Sit on the Left side of the plane for the best views on flights from Phoenix to Beijing. While the right side offers good Phoenix departure views, the left side delivers the more dramatic payoff at landing with Beijing's historic urban core directly in view. Over the Pacific and across northern China the left side also tracks slightly more interesting terrain including the Aleutian arc on the distant horizon and the Chinese coastline near Bohai Bay during descent.

During takeoff from Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), sit on the Right side for the best views. PHX primarily uses runways 7L/7R (eastbound departures) or 26L/26R (westbound). For a transpacific flight to Beijing, aircraft typically depart east or northeast, then arc north. On an eastbound departure, the right side faces north toward the McDowell Mountains and Scottsdale, while a northbound turn reveals the entire Phoenix metro grid. The right side consistently avoids looking into the sun during morning departures. Notable sights include: South Mountain Park (large dark ridge immediately south of the city), McDowell Mountains (northeast of Phoenix, rugged granite range), Camelback Mountain (distinctive camel-hump silhouette in central Scottsdale), Salt River bed (pale sandy channel cutting east-west through the valley).

When landing at Capital (PEK), sit on the Left side for the best views. Flights from North America to Beijing's Capital Airport (PEK) typically approach from the southwest, with aircraft landing on runways 36L/36R (northbound) or 01 (slightly northeast). On a southwest approach, the left side faces east and southeast toward central Beijing, giving clear views of the urban core, the Forbidden City's distinctive rectangular moat layout, and Tiananmen Square. The right side faces west toward the mountains but the city spectacle is on the left. Notable sights include: Forbidden City and its rectangular moat (visible as a distinct red-walled rectangle amid the urban grid), Tiananmen Square (large open paved rectangle immediately south of the Forbidden City), Beijing urban grid with the central axis road clearly visible, Miyun Reservoir (large body of water northeast of the city, visible during approach descent).

The flight from Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX) to Capital (PEK) takes Approximately 13 to 14 hours nonstop.

The great circle route arcs northwest from Phoenix over Nevada and Idaho, crosses into Canada over British Columbia, then tracks across the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands chain (visible as a string of volcanic peaks breaking the ocean surface), crosses the Kamchatka Peninsula with its snow-covered volcanic cones, passes over the Sea of Okhotsk, crosses Sakhalin Island and northeastern China's Manchurian plain, then descends over Hebei Province into Beijing. The Aleutian Islands and Kamchatka volcanoes are the most visually dramatic midpoint features on clear days.