Originally Posted by
moondog
The official rule ranges between 45 mins and one hour (perhaps a bit longer for PEK 3) and I've stuck with those numbers throughout the years and have only been burned once (PEK-XIY during a crazy day). While the cut-off times can be serious/absolute, as long as you adhere to them, you'll be fine. What's more, even if you don't have status, there tend to be fast lines on offer for pax that push the limits.
My comment was offered as a suggested solution to the OP's problem. He would've been fine if he didn't cut it a little too close. I'm aware of the cutoff times, but I am also aware of people's tendencies to try beating the deadline by a couple of minutes. That's how you get burned when something unexpected happens, either on the road or at the airport. It can happen anywhere, but probably more magnified in China because the lines there can be significantly longer, depending on the time of the day or days of the year (compared with holiday and business travel in the US). That's also why most airlines "suggest" you get to the airport at least two hours early for an internatinal flight. While having elite status can save you time at check-in, it is useless when you pass through Entry and Exit Control, followed by security screening. For foreigners these Border Control lines can be very long and slow, not very good if you do not have sufficient time.