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Find cheap flights from San Diego to China from $579

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from San Diego to China departing on 7/15. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
0 bags
Thu 7/11
Thu 7/18

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Best China Flight Deals

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours

Shanghai
Shanghai2 stops$1,301
Beijing
Beijing2 stops$974
Guangzhou
Guangzhou2 stops$1,559
Chengdu
Chengdu2 stops$1,234
Xiamen
Xiamen2 stops$2,579
Shenzhen
Shenzhen2 stops$1,401

Good to know

Low season

February

High season

September

Cheapest flight

$579
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 3% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 16% lower on average.
Flight from San Diego to Shanghai Pudong Airport

FAQs - booking China flights

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Diego to China?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from San Diego to China.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from San Diego to China?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to China from San Diego is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from San Diego to China?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional round-trip ticket. You could then fly to China with an airline and back to San Diego with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from San Diego to China?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to China from San Diego up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding cheap flights to China

  • On average*, there is no price difference when choosing to fly in the morning or the evening on this flight route.
*Average of the lowest prices shown in KAYAK’s search results for departures within the next 30 days

Top 5 airlines serving from San Diego to China

Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Diego to China? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.2
China AirlinesOverall score based on 883 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.6Crew
8.1Entertainment
7.8Food
8.3Boarding
Airline reviews

The flight who provided services on my row had some not-nice attitude and not smiling at all.

10.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Jun 2024TPE - LAX
Read more about China Airlines reviews

The flight who provided services on my row had some not-nice attitude and not smiling at all.

My flight to Los Angeles was canceled Had to book another flight and you charged me extra $500 Very bad experience

Decent flight, staff was very good, especially with the turbulence during the flight due to weather. Comfort was about par with other airlines but since it was a quick flight, was not much of an issue for us.

The plane was uncomfortable. I paid extra for more legroom but the seat was still uncomfortable. Other seats on the same exact row didn’t have to pay extra but still have extra legroom. I didn’t understand why I needed to pay $170 for. It was Iike China airline just wants to make money off their passengers. It was unfair.

It was a 2 hour flight to Taiwan. Lunch was served. China Airlines goes above and beyond for their passengers.

Liked that I could pick my seat and have a special meal without an extra charge. Luggage is reasonable for overseas trip. What could have been better is boarding and leaving on time.

They were helpful, considerate with asking us for standby preboarding with our infant, gave us toys and excellent service onboard. They were always on time, even early boarding once! All our luggage arrived intact, and they even brought our baby car seat to oversized for us. We love China Airlines!

It felt like a new plane. Decent leg room in economy, food was fine, and the plane didn’t feel super dry and uncomfortable.

Better training to have qualified crews and services. My flight was from around 12 midnight Friday Taipei to Vancouver. After two hours first meal (2:00 Am -8:00 ) no crew available for even asking for some water. I was even willing to pay for water. For breakfast after 8 hours the only drink was tea and coffee no water or juice.

Free Wi-Fi could have been better in the Airport.

There was plenty of overhead room but half of the passengers were told they had to check their carryon bags. My partner and I checked in as early as possible and our seats were split across the aisle.

Flew first class so everything was great. But maybe because the flights were red eye, no meals were served, just chips. I flew Alaska Air 1st class at 9PM (2 hour flight) and they served beef short rib sliders!

There was a loud squeaky sound the whole time we were flying.

I didn’t not like that I could not select my seat and ended up with the worse seat.

The landing was bad and the hostess came two times and i was sleeping but when she served the person that nexts to me I woke up and she didn’t even asked me if I need any drink or snacks two times!!!!

Plane was late because of a mechanical malfunction and the food listed as available was not. Flight attendants seem over worked and under paid. They just done seem happy. And that can be seen in their faces.

Waited 3 hours on a plane to de-ice due to manpower issues. Waited another hour and a half once we landed because of a gate issue. Missed my connections. Created. A total of 13 hours of delay.

Great, on time departure, friendly and accommodating crew, great leg room, Smith flight

Plane was turned around due to fog half way into the flight, Delta did not properly direct passengers to stay on same flight and instead failed to properly rebook on Alaska

Honestly, I didn’t expect that I will experience this long time wait during the check in. There was only one person who was taking care of the passengers for the economy class and it took us to wait about one hour to do our check i. As a result we barely get to the airplane as the gate was at the end of the airport. That is totally not professional where one crue is working at the registration desk with economy and 3-4 crues are helping for the business class.

Why does it have to be painful to fly long distances?

Horrible, the flights kept delaying, so it is obvious that we won't be able to make it to the next connection. No easier/real agent on site to help you figure this out. UA agent on other counters refuse to assist you and direct us to use the QR code/call customer service. So inefficient and poor. While technology seems convenient, but it's not the best interest/experience for customers need help while there is active issue need assistance.

Food is very bad and entertint not too many options ... flight attendet service is not good

Everything was pretty good except for food. They need to improve on it compared to other airlines.

