I'm writing this because I realized there's no post with pictures of the *A lounge at the international section of Shenzhen Bao'An International Airport.

The first question anyone might ask is "Why would you ever find yourself at the international section of Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport?" Well, that's because you'll save a minimum of 2 hours if you're travelling north of the airport, compared to HKG, and up to 4-5 hours if it's rush hour. This is, of course, if there are no delays, which is unlikely, but does happen from time to time, in China.

First, note that you cannot use Shenzhen Airlines Premium Check-in "lounge" for international flights, despite the lack of signs (this is likely because it connects directly with domestic security). You need to use the business/gold counter at the normal international check-in.

Get your boarding pass and go down the escalator for quarantine, customs, immigration and security screening. Pray that there's no tour groups in front of you. Turn left immediately after security. The lounge is called King Lounge, but is run by Shenzhen Airlines.



Upon entering you will be greeted by 8 female attendants that will thoroughly check your boarding pass, let you in after saying "Xie Xie" a few times, then most likely ask you for your boarding pass again, as they inevitably scanned it wrong.

You are now greeted by a unmistakably Chinese, but pretty OK looking lounge. There are no windows. Amenities include lockers, iMacs, massage chairs, TVs showing CCTV13 and a collection of Chinese magazines no one has ever touched, proudly displayed.







At this point, you will most likely be alone, except for two ajis, two waitresses, two lounge attendants, a cook and an extremely bored looking barista. Some of these may be attractive, which makes the experience slightly less awkward. None of these people appears to be doing anything. A lounge attendant will then tell you that you're not allowed to take pictures, even though you made sure not to take pictures of any of the employees, which is why this post doesn't have more pictures.

There's wifi, but it's too slow to connect your VPN, so you'll either be using bing or decide it's not worth the bother. This would be a good point to tether off your phone.

One way to entertain yourself is to have a look at the food. There's an area that could host a buffet, but I've never seen it in use. On my last visit it only contained a dish of plain congee, which I doubt any of you would want. They also make noodles to order, and despite the presentation, they're rather good. There's also various confectioneries, but I doubt anyone has ever tried these.





The drinks selection consists of tea, water and soft drinks. The barista also makes coffee to order, but I doubt anyone has ever ordered any before. Alcoholic beverages are limited to domestic beer, Hennessy, Remy Martin as well as a domestic and french red wine. If you like white wine, or any other spirits, you should have stayed in Hong Kong.

By the time you've had your noodles and cognac, and written this post, you might be joined by another guest or two. Why the lounge is empty will become a mystery as you realize there's 4 international flights in the next 2 hours, including 2 UA code shares, until you remember that the international part of the airport is mostly used by tour groups.

At this point you might try their French red wine, and realize it's not as bad as you thought. Maybe you should try their various cakes too? You will however be interrupted by the attractive lounge attendant again, insisting you go to your gate, which just started boarding, although it's less than 5 minutes away. If your flight is departing from gate 10+, do leave 15 min before final boarding time, as it's further away than it seems.