Guangzhou Baiyun CAN: the complete layover guide

Baiyun grew in three big pushes: T1 opened in 2004, T2 arrived in 2018 as the China Southern flagship, and T3 opened in October 2025 across the field with its own transport center. They are three separate buildings, and moving between them means going landside.

T2 is the one most international travelers will see. It is China Southern territory and the home of most international departures, which is why the around the clock Priority Pass lounge and the airline flagship lounges sit there. T1, the original terminal, keeps a mix of other domestic carriers including Hainan Airlines. T3 launched with the China Eastern group, Juneyao Air, and several other domestic airlines, and more carriers are scheduled to shift across in phases through 2026. The practical consequence is simple: do not assume your airline flies from the same terminal it used last year. Check both flights before you travel.

Terminal changes run on a free 24 hour shuttle bus that stops at Gate 12 of T1, Gate 42 of T2, and Gate 62 of T3. Frequency moves between every 10 and every 30 minutes depending on the time of day, with the thinnest service in the small hours. Intercity trains also connect the terminals, running about every 17 minutes. Either way, you exit the secure area, ride, and clear security again at the next building, so treat any terminal change as a 60 to 90 minute job once queues are counted.

Wifi deserves its own paragraph because it catches people out. The free airport network works fine, but it asks you to authenticate, and the easy paths assume a Chinese phone number or WeChat. Foreign travelers should head for the access code kiosks scattered through the terminals, which print a code after scanning your passport or boarding pass. Sessions expire after a few hours, so expect to repeat the ritual on a long layover. Bring the passport to the kiosk, not just a photo of it.

Getting downtown is genuinely easy from T1 and T2. Metro Line 3 stops under both, at Airport South for T1 and Airport North for T2, and reaches the Tianhe business district around Tiyu Xilu in roughly 30 minutes for a few yuan. Trains run from about 6 in the morning until around 11 at night. From T3 there is no direct metro stop yet; you either ride the terminal shuttle, take the connector bus to Gaozeng station on Line 3, which runs every 15 minutes, or use the intercity railway from Baiyun Airport East station, which links directly into the T3 transport center.

Two more things smooth a Guangzhou layover. First, payments: much of the city runs on Alipay and WeChat Pay, so set one of them up with your foreign card before you fly. Second, the 240 hour visa free transit policy covers eligible passport holders from 55 countries arriving at CAN with a confirmed onward ticket to a third country or region. That is up to 10 days in the region without a visa. Rules and eligible nationalities change, so verify before travel.