Flight was delayed due to the late arrival of the catering truck, which is quite unacceptable. There was a beverage service, but no pretzel, or cookie, or nuts were served in coach.

I had a great flight. Everything went smoothly and the flight arrived early.

Aisle chair was good and liked the foot bar preventing you from putting your foot in the isle, The breakfast on this international flight to Zurich was horrible (Europeans, specially, used to good food) may make this a dealbreaker for booking with United Airlines again. I agreed with my Spanish fellow passenger.

On time take off…US cabins look tired and need of refresh!

Backpack should NOT allowed put in the flight bin , only put it under the seat. I can't find space put my carry on luggage!!! and I pay for it ! that was very bad experience

I paid $380 for my one-way ticket from California to Minnesota. The fair did not include online check-in. I received instructions from their app to check in at a kiosk. At the kiosk, the boarding pass would not print until an actual person came to verify that I had a personal item and not a carry-on item, On the plane, the person next to me was drunk and allowed to continue to order alcohol. United is garbage I’d rather fly spirit.

I think it’s time that somebody set a standard for the temperature in the cabins. I would rather it be colder than anybody that wants to have a blanket have a blanket to keep it so warm at times is unbearable and quite uncomfortable. That’s the only thing I would add.

For the price we paid, we had a really good flight. The seats and bed (business class) was extremely comfortable. I have no complaints. The crew were very attentive and helpful. They spoke English and there were no misunderstanding although their English wasn’t perfect or fluent. You will never go hungry as there was ample food and drinks but their food for mediocre. The entertainment was limited to older movies and the wifi didn’t allow you to access some Social media. Apart from the above, it was a very pleasant flight. Would highly recommend them.

Cheapest option from Gatwick £400 cheaper than Emirates and Qatar. Entertainment no where near as good as Emirates and Qatar, but saved £400 so all good.

Great staff and food. Seats pretty uncomfortable but plenty of legroom. Entertainment system outdated.

The flight was cancelled without any reason. But the next flight to Shanghai has to be cancelled to pay penalty.

Gatwick London-Shanghai -Bangkok.. Would have liked entertainment screens, but I know these planes are not that new. Cheap flights at the time of booking, Emirates wanted double so you get what you paid for. I would fly again with them, but if Emirates was the same price I would go with them.

We were cutting it close on our connecting flight and notified all staff at departing gate and flight attendants. From the start, we were told to check in with the international transfer desk by everyone, except for one lady who wanted to argue the time difference that was already taken into account. We also asked if we could try to exit the plane first (our family of 4 and 8 others on the same connecting flight). They just told us to check in with international transfers. We landed and had very little time to make our next flight. We were not offered any assistance or communication to the receiving gate. We ran all the way to the international transfers gate only to be turned away. I think we could have made it if we were allowed to exit and a call was made to other check in counter. After that we spent 6 grueling hours with our kids trying to rebook a flight. No food of any type of compensation was offered besides a dirty hotel room. The ladies with China Eastern at the Shanghai International counter were rude an unhelpful. We were directed to 3 different counters and waited before they said they forgot about a hotel. It was a long, miserable day. I believe this could have all been avoided.

The landings were smooth . Being unable to check-in online was terribly stressful and the queue at Haneda exemely long. We paid extra for window seats and did not get them.

Flight was fine, however we were not able to check in online, this adds to travel stress. Luckily check-in at Heathrow was quick, but we did not get the seats we paid extra for. We paid for a window and 2 aisle seats from Shanghai to Tokyo leg, but they changed us to middle seats. Not good :(

You’re in the three parts of my life, the China Eastern air crew remembered and wish me happy birthday. I was given pastries on two different occasions and a complementary drink. The stew is wish me happy birthday and gave me a birthday card. Everything was first class. Thank you.

It was simply bad and on top of that my luggage hasn't been delivered until now. They can't even localize it which is just unacceptable when they are supposed to scan the bar code they put when we check in

We bought premium Economy, thinking it would be more comfortable, but the seat is so narrow ,that my legs and feet are swollen , I can't wear shoes !

The flight was delayed for almost 5 hours, but I understand that it was not up to the company, however how they could handle the situation better, they never apologized for that delay, moreover despite passengers being there for 7 hours only thing they did was to give a bowl of instant noodles, afterwards on the plane tiny snacks, people were there starting from lunch time and we’ve arrived to destination at almost midnight

Flight was delayed for 2 hours for no reason, then we spent almost an hour after boarding because of the weather conditions. If we left on time we could avoid that 😾

