Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU)

Chengdu Tianfu International Airport represents one of China's most ambitious and architecturally striking aviation projects, opened in June 2021 after five years of construction to address the capacity limitations of Chengdu Shuangliu Airport and establish Chengdu as the third city in China (after Beijing and Shanghai) to operate dual international airports. Located 51 kilometers southeast of downtown Chengdu in Lujia Town, Jianyang, this world-class facility features a unique design inspired by the mythical Sunbird that serves as Chengdu's logo, with two terminal buildings radiating six arms outward from a central hollow circular core in a mirror configuration. The airport operates with two main terminal buildings totaling 705,900 square meters of floor space, designed to handle an initial capacity of 40 million passengers annually with future expansion plans for 90 million passengers through four terminals and six runways in a 'four-vertical-and-two-horizontal' layout. Terminal 1 covers 387,400 square meters across four floors and specializes in international operations with capacity for 13.5 million international passengers annually, while Terminal 2 spans 318,500 square meters dedicated primarily to domestic flights with capacity for 36.5 million passengers annually, both terminals featuring state-of-the-art facilities including business areas, dining, shopping, and comprehensive passenger amenities. Runway infrastructure consists of three operational runways with lengths of 4,000 meters, 3,800 meters, and 3,200 meters respectively, configured to support independent parallel approaches on the two north-south runways (RWY01/19 and RWY02/20) while the east-west runway (RWY11) serves dedicated takeoff operations, enabling efficient traffic flow for the facility's high-capacity operations. The terminals are connected by Alstom's APM 300 automated people mover system featuring driverless Innovia APM vehicles operating on a dual-lane transit system, with Terminal 1's domestic section also connected to Terminal 2 to facilitate seamless international-to-domestic transfers. The airport's comprehensive Ground Transportation Center (GTC) provides multimodal connectivity including Chengdu Metro Line 18 offering 30-40 minute connections to downtown Chengdu, high-speed rail service via Tianfu Airport Station on the Chengdu-Yibin high-speed railway (operational since December 2023), and extensive bus and taxi services, making Tianfu Airport a true intermodal transportation hub that enhances Chengdu's position as a major gateway to Western China and supports the region's role as a critical hub for domestic and international aviation in Southwest China.