right to Shanghuan Road. Continue to drive westward along Shanghuan Road to the end, then turn right to Shanghong Road. And continue to drive northward along Shanghong Road to the end will reach the airport boundary. From the spot you’ll be able to look over the fence directly without any helpful object (such as a ladder or similar).
The nearest target in navigation software is “Shanghong Road”(“尚洪路”)，drive northward along Shanghong Road to the end. |
| WHAT | This is a relatively easy spot to reach, and better light lasts longer. RWY 07/25 is mainly used for landing. In this location, you can photograph arrivals both on RWY 07 and RWY 25, and sometimes a few aircraft takeoff in the early morning. |
| TIME | Best light from sunrise till 1 pm in summer, and from sunrise till 4 pm in winter. |
| MISC. | There is no food, no water, no restroom. You need to take everything there yourself.
If you have a ladder will be better, because some of the bamboo poles in bird nets are relatively high, will block the aircraft tyres. So Ladder recommended. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-200mm |
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Spot #2 – Touchdownpoint – 07 arrivals + Line-Ups |
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| WHERE | This spot is very close to Spot#1. You need to park at Spot#1, then walk westward along the path outside the airport boundary. For about 800 meters, where the path turned southward, is just the target location. Search your favourite position in this area then, where you are near the touchdownpoint then. From the spot you’ll be able to look over the fence directly without any helpful object (such as a ladder or similar). LINK TO EXACT POSITION ON BAIDU MAPS |
| WHAT | RWY 07/25 is mainly used for landing. In this location, you can photograph arrivals on RWY 07, and sometimes cagro takeoffs in the early summer morning. |
| TIME | Best light from sunrise till 1 pm in summer, and from sunrise till 4 pm in winter. |
| MISC. | There is no food, no water, no restroom. You need to take everything there yourself. No ladder needed/useful. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-200mm |
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| WHERE | There is no convenient public transport to Spot#3 from Terminal 2, you need to drive to this spot. You can see a radar station at the southwest corner of the T-junction between Baoshuiyuan Avenue and Lukou Street. Then continue to drive southward along the path beside the radar station for about 400 meters to reach the airport boundary. From the spot you’ll be able to look over the fence directly without any helpful object (such as a ladder or similar).
Navigation software can be used to select “Guanjiabian”(“官家边”) as the target location.
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| WHAT | RWY 06/24 is mainly used for takeoff. In this location, you can photograph aircraft on taxiway(will be some geothermal effects) and takeoffs on RWY 24. |
| TIME | Best light from 3 pm till sunset in summer. All day backlight almost in winter. |
| MISC. | There is no food, no water, no restroom. You need to prepare everything yourself. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-400mm Taxiway: 200-400mm / Runway: 70-200mm |
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Spot #4 – Zhuanghu Village – 06/24 departures |
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| WHERE | There is no convenient public transport to Spot#4 from Terminal 2, you need to drive to this spot. You can see a radar station at the southwest corner of the T-junction between Baoshuiyuan Avenue and Lukou Street. Continue to drive westward along Baoshuiyuan Avenue for about 1300 meters, where you can see a factory with blue doors on your left, then turn left and drive southward along the No. 122nd Village Road. For about 900 meters, where you can see a nursery on your left, then turn left and drive southward along the path to reach the airport boundary. Then you’ll find some rocks near the fence where you can climb on and spot from easily to get over the fence well.
The nearest target in navigation software is “Zhuanghu Village”(“庄湖村”)，”Zhuanghu Village” and the nursery are both on the No. 122nd Village Road. |
| WHAT | RWY 06/24 is mainly used for takeoff. In this location, you can photograph aircraft on taxiway(will be some geothermal effects) and takeoffs on RWY 24 or takeoffs on RWY 06(most aircraft are still taxiing at high speeds). |
| TIME | Best light from 3 pm till sunset in summer. All day backlight almost in winter. |
| MISC. | There is no food, no water, no restroom. You need to take everything there yourself. No ladder needed/useful. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70-300mm Taxiway: 150-300mm / Runway: 70-200mm |
2 Comments
Hi, Is there any information where you can get a shared bicycle?
AFAIK you get that at almost every bigger subway/train station