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Shenzhen Airport to the City: Metro Line 11, Taxis, Buses and Airport Express Coaches

Last updated: 25 September 2026

Shenzhen Bao'an Airport to the city: Metro Line 11 stations and times, metro fares, taxi and ride-hailing pickup points, airport express coaches and HK/Macau links.

Retrieval date for every figure on this page: 25 September 2026, from the sources listed at the end.

Which Shenzhen airport do you land at?

Shenzhen has one civil airport for scheduled passenger flights: Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport, with the IATA code SZX. The airport's own site publishes its transport pages under the name Bao'an International Airport, and every ground-transport option below is documented there or by the metro operator.

Two things confuse first-time visitors, and both are worth clearing up before arrival:

• "Shenzhen airport" is not Hong Kong airport. The two are separate airports about 40 km apart, in different customs territories. If you are flying into Hong Kong International Airport and continuing to Shenzhen, you are making a cross-border transfer, not a city transfer (see the cross-border section below).
• Station names at the airport use three different words. The metro operator's network list shows a station called Airport East (the eastern terminus of Line 1), a station called Airport North (the northern terminus of Line 20), and the airport's own transport page documents Airport station on Line 11. Check the station name on your ticket app rather than assuming "airport" means one specific platform.

Metro: Line 11, the Airport Express

The airport's transport page documents a single metro link: Line 11, which it labels the Airport Express, at Airport station. Line 11 runs roughly north-west to south-east across the city, so the direction you want depends on where you are staying.

Direction from Airport station	Stations in order	Best for
Towards Bitou	Airport, Airport North, Fuyong, Qiaotou, Tangwei, Ma'anshan, Shajing, Houting, Songgang, Bitou	Bao'an district, Songgang, hotels near the airport
Towards Hongling South	Airport, Bihaiwan, Bao'an, Qianhai Bay, Nanshan, Houhai, Hongshuwan South, Chegongmiao, Futian, Gangxia North, Fuxing, Huaqiang South, Hongling South	Futian CBD, Chegongmiao, Nanshan, Houhai, Luohu-side hotels

First and last trains from Airport station, as published by the airport:

Direction	First train	Last train
Towards Bitou	06:37	00:03
Towards Hongling South	05:36	00:02

The same page also lists late half-route departures and states that the metro operator adjusts services according to actual operating conditions, so treat these as the operator's published figures rather than a guarantee. The metro operator's own customer line for the airport route is published as 0755-88960600, and the airport's 24-hour service line is 0755-23456789.

What a metro ride costs

Fares on the Shenzhen network are distance-based, and the metro operator publishes the formula in English:

Distance band	Ordinary class fare
First 4 km	2 yuan (starting price)
4-12 km	1 yuan per 4 km
12-24 km	1 yuan per 6 km
Beyond 24 km	1 yuan per 8 km

• Business carriage: the operator states the business fare is the ordinary fare for the same route mileage plus a business supplement equal to twice the ordinary fare corresponding to the business mileage. Business-class access is a feature of Line 11, so airport travellers will see both classes.
• Discounts that apply: paying with a Shenzhen Tong card (physical or virtual), a locally issued China T-union card, or Mobile Shenzhen Tong gives a 5% discount on ordinary class. A metro-to-bus transfer within 90 minutes adds a further 0.4 yuan off per person.
• Discounts that do not apply: tickets paid with a metro QR code, a Shenzhen Tong QR code, a Financial IC card or a non-locally issued China T-union card get no regular discount, per the same policy page.

Tickets and payments a visitor should know

Item	What the operator publishes
Ticketing rule	One person, one ticket. The same ticket must be used to enter and exit.
Single-journey ticket	Valid on the day and at the station of sale; collected at the exit gate.
One-day and three-day tickets	Sold at selected station service centres, including Airport station on Line 11; valid for 24 or 72 hours from first entry, unlimited rides.
Time limit inside the system	Exit within 210 minutes.
Luggage	Between 20 kg and 30 kg, or an outside dimension sum of 1.4 m to 1.6 m, requires a luggage ticket equal to the ordinary-class fare. Above 30 kg or 1.6 m, entry is refused.
International bank cards	Since 10 September 2026 every gate on all 17 operating lines and 432 stations accepts tap-to-ride with international bank cards.

