Direct flights from Australia and New Zealand to China

45 nonstop city pairs from 8 airports in Australia and New Zealand to 15 airports in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan – about 301 flights a week in each direction in mid-October 2026 (250 from Australia, 51 from New Zealand). 169 of them go to mainland China, 111 to Hong Kong and 21 to Taipei. Seasonal routes and the extra flights airlines add from December to February come on top.

Sydney (14 destinations), Melbourne (12 destinations), Brisbane (4 destinations), Perth (2 destinations), Adelaide (2 destinations), Darwin (1 destination). Sydney and Melbourne have by far the most choice. There are no nonstop flights to China from Canberra, the Gold Coast, Hobart or Cairns at the moment – Cathay Pacific's seasonal Cairns–Hong Kong flights of 2025/26 have not been scheduled again.

Yes. Auckland has 51 nonstop flights a week to 8 cities, by 7 airlines (Air China, China Eastern, Air New Zealand, Sichuan Airlines, China Southern, Hainan Airlines, Cathay Pacific). Christchurch has seasonal flights to Guangzhou (China Southern, from 26 October 2026) and Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific, from 1 November 2026). Wellington and Queenstown have none.

Between 6 h 25 min and 13 h 10 min towards China, depending on the city pair. Fastest scheduled nonstop flights on the main routes: Perth–Guangzhou 7 h 50 min, Sydney–Hong Kong 9 h 25 min, Sydney–Guangzhou 9 h 40 min, Sydney–Shanghai 10 h 10 min, Melbourne–Shanghai 10 h 20 min, Sydney–Beijing 11 h 45 min, Auckland–Shanghai 12 h 10 min. There is no jet-stream effect as on flights across the Pacific: the return flight is usually within an hour of the outbound time.

The shortest is Darwin–Guangzhou (China Southern, 6 h 25 min); the longest is Auckland–Beijing (Air China, 13 h 10 min). On the way back the shortest is Guangzhou–Darwin at 6 h 35 min.

Air New Zealand does: Auckland–Shanghai, plus Auckland–Hong Kong and Auckland–Taipei. Qantas flies only to Hong Kong (from Sydney and Melbourne); it suspended Sydney–Shanghai in July 2024 because of low demand. Most nonstop flights to mainland China are operated by Chinese airlines.

Yes. Chinese airlines add flights from about December to February, around the Australian summer holidays and Chinese New Year (6 February 2027). Already filed: 10 services with extra flights, plus seasonal routes from Christchurch and Adelaide and a new Shenzhen Airlines route from Sydney (from 14 December 2026). The list is further down the page.

Not for short trips: both countries are on China's visa-free list – 30 days for Australians, 30 days for New Zealanders, for tourism, business, visiting family or transit. Hong Kong and Taiwan have their own entry rules.

Use the flight number lookup further down: every operating flight number on these routes (both directions) has its own row with the scheduled aircraft type and flight time. Codeshare numbers (for example a Qantas number on a China Eastern flight) are not listed – look up the operating airline’s number instead.