Taiyuan Wusu International Airport (ICAO: ZBYN, IATA: TYN) is an international airport located in the Shanxi province in northern China and welcomed 13.5 Mio passengers in 2018. This airport is a purely civil airport, but occasionally there are Chinese Air Force aircraft to train or transport important personnel. The airport is the base of China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines and Kunming Airlines. There were many international flights at the airport, such as flights to Denpasar, Thailand, Bangkok, Russia, Moscow and Nagoya, Japan, but these flights were grounded by COVID-19.At present, the airport mainly operates domestic routes, but there will be an international flight from Warsaw Chopin International Airport in Poland operated by Air China every Saturday, and a cargo flight from China Southern Airlines to San Francisco International Airport in the United States on the same day. At present, you can see many domestic airlines in China, such as China Eastern Airlines, Hainan Airlines, China Southern Airlines, China International Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Shandong Airlines and so on.

Spot1 is used to shoot the takeoff and landing of runway 31, spot2 can shoot both takeoff and landing, and spot3 is used to shoot the takeoff and landing of runway 13. Therefore, you can rest assured to shoot at the airport without worrying about the risk of missing rare aircraft.

General tips for China

many foreign websites and apps are blocked and don’t work in China. Below you will find some helpful apps:

• WeChat: every Chinese use 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. The common western messenger services like Facebook, WhatsApp etc. don not work in China!
• Alipay: it is a major Chinese App that can be registered abroad and almost all shops/stores/hotels etc. support it as an official payment. You can add your western credit card like Amex, VISA or Mastercard to Alipay in advance. Furthermore you can also book and pay flights, hotels, restaurants, didi etc. with the app. This app is a must have!
• Didi: the Chinese “Uber”. Very helpful to reach the spots which are not connected to the public transport.
• Baidu Maps or Gaode Maps: this is the chinese google/apple maps.

We recommend to buy a chinese eSIM in advance from airalo for example. It is cheap and simple to install.

Written by Zeyi Guo (local spotter). Last Update: December 2021

Rating
Movements
Airline Variety
Photo Locations
Weather
Airport Information
Runways
13/31	3.600m (11.811 ft) Concrete
Terminals
Terminal 1	Domestic flights of Hainan Airlines, HNA Group, Shenzhen Airlines, Kunming Airlines, Shandong Airlines and Air China
Terminal 2	Domestic flights of China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, 9 Air , Spring Airlines, Sichuan Airlines,Junyao Air, OK Air, China Express and Chengdu airlines, as well as all international / regional flights of the airport.
Spotting Information
Ladder	Needed for location 4
Car/Public Transport	Cars are necessary here because there is no public transport to all four locations.
Drinks/Food	There are no shops near the four locations. It is recommended that you prepare enough when you go.
Hotels	Nearby hotels can be queried on Ctrip. https://m.ctrip.com/html5/
Season	It’s very hot in summer and cold all day in winter. According to the weather here, the visibility is very high after rain in summer; In winter, only the weather with very cold and northwest wind can have better visibility and bluer sky.
Runway Usage
13/31	Runway 13 / 31 is the only runway of the airport, which runs northwest to Southeast. Due to the prevailing northwest wind in Taiyuan, the probability of using runway 31 will be very high.

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.

	Spot #1 – Beiwangming Town – 31 arrivals and line-up, taxiway
WHERE	This spot is called “Beiwangming” and is the most commonly used place by planespotters to shot the scene when the aircraft takes off and lands using runway 31. You need to use Baidu map to input Chinese search: Beiwangming Central Primary School /北王名中心小学. After entering the village pass the school to your right hand side and go straight north along the road. When see a yellow house turn right. Behind the yellow house, you can see a spiral staircase to reach the rooftop where you can spot from. LINK TO BAIDU
WHAT	RWY31,TWY A,TWY A1,TWY A2
TIME	10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in summer, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in spring and autumn, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter.
MISC.	There are no shops, so you need to bring enough food and water. Entering this village, you will see a piece of ruins, because it is part of the airport expansion and demolition plan and is likely to disappear in the near future. If you like this location, please cherish it.
FOCAL LENGTH	TWY:B777/B787/A330 150mm,B737/A320/ARJ21/CRJ900 250mm. RWY:B777/B787BA330 100mm ,B737/A320/ARJ21/CRJ900 150-200mm

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	Spot #2 – Gaozhong Town – All movements, taxiway, ramp
WHERE	“Gaozhong” is the name of a place close to the south of the middle part of the airport runway. It is an area where you can see the whole airport and the aircraft taking off and landing on runway 13/31 from. This is applicable to frequent runway replacement due to unstable wind direction. To get there you need to search Gaozhong village committee 高中村村委会 in Chinese on Baidu map.Then follow the navigation points on the map to find the shooting location behind some ruins on and a large mound of soil. LINK TO BAIDU
WHAT	RWY31,TWY A,TWY A5,TWY A6,TWY B1,Terminal 1,Terminal 2,Ramp,Tower
TIME	10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in summer, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in spring and autumn, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter.
MISC.	This is also a village to be demolished. It is full of ruins. It also needs to carry its own water and food. The road condition here is very bad, so the photographer needs to judge by himself according to the actual road condition and his own vehicle condition. Of course, walking into the village is the safest, but it takes a relatively long time, about 15 minutes. At the same time, it should be noted that there will be serious Geothermal in summer or when there is no wind, which will have a great impact on the shooting.
FOCAL LENGTH	RWY:B777/B787/A330 70mm,B737/A320/ARJ21/CRJ900 100-150mm. TWY:B777/B787/A330 100-150mm,B737/A320/ARJ21/CRJ900 200-250mm. Ramp 300mm.

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	Spot #3 – Malianying Town 13 arrivals, and line-up, taxiway
WHERE	“Malianying” is a village next to the threshold of runway 13. You need to use Baidu map to search Malianying village 马练营村 in Chinese, and then find a yellow and white 6-storey building according to the navigation point. After entering the building, take the stairs up to the roof of the building. LINK TO BAIDU
WHAT	RWY13,TWY A,TWY A7,TWY A8
TIME	Sunny days: 10:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. in summer, 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in spring and autumn, and 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in winter.
MISC.	It should be noted that the village and the shooting building are inhabited by residents, so please keep quiet and take away the garbage when you leave. There are many restaurants and shops here. Basically, you don’t need to worry about food and water, and you can park downstairs, which is very convenient. However, due to the prevailing northwest wind in Taiyuan, the probability of shoting here is not very high. As there is barbed wire on the roof, it is recommended to carry a small ladder of about 60cm.
FOCAL LENGTH	RWY:70-150mm. TWY:150-250mm.

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	Spot #4 – Parking – Ramp
WHERE	The International apron of the airpot is a suitable place for night shooting. It usually takes long exposure to shot rare international flights arriving at night. You need to search Taiyuan Wusu International Airport No. 1 staff parking lot 太原武宿国际机场1号职工停车场 on Baidu map in Chinese.Then follow the navigation point to the East and find a suitable space in the parking lot in front of the barbed wire and stop. LINK TO BAIDU
WHAT	Ramp
TIME	Summer before 10 a.m. and at any time at night.
MISC.	It is close to the airport terminal, so it is convenient to buy food and water. However, there is a high barbed wire fence. It is recommended to carry a 1.5-2m ladder or stand directly on the roof of the car. At the same time, pay attention not to touch the barbed wire of the airport, and pay attention to the movement of airport security personnel. Most importantly, it is located in the international area. Many international passengers will enter and leave the nearby doors, and suggest wearing masks throughout COVID-19.
FOCAL LENGTH	Ramp:24-70mm.

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