The international-card facility is worth spelling out, because it changes the arrival plan. The metro operator's notice dated 22 September 2026 says the service moved from trial (30 June 2026) to full network coverage on 10 September 2026, covers UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB, and accepts cards issued in more than 200 countries and territories. Two conditions are stated: the card must support contactless payment, and small-amount no-PIN payment must be enabled. Currency conversion and charging are handled by the system in the background, so an arriving traveller can tap straight through the gates instead of first buying a transport card or changing cash. The notice also records the operator's own usage figures: about 2,205 foreign-card transactions a day, a single-day peak of 7,369, and more than 150,000 passengers served so far; bilingual gate interfaces and "tap and go" guides have been placed at 30 hub stations, including Airport station.

One rule to note before you tap: international bank cards are handled as pre-authorisation transactions. The operator states that the card's available balance or credit line must be at least the network's maximum business-class single fare, or the system can restrict further rides.

Taxis and ride-hailing: where to stand

Both operate around the clock, and the airport publishes exactly where to find them:

Mode	Hours	Pick-up point
Taxi	00:00-24:00	Ground Transportation Centre, second floor, east side, outside gate 13 (taxi pick-up area)
Ride-hailing (app cars)	00:00-24:00	Zone A: outside gate 15 on the south side of the Ground Transportation Centre, ground floor. Zone B: Ground Transportation Centre, ground floor

The airport page does not publish taxi fares, meter rules, night surcharges or typical journey times, so this page does not state them either. Follow the signage in the Ground Transportation Centre rather than a number from an older guide.

City buses from the Ground Transportation Centre

Six bus routes are listed by the airport, with boarding points inside the Ground Transportation Centre:

Route	Terminus / route	Service hours (towards T3 / reverse)	Frequency	Fare	Boarding point
M592	Ping'anju depot loop	00:00-23:59	5-30 min	2 yuan	Outside gate 16, GTC 2F
M591	Qigangshan Garden depot loop	00:00-23:59	5-30 min	2 yuan	Beside gate 12, GTC 2F (staff-shuttle point on the floor below)
M590	Shenzhen Airport Ferry Terminal - GTC West Platform	07:30-22:00 / 07:00-21:30	25-30 min	2 yuan	Outside gate 16, GTC 2F
M527	Sea World bus interchange - Airport Terminal 3	07:00-22:00 / 06:30-21:30	10-30 min	3 yuan	Outside gate 16, GTC 2F
M387	Hongfa Wanyueshan - GTC West Platform (Airport Terminal 3)	06:30-21:00 / 06:40-22:10	15-30 min	2.5 yuan	Outside gate 16, GTC 2F
A7	Anlan bus depot - GTC West Platform (Airport Terminal 3)	Fixed departures, weekday and weekend timetables differ	Fixed departures	10 yuan	Outside gate 16, GTC 2F

The city transport enquiry line is published as 12328. Buses are the cheapest option and the only one that keeps running for part of the small hours, but they are aimed at local journeys: use them for the airport area and western Bao'an rather than for Futian or Luohu.

Airport express coaches (airport bus lines)

These are the long-distance coach services that run between the Ground Transportation Centre and city districts or district coach terminals. Tickets are sold at the airport express counter beside gate 17, or through the operator's WeChat ticketing account. The airport lists the following services:

Line	Route	Fare	Hours	Frequency
NA2 (Longhua night line)	GTC West Platform - North Station West Square emergency car park	25 yuan	00:00-04:00	About 30-60 min
A4 (Longgang line)	GTC West Platform - Longgang city check-in terminal	35 yuan	07:00-04:00 next day	About 20-30 min
A5 (Pingshan line)	GTC West Platform - Yanzihu International Convention Centre	40 yuan	07:00-04:00 next day	About 20-180 min
A6 (Guangming line)	GTC West Platform - Guangming city check-in terminal	20 yuan	09:00-04:00 next day	About 60-120 min
NA1 (Futian-Luohu night line)	GTC West Platform - Huangbeiling metro station	25 yuan	22:30-05:00 next day	About 20-60 min
T308 (Buji night line)	GTC West Platform - Dafen metro station	25 yuan	00:00-04:00	About 30-60 min
A10 (Futian Port line)	GTC West Platform - Futian Port city check-in terminal	25 yuan	07:00-20:30	About 90 min
T314 (Bao'an-Nanshan night line)	GTC West Platform loop via Taoyuanju, Gushu, Xixiang, Nantou Old Town, Shenzhen University North Gate, Hi-Tech Park metro station	15 yuan	00:00-02:30	About 30 min

