Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport

Iran is not on China's 240 hour visa free transit list. The National Immigration Administration page of 20 August 2026 lists 57 countries (mostly Europe, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Brunei, the UAE, Qatar, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan and Vietnam), and Iran is not among them. What applies to an Iranian passport is the 24 hour rule on the same page: nationals of all countries may stay in China for no more than 24 hours without a visa if they hold valid travel documents and an onward ticket with a confirmed seat, and do not leave the restricted area of the port; to leave that area you need a temporary entry permit from the border inspection authority. The Chinese embassy in Tehran says the same: no Chinese visa is needed if you stay no more than 24 hours in China without leaving the port of entry. So on one ticket, with an onward boarding pass and bags checked through, the airport's official 2026 route goes through the transfer counter, customs and security, with no immigration step. An older China Southern page (it still names the 144 hour list and a '24/144 hour waiting area') says the permit is applied for at the waiting area at arrivals border inspection, with your connecting boarding pass and a hotel booking, only when the connection is more than 8 hours, and that passengers from countries outside the visa free list will typically not be granted one; the list has changed since, but Iran was on neither list. Without an onward boarding pass, or on separate tickets with bags to collect, the airport's official route starts with immigration (entry), so you normally need a Chinese visa. Check with the Chinese embassy or your airline before you buy the ticket.

There are three terminal buildings, but only Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 serve passengers now. Terminal 3 opened on 30 October 2025, and on 7 May 2026 all eleven airlines still in Terminal 1 (Air China, Shenzhen, Hainan, Shandong and others) moved to Terminal 3; the airport's airline list shows no airline in Terminal 1. Terminal 2 is the China Southern hub, also used by Qatar Airways, Saudia, Korean Air, Asiana, Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Japan Airlines, Kenya Airways, Air Astana, Uzbekistan Airways and Garuda. Terminal 3 is used by Mahan Air, Turkish Airlines, Emirates, EgyptAir, Ethiopian, Iraqi Airways, SriLankan, Cathay Pacific, Air China, China Eastern and Hainan Airlines. Terminal 2 has four floors: level 1 is baggage claim (international belts 42 to 51), level 2 is international arrivals and the transfer area (the cross shaped aisle in the middle serves arrivals and transfers), level 3 is check-in and international departures, and level 4 has the North Airside Concourse for international departures and lounges. Terminal 3 has its check-in hall and international departures on level 4, domestic piers on level 2, and the arrivals hall on level 1. Between the terminals the airport lists only the shuttle bus and the train. The shuttle runs 24 hours between the T2 East Coach Station (Bay 30, in the T2 ground transportation centre) and the T3 East Coach Station (Bay 60); the city government's notice of October 2025 called it free and described a loop every 10 to 30 minutes depending on the time of day. The intercity train also stops at Baiyun Airport North (T2) and Baiyun Airport East (T3) stations about every 17 minutes. The airport gives no travel time for the shuttle, so allow a good margin. Inside the restricted area, transfer passengers who change terminal are taken by shuttle under staff guidance, so do not head for the public bus stops.

Ask your airline, not the airport. The airport says requests for special passenger services (help at check-in, security, boarding, being met at the destination, accompanying) must be made to the airline when you buy the ticket; a medical wheelchair needs a hospital diagnosis certificate. The airport's own online booking (through WeChat) only covers domestic flights of some Chinese airlines, so it does not help an international connection. China Southern: ask at the time of booking, through a China Southern ticket office or its customer service centre on 4006695539. That is a China-only number, and the cited pages give no number that works from abroad, so ask your ticket office or travel agent in Iran to make the request for you. China Southern offers a wheelchair to the aircraft steps (WCHS) and to the seat (WCHC), and says its special services only cover flights operated by China Southern itself, so if your other flight is on another airline (for example Mahan Air), you must also request a wheelchair from that airline. Ask for help on every flight of your trip, including the connection, and ask the airline to confirm it in your booking. China Southern asks special passengers to be at the counter 120 minutes before departure.

