Hong Kong to Beijing flight path: HKG to PEK

Sit on the Right side of the plane for the best views on flights from Hong Kong to Beijing. The right side wins primarily on the strength of HKG's departure sequence, where Hong Kong's harbour and skyline provide a uniquely dramatic, photogenic urban view rarely matched elsewhere on this route. The landing into Beijing is comparatively flat on both sides, so the takeoff spectacle tips the balance.

During takeoff from Hong Kong International (HKG), sit on the Right side for the best views. Departing HKG, the initial climb on runway 07 (common in winter) swings the aircraft over Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong Island skyline before the turn north toward the mainland. The right side gets the classic view of the harbour, Kowloon, and the dense high-rise skyline receding behind as the plane climbs over the New Territories. Notable sights include: Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong Island skyline, Kowloon Peninsula, Lantau Island and the Tsing Ma/Stonecutters bridges.

When landing at Capital (PEK), sit on the Left side for the best views. On approach to PEK from the south (typical during winter 36-runway operations), the aircraft flies up the flat North China Plain with Beijing's sprawling suburbs passing below. The left side offers a distant view of the Jundu/Yan Mountains rimming the city to the north and northwest, giving some topographic relief against the otherwise flat landscape. Notable sights include: North China Plain farmland, Beijing's northern suburbs, distant Jundu Mountains, Miyun Reservoir area.

The flight from Hong Kong International (HKG) to Capital (PEK) takes about 3 hours 20 minutes. The shortest flight path between them is 1,237 miles (1,992 km); winds and air traffic control usually add a few percent.

Flight path crosses the Nanling Mountains near the Guangdong-Jiangxi-Hunan border, then the Yangtze River plain around Wuhan, before flattening into the North China Plain approaching Hebei and Beijing.