Return services towards the airport are listed with their own hours, from as early as 04:00 for the Longgang line to 22:00 for the Futian Port line. The airport notes that the last departure of night lines is flexibly adjusted to the actual arrival time of the last inbound flight. Reverse-direction boarding is at ordinary bus stops along the route, with tickets bought through the operator's WeChat account.

Cross-border links: Hong Kong and Macau

If your itinerary involves Hong Kong or Macau, the airport is a transfer point rather than an endpoint.

Destination	Mode	Fare	Hours	Notes
Hong Kong (Sha Tin, Harbour City, Kowloon, Wan Chai, Sheung Wan)	Cross-border coach	120 yuan to Sha Tin, Harbour City or Kowloon; 130 yuan to Wan Chai or Sheung Wan	08:30-22:00	About 30-60 min between departures; journey about 2 hours
Hong Kong (Tuen Mun, Kwai Fong, Kwun Tong APM)	Cross-border coach	120 yuan	08:30-22:30	About 20-60 min between departures
Hong Kong (Tai Wai, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong International Airport)	Cross-border coach	120 yuan to Tai Wai; 130 yuan to Causeway Bay; 170 yuan to Hong Kong International Airport	08:15-20:45	About 30-60 min between departures
Macau (Taipa Ferry Terminal)	Ferry from the airport ferry terminal	259 yuan adult economy single; 132 yuan child economy single; 435 yuan deluxe single; 2,948 yuan VIP cabin (4 seats, sold per cabin)	Timetable in force from 17 August 2026	Crossing about 80 minutes; the operator notes extra sailings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Two practical points from the same pages. First, the ferry timetable changed with effect from 17 August 2026, and it carries a strict refund scale: 10% of the fare if cancelled more than 60 minutes before departure, 15% inside 60 minutes, 20% within 60 minutes after departure, 30% from 60 minutes after departure up to 24 hours after the scheduled time, and no refund beyond 24 hours. There is no rebooking service on that route, tickets are real-name, and the terminal closes the gate five minutes before departure. Second, several connecting ferry routes are suspended, not merely seasonal: the airport's pages record the Guangzhou Nansha route as suspended since 29 May 2021, the Zhuhai Jiuzhou Port route since 5 August 2024, the Zhongshan ferry route since 17 January 2026, and the Zhuhai Hengqin (Chimelong) route since 11 April 2026. If a guide you are reading lists those routes as running, the operator's own notice is the more current source.

Intercity rail from the airport, and coaches to other Pearl River Delta cities

The airport is also served by intercity rail rather than only by metro and road:

• The Guangzhou-Shenzhen intercity line (Suishen intercity) starts at Shenzhen Airport station on the basement level of Terminal 3 and calls at Airport North, Fuhai West, Shajing West, Chang'an, Chang'an West, Humen East, Humen North, Houjie, Dongguan Port, Hongmei, Dongguan West, Wangniudun, Zhongtang and Xintang South. The airport's page refers times and fares to the national rail ticketing site, so check there rather than relying on a third-party timetable.
• Long-distance coaches run from GTC second floor beside gate 17 (enquiry line 0755-88895000) to Zhuhai, Guangzhou Nansha, Dongguan and Songshan Lake, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Huizhou. Published fares include 100 yuan to Zhuhai Gongbei, 60 yuan to Guangzhou Nansha, 55 yuan to Dongguan, 78 yuan on the Zhongshan night service, 80 yuan on the Jiangmen and Huizhou services. Times vary by city, and some are dense: the Dongguan service runs about every 30 minutes during the day, while the Huizhou service has a fixed departure list from 08:20 to 21:00.

For the rail side of a longer trip, our guide to booking China high-speed rail tickets covers the ticketing rules that apply to foreign passports; for the rest of the airport sequence in the Pearl River Delta, compare Guangzhou airport to the city and Chengdu airport to the city.

