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Zhengzhou Xinzheng Intl. Airport – Spotting Guide
- last modified on March 22, 2026
Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport (IATA: CGO, ICAO: ZHCC) is an international airport serving Zhengzhou, the capital of South Central China’s Henan province. The airport is located in Xinzheng, 37 kilometres (23 mi) southeast of downtown Zhengzhou. It was opened on 28 August 1997, replacing its predecessor, the now-demolished Dongjiao Airport. The airport is the largest international airport in Henan and serves as a main gateway for the province and the central plain area.
The airport is operated by Henan Airport Group and is a hub for Cargolux, as well as a focus city for China Southern Airlines, Shenzhen Airlines, West Air, Lucky Air, and Donghai Airlines. According to statistics of 2018, it is the 12th-busiest airport by passenger traffic in the People’s Republic of China with 27,334,730 passengers, and the seventh busiest airport in terms of cargo traffic nationwide. As of 2018, the airport is the busiest airport in central China in both passenger and cargo traffic.
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 Tombarelli Federico. Last Update: March 2026, Spot 1
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 12R/30L | 3,400 (11,155ft) concrete |
| 12L/30R | 3,600 (11,811ft) concrete |
| Terminals | |
| Terminal 1 | Closed now. |
| Terminal 2 | The nowadays operative terminal. |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | Not required. |
| Car/Public Transport | Spot #2 can be reached by foot after using metro or busses, for Spot #1 you need a car so you must use Didi or know a local person to bring you there. |
| Drinks/Food | Nothing around in both spots, bring a lot of water in sping/summer as it is super hot and you have no shadow at all to hide. Near your hotel you will find a lot of small markets to get what you need before going spotting |
| Hotels | Plenty hotels outside the airport area, you really have all the choices you want. However, none is special for spotting. |
| Season | In summer it might be too hot and too rainy, thus we recommend the months from october to april. |
| Security | Security knows that spotters/enthusiasts go to those locations and they really don’t care, you are free to enjoy your stay. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 12R/30L | Almost all arrivals expect foreign cargo. |
| 12L/30R | All departures and foreign cargos like Cargolux, Turkish Cargo, Silk Way etc. will land here. |
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 – The Hills – Taxiways and 12L/30R |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located in a field with a lot of hills, just in front of the terminal and next to 2 taxiways and the RWY 12L/30R. To reach this spot you have to insert as destination for your navigator/Didi destinantion “Changying Tunnel” which is east of the Terminal along Changying Road. This is also the only road going there so you can’t miss it even only by looking at the map, is quite intuitive. From the tunnel entrance just get off the car and start walk to the hills on the map. There is now vegetation/trees and you can place yourself anywhere along the fence. Be aware that it might be difficult to get a Didi to pick you up to get back as you are in the middle of nowhere for them. You might need to walk a bit down the road to get closer to the other big road to get a driver accepting your request. |
| WHAT | Every movement taxing to the RWY for departure or arrivals taxing to the parkings in front of you or on the left of the terminal. There are 3 taxiways so be aware that the focal lenght might vary fast from airplane to airplane, anyway you have a clear and wide sight so you can be ready easily in time.
For RWY shots: |
| TIME | Basically you can stay there all day long. From Sunrise to around midday for taxiways and then from midday to sunset for runway. Heat haze becomes a problem only on the farthest taxiway once the day gets hotter around noon. On RWY the same, around midday it is hazy so you can walk a bit down the runway to get the airplanes already airborn and avoid haze until it cools down and you can shoot on the ground again in the afternoon. |
| MISC. | No ladder needed as you are over all the fences, bring a lot of water and some snacks, maybe something to sit down also to enjoy all day long there. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Taxiways: B737-800: from 60mm for to 220mm depending on which taxiway – the middle taxiway is the most common and needs around 110/120mm. Runway: 200mm A320; 120mm B747 |
Taxiways:
Runway:
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Spot #2 – Cargo Taxiway Hill – Departures 12L from Cargo Apron |
|---|---|
| WHERE | This spot is located on a hill next to the only taxiway from cargo apron for departures while RWY12 is active. The spot is a the end of Shizu Road: just set the Didi destination near the taxiway near spot 2 on the map, you should recognize it easily. When you reach a big wall you should find a car park and on your left some trees with a walking path among them. You take it and you will find the fence, here you see on your right the hill and you just climb.
Some Chinese spotters gave us those coordinates (113.861035, 34.537077), but we don’t know if you can make them work. Anyway, it isn’t hard at all to find. |
| WHAT | Only Cargo planes. This spot is great for taxing planes out of the Cargo Apron. You are really close and the view is incredible. Also if the day isn’t too hot you might take some pics of the Cargo apron or the closest planes to you, if not blocked by vehicles or objects.
Check those links to get an idea: https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10886366 or https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10957374 |
| TIME | Afternoon only. |
| MISC. | You get only movements from cargo apron so you will go there with a clear target in mind, otherwise it will be a waste of time… But bring everything you need with you like water and snacks as there is nothing around. No ladder needed you are quite high already. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 24-100mm Tu204: 40mm |
there is a new location to taking photo for the plane holdshort or taxi on runaway 12L, it’s called 郑州机场航空观景基地, they have a grandstand for photographers and for the taxiway you need about 300mm lens for a B737, 200mm lens for a B787 all of the plane will take of on that runway so which means you can see all the plane taxi, some of the cargo planes are from the north side of the airport and a B747 needs 200mm lens, it open for all days, 24 hours and you are free to stay there, no police, no pay, also they have a store for sell some airplane models and foods, snacks. At last, welcome to Zhengzhou international airport, have fun!
Spot 1 seems ok for locals taking photographs but be careful if logging registrations as secure and police are called and involves ok g discussions and being asked to move.
Also there is a new ‘official spot’ now available called Hang Xian Li Shang Ye Jie which will be ok if landing on the correct runway. Exact location and picture will be sent soon
These locations can be easily reached by using the online taxi software such as “Didi or 滴滴” , but almost all of the driver will reject the online taxi order from these locations to downtown. If you want to return to downtown from these locations, it’s recommended to use the “reservation or 预约 ” function of these software, which can let the driver pick you up from the location at the designated time, but at a higher price.