Pros: "Friendly crew and helpful staff"
Cons: "Missed connection from PEK to XIY due to delayed arrival and early departure. From XIY to PEK, booked and confirmed 11 departure, changed to 12:30 without notification or explaination. Rushed connections at PEK, pretty much ran from the minute left plan to another terminal, through custom, through all the health check points, security check. Just keep the fights on time and keep the original schedules, not arbitrarily change them."
Pros: "The crew was accommodating during the flight but spoke very little English and could not help with information on connecting flight."
Cons: "We missed our connecting flight due to a delay and the airline would not let us through because we could have made our second flight...."
Cons: "Connecting though Beijing from Taipei to LAX is not recommended if you can avoid it!"
Cons: "Seats are narrow, leg room poor, and food service is minimal."
Pros: "The seats on business were comfy, the service excellent, the movie selection was fair to poor, the food was also fair to good largely because they served a heavy lunch rather than a light breakfast."
Cons: "The food and movie selection."
Pros: "The crew was okay. The seating was great on all except for one leg."
Cons: "On one leg, it must have been an older plane, because the business class seats barely reclined."

Book cheap flights from San Diego to China

Recent round-trip flight deals

9/30Mon
2 stopsChina Eastern
26h 50mSAN-PKX
10/15Tue
2 stopsChina Eastern
24h 28mPKX-SAN
$974
9/30Mon
2 stopsChina Eastern
26h 35mSAN-PEK
10/15Tue
2 stopsChina Eastern
36h 43mPEK-SAN
$1,074
8/28Wed
2 stopsChina Airlines
40h 29mSAN-PVG
9/25Wed
2 stopsChina Airlines
25h 05mPVG-SAN
$1,301
10/8Tue
2 stopsChina Airlines
49h 50mSAN-PVG
10/21Mon
2 stopsChina Airlines
37h 04mPVG-SAN
$1,312
9/30Mon
1 stopAir China
17h 40mSAN-PEK
10/15Tue
2 stopsAir China
23h 59mPEK-SAN
$1,578
10/22Tue
1 stopAir China
27h 04mSAN-SZX
10/26Sat
2 stopsAir China
37h 52mSZX-SAN
$1,659
9/13Fri
1 stopDelta
16h 45mSAN-PVG
9/21Sat
1 stopDelta
15h 50mPVG-SAN
$1,675
9/13Fri
2 stopsDelta
31h 00mSAN-PVG
9/21Sat
1 stopDelta
15h 50mPVG-SAN
$1,679
9/30Mon
1 stopUnited Airlines
32h 15mSAN-PEK
10/15Tue
1 stopUnited Airlines
34h 26mPEK-SAN
$3,709
7/21Sun
2 stopsUnited Airlines
59h 58mSAN-PEK
8/18Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
15h 55mPEK-SAN
$7,973

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Recent one-way flight deals

7/15Mon
3 stops
52h 05mSAN-PVG
$579
7/14Sun
3 stops
52h 23mSAN-PVG
$585
8/31Sat
2 stopsChina Eastern
26h 35mSAN-PEK
$703
8/30Fri
1 stopAir China
27h 35mSAN-PEK
$823
8/29Thu
1 stopAir China
27h 35mSAN-PEK
$917
6/25Tue
2 stopsChina Airlines
57h 05mSAN-PVG
$1,006
6/24Mon
2 stopsChina Airlines
25h 20mSAN-PVG
$1,194
6/21Fri
1 stopChina Eastern
19h 55mSAN-PVG
$1,252
6/23Sun
1 stopDelta
24h 40mSAN-PVG
$1,702
6/28Fri
1 stopDelta
31h 25mSAN-PVG
$1,713

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Last minute flights from San Diego to China

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

6/15Sat
multi-stopChina Airlines
57h 05mSAN-PVG
7/6Sat
multi-stopChina Airlines
41h 29mPVG-SAN
$2,239
6/14Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
35h 14mSAN-PVG
6/28Fri
multi-stopAmerican Airlines
37h 46mPVG-SAN
$2,329
6/12Wed
multi-stopChina Airlines
38h 15mSAN-CAN
7/2Tue
multi-stopChina Airlines
31h 20mCAN-SAN
$2,374
6/14Fri
multi-stopChina Airlines
41h 00mSAN-PEK
6/28Fri
multi-stopChina Airlines
36h 19mPEK-SAN
$2,382
6/15Sat
multi-stopDelta
29h 45mSAN-PVG
7/6Sat
multi-stopDelta
18h 03mPVG-SAN
$2,545
6/15Sat
multi-stopBritish Airways
44h 50mSAN-PVG
7/6Sat
multi-stopBritish Airways
46h 10mPVG-SAN
$2,636
6/14Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
17h 05mSAN-PEK
6/28Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
39h 12mPEK-SAN
$2,995
6/14Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
17h 05mSAN-PVG
6/28Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
32h 02mPVG-SAN
$3,018
6/14Fri
multi-stopAir China
22h 25mSAN-SHA
6/28Fri
multi-stopAir China
34h 45mSHA-SAN
$3,248
6/15Sat
multi-stopANA
42h 39mSAN-PVG
7/5Fri
multi-stopANA
37h 19mPVG-SAN
$3,325

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