How to choose

Your situation	Recommended option
Hotel in Futian, Chegongmiao, Houhai or Nanshan	Metro Line 11 towards Hongling South
Hotel near the airport or in Bao'an district	Metro Line 11 towards Bitou, or a city bus
Arrival after midnight, hotel in Futian or Luohu	Airport express night lines NA1 or T308, or a 24-hour taxi
Arrival after midnight, hotel anywhere else	Taxi or ride-hailing from gate 13 or the ride-hailing zones
No local payment app, no cash	Any gate with an international bank card, tap-to-ride
Continuing to Hong Kong, Macau or Dongguan	Cross-border coach or ferry, or the intercity line to Dongguan

Before you travel, pair this with two practical guides: how to pay in China with Alipay as a foreigner and whether you need an eSIM or a physical SIM. If Shenzhen is one stop on a longer route, our Guangzhou city guide and Shanghai airport to the city pages follow the same source-first approach.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

All sources retrieved 25 September 2026. This page is an independent reading of the sources listed; the official pages themselves are the specification.

Fact used on this page	Source
S1 — Line 11 station sequences in both directions; first and last train times from Airport station; the airport's labels for the service; route customer line	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site (Shenzhen Airport Group), metro page, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/ditie/zlm_tt.shtml
S2 — Taxi and ride-hailing operating hours and pick-up points; absence of published fares on the operator's page	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site, taxi and ride-hailing page, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/czc/zlm_tt.shtml
S3 — City bus route numbers, termini, hours, headways, fares and boarding points; city transport enquiry line 12328	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site, bus page, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/bashi/zlm_tt.shtml
S4 — Airport express coach line numbers, routes, fares, hours, frequencies, ticket counter and night-line adjustment note	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site, airport express page, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/jcdb/zlm_tt.shtml
S5 — Cross-border coach destinations, fares, hours and journey times to Hong Kong	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site, Hong Kong coach page, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/daba/zlm_tt.shtml
S6 — Macau ferry timetable in force from 17 August 2026, fares, refund scale, real-name rule and gate-closing times; suspended route notices for Nansha (29 May 2021), Jiuzhou (5 August 2024), Zhongshan (17 January 2026) and Hengqin (11 April 2026); Guishan and Dong'ao island sailing times and fares	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site, ferry page and Zhuhai page, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/kechuan/zlm_tt.shtml
S7 — Suishen intercity station list from Shenzhen Airport station, terminal level, and referral to the national rail site for times and fares; fares and hours for Zhuhai, Guangzhou Nansha, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen and Huizhou coaches; coach enquiry line 0755-88895000	Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport official site, Guangzhou and Zhuhai pages, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szairport.com/szairport/lwgdgd/202008/5f90a60ce0db4c1dbf06b174f25b31ef.shtml
S8 — Distance-based fare formula, business-class supplement, 5% Shenzhen Tong and local T-union discount, 90-minute transfer discount, exclusions for QR and non-local cards, free travel for children under 1.2 m or under 6	Shenzhen Metro Group official English site, basic fare and discount policy, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szmc.net/szmc_en/Tickets_and_Fares/Basic_Fare_and_Discount_Policy/
S9 — One-person-one-ticket rule, ticket types including one-day and three-day tickets sold at Airport station on Line 11, luggage ticket thresholds and refusal limits, 210-minute exit limit, pre-authorisation requirement for bank cards	Shenzhen Metro Group official site, ticket purchase notice and ticket use rules, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szmc.net/shentieyunying/yunyingzixun/piaowuxinxi/ditiepiaojiajizhengce/
S10 — International bank card tap-to-ride coverage from 10 September 2026, 17 lines and 432 stations, five card schemes, 200-plus countries and territories, contactless and no-PIN conditions, trial from 30 June 2026, 2,205 daily transactions, 7,369 daily peak, 150,000-plus passengers, bilingual gates and guides at 30 hub stations	Shenzhen Metro Group official site, company news dated 22 September 2026, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szmc.net/home/xinwenzhongxin/gongsixinwen/202609/106228.html
S11 — Station names Airport East (Line 1) and Airport North (Line 20) in the operator's network list, and Airport station in its news notice	Shenzhen Metro Group official site, home page line list, retrieved 25 September 2026 https://www.szmc.net/

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