The airport has a Special Passenger Service Counter, open 24 hours, described as a 'cordial service point' information counter with low counters for information, check-in and form filling and an exclusive security lane; the airport does not say where it is in each terminal, so ask any staff member for the 'special passenger service counter'. In Terminal 2, China Southern's international special passenger counters are at P20, P21 and P32 in the P check-in area on level 3 (domestic at E20 to E23). Every terminal has reserved priority seating areas marked by signs. After landing, the transfer counters (second floor of the international arrival level; in Terminal 3 next to the international baggage claim hall) are the first place to ask.

No official page says whether wheelchair help automatically continues through a Guangzhou connection or whether staff meet you at the aircraft door, so ask your airline to write it in the booking and ask the cabin crew before landing. China Southern says passengers over 70 who cannot board without aids are treated as special passengers; the ticket costs the same as a normal adult fare, but if the airline has to provide an escort it charges 50 percent of the adult fare. Special passengers cannot use online or self check-in and must go to a staffed counter. Medical emergency stations: in Terminal 2 one is next to P Island in the departure hall (24 hours) and one is near the joint inspection hall after international security (07:00 to 23:00); in Terminal 3 one is on the east side of the level 4 check-in hall near Gate 68 and one is airside on the east departures pier between Gates A937 and A938 (07:00 to 23:00). Emergency number 120, or airport medical 020-36066120.

Transfer counters: the airport's guide places the international transfer counter on the second floor of the international arrival level. In Terminal 3 the airport lists transfer counters next to the International Arrivals Baggage Claim Hall, at the Domestic Arrivals Baggage Claim Hall, and next to domestic gates B918 and B818. In Terminal 2 China Southern's connecting flight service counter is at E24 in the domestic check-in area, and its delayed and transfer counter is at Gate 50 on level 1 (24 hours). The Terminal 3 flight delay counter is between Gate 71 and Gate 72 on level 1, open from 05:00 until domestic departures end. The airport hotline is 020-96158, 24 hours (from abroad +86 20 96158), and the email is service@gdairport.com. The free wifi network is AIRPORT-FREE-WIFI. The airport does not publish a list of information desk locations, so ask any staff member in uniform; the Special Passenger Service Counter (24 hours) is described as an information counter. Money: the official payment guide the airport links to says foreign bank cards are accepted where their network logo (UnionPay, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, JCB, Diners Club or Discover) is shown at the till, that mobile payment with Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay is available, that ATMs at the port of entry accept international bank cards, and that currency exchange counters are marked with an EXCHANGE sign. The guide names only those networks, and no official page says whether an Iranian bank card works, so bring cash in a major currency or a card from one of those networks, and do not count on an Iranian card.

Terminal 3: the airport lists NAPHUBS rest cabins in the Overnight Passenger Rest Area on level 4, left side inside Gate 61, and inside the International Transfer Passenger Lounge on level 4, both 24 hours. NAPHUBS is a commercial sleeping cabin brand and the airport shows no price, so treat it as a paid rest area unless the staff there say otherwise. The L35 lounge is on level 4 about 50 metres after international border inspection and is open 24 hours (the airport does not list its price); the Air China lounge L31 is inside Gate 62 on level 4. Terminal 2: a paid Hourly Charged Resting Cabin beside Gate 53 on level 1 in international arrivals (24 hours); the Premium Lounge T2 on level 4 behind the international joint inspection duty free shop (24 hours); China Southern's International Sky Pearl lounge on level 4 after immigration and duty free (04:30 until the last flight). China Southern offers a free transit hotel night with breakfast and transport to some of its own passengers connecting for 8 to 48 hours (eligibility depends on cabin and route, and international passengers need a valid stay permit, which China Southern's older permit page says is usually not granted outside the visa free list); the counter is at Gate 50 on level 1 of Terminal 2. Drinking water points are in all terminals near the toilets. Every terminal has priority seating areas marked by signs. Medical stations are listed under assistance. No prayer room is listed on the airport's English facilities page.