Getting from Jinan Yaoqiang International Airport to the city

The metro, which is new

• Line 3 phase 2 opened on 22 November 2024 and extended the line from Tantou out to the airport, adding Qujiazhuang, Chuanliu, Lingangbeilu, Linkong and Jichangnan.
• Jichangnan means Airport South, and the station sits on the west side of terminal 1.
• A second station, Jichangbei or Airport North, is still under construction.
• Any guide written before late 2024 will tell you Jinan's airport has no metro. It does now, and it changes the answer completely.

What the metro is worth

• Jinan East railway station to the airport is about 21 minutes. That is the connection that matters, because Jinan East is the high speed station.
• From Longdong, at the far end of line 3, it is about 50 minutes.
• The fare is about 6 to 7 yuan. The airport coach is 20.
• The last train out of the airport is about 23:10, so a late arrival is still covered.

The coaches

• Line 1 runs to the north gate of Daming Lake, from the first flight arrival until 18:30. Coming out from the city it runs 05:00 to 20:00 every 30 to 60 minutes.
• Line 2 takes over at 18:30 and runs until the last flight lands, going to the Yuquan Simpson Hotel and the Sheraton. From the city it runs 06:00 to 19:00, hourly.
• Both cost 20 yuan and take 40 to 60 minutes depending on where you get off.
• Board near gates 3 and 4 in the arrivals hall on the first floor.
• The 05:00 first coach from the city is worth knowing, because the metro does not start that early.

The cheap and slow option

• An express bus runs to Jinan West railway station, 09:00 to 18:00 every 90 minutes, an hour, 20 yuan.
• City bus 309 runs to the Xiaoqinghe Yancang dock for 3 yuan and takes two hours.
• Three yuan is genuinely cheap and two hours is genuinely two hours. With the metro open there is no longer a good reason to take it.