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All direct flights to China from the UK & Ireland

Flights to	Code	Flights from	Airline Name	Route to	Route from	Tooltip
Shanghai	PVG	London Heathrow	BA (British Airways)	flights from London Heathrow to Shanghai, China	flights to Shanghai, China from London Heathrow	Book directly with BA for the cheapest flight on the internet.
Shanghai	PVG	London Heathrow	China Eastern Airlines	flights from London Heathrow to Shanghai, China	Flights to Shanghai, China from London Heathrow
Shanghai	PVG	London Heathrow	Virgin Atlantic	flights from London Heathrow to Shanghai, China	Flights to Shanghai, China from London Heathrow
Beijing	PEK	London Heathrow	BA (British Airways)	flights from London Heathrow to Beijing, China	flights to Beijing, China from London Heathrow	Book directly with BA for the cheapest flight on the internet.
Beijing	PEK	London Heathrow	Air China	flights from London Heathrow to Beijing, China	Flights to Beijing, China from London Heathrow

Destination summary

China is set to become one of the world's leading tourist destinations over the next decade as it gradually opens up its borders. You would expect political circumstance to result in China being a more austere and forbidding destination than its eastern neighbours Japan and South Korea, but the Asian giant is (very) slowly being released from the smothering shackles of hardline Communism, showing no sign of being able to resist the lure of rampant capitalism.

Despite the rapid population growth that took place in the latter half of the 20th century, only half of China can be considered properly populated. The vast mountainous expanse to the west - framed by Mongolia to the north, and Tibet to the South - is virtually empty, and contrasts wildly with the nation's industrial south and east, with its ever-expanding cities, including the historic capital and 2008 Olympic host Beijing, and cosmopolitan Shanghai. Considering the onslaught of gleaming super-skyscrapers and monumental motorways, both cities have managed to retain much of their historic core, including the Forbidden City in Beijing and the Bund in Shanghai.

The Great Wall - which stands as the most potent symbol of the Chinese need for insularity - remains an unusually contemplative attraction, both vast and awe-inspiring. Some of the best preserved sections of this ancient marvel are easily accessible from Beijing.

Further afield, deep in the Chinese interior lie the remarkable Terracotta Warriors of Xian, which were discovered by archaeologists in 1974 and have since become one of China's leading tourist attractions.

Flight summary

Despite the economy of the world's most populous nation continuing to grow at a staggering rate, capacity constraints at London's airports have resulted in the UK lagging far behind its main European rivals when it comes to the availability of flights to China.

Luckily any lagging fears over the future of Hong Kong following the handover to China back in 1997 have proved largely unfounded and the city maintains strong links to the UK and is served by no less than four competing airlines. This makes Hong Kong the natural gateway to mainland China, although British Airways and Virgin Atlantic both operate flights to Beijing and Shanghai.

Quick Facts

Country Code: CN

Your Comments (3)

Adam Partridge

13 December 2011 at 21:02 | #

Why are their only two cities in mainland China with flights from the UK? What about Guanghzou?

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- Mark Avery
  
  15 December 2011 at 10:11 | #
  
  The UK has been left trailing by the Germans, Dutch and French when it comes to flights to China's provincial cities. That said, some of those routes have been cut back due to the continuing economic crisis.
  Guanghzou is China's third largest city and is very much becoming a landmark destination - a spectacular new opera house always helps! However, Guanghzou is also very close to Hong Kong, which has excellent connections with the UK, so there is not yet the demand in place to sustain flights to both Hong Kong and Guanghzou.
  
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John Chow

19 January 2012 at 14:36 | #

Considering all the expansion going on in China, do you think we'll get flights there from Glasgow anytime soon? It seems pointless to fly down to London when you could fly directly east. Even connections via Helsinki or Stockholm would make more sense, surely?

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