$389 Find Cheap Flights from China to California

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1 adult, Economy

KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to California

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to California
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results for flights to California
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Useful Info

What is the cheapest flight to California?

These are the best round-trip prices found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.

The cheapest ticket to California from China found in the last 72 hours was to Los Angeles, at $747 round-trip. The most popular route is Guangzhou (CAN) to Los Angeles (LAX) and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $747.

What is the cheapest month to fly from China to California?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for flights from China to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the median of all values for each month.

The cheapest month for flights from China to California is March, when tickets cost $827 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and July, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $2,134 and $1,416 respectively.

How far in advance should I book a flight from China to California?

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights to California, removes the top 0.1% to account for outliers, and then takes the average of all the values for each week.

To get a below average price on the flight from China to California, you should book around 5 weeks before departure. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 23 weeks before departure.

Which is the cheapest airport to fly into in California?

Prices will differ depending on the departure airport, but generally, the cheapest airport to fly to in California is Los Angeles Airport (LAX), with an average flight price of $700.


Good to know

Low seasonFebruary
High seasonSeptember
Cheapest flight$389
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 16% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 2% lower on average.
Flight from Shanghai Pudong Airport to San Francisco

Flights from China to California: the best tips from KAYAK users

Insights shared by verified travelers who flew the route from China to California 
Verified travelerFlew with China SouthernCAN-LAXOct 2024
Wear comfy shoes it is a long flight. If you can try to get a window seat cause the middle seat is super uncomfortable. But the flight is amazing and even though it is a long flight I had fun
Verified travelerFlew with Sichuan AirlinesTFU-LAXAug 2024
1. Make sure the passport information has been correctly recorded with the ticket, otherwise you will not be able to pass custom/security at China. Ticket purchased overseas often misses such info. 2. Arrive at the airport early. 3+ hours would be my recommendation.
Verified travelerFlew with China SouthernWUH-SFOJun 2024
Monitor flight information closely in case unexpected cancelation. Other than that, everything was good.

FAQs for booking flights from China to California

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

    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 China to California.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from China to California 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 China to California?

    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 from China to California with an airline and back with another airline.

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

    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 from China to California up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

  • What is the cheapest day to fly to California?

    Based on KAYAK data, the cheapest day to fly to California is Tuesday where round-trip tickets can be as cheap as $1,189. On the other hand, the most expensive day to fly is Sunday, where round-trip prices are $1,315 on average.

  • What is the cheapest time of day to fly to California?

    The cheapest time of day to fly to California is generally in the evening, when round-trip flights cost $1,024 on average. Morning departures are around 10% more expensive than evening flights, on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to California is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,507.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from China to California

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying to California. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline from China to California. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from China to California? 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
Asiana AirlinesOverall score based on 452 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.0Food
8.5Crew
8.4Boarding
7.8Entertainment
Airline reviews

Love flying Asiana. Been using it for over a decade now.

10.0 ExcellentJames, Jul 2025LAX - ICN
Read more Asiana Airlines reviews

Love flying Asiana. Been using it for over a decade now.

Coming back to America was a peaceful flight everyone and everything was perfect

I had a bad experience coming from America to Thailand. On my connecting flight my check in suitcase was not put on the departing aircraft, I received my suitcase 24 hours after arriving in Bangkok and when I open my luggage my hand swelled up. The next morning when I put on an outfit from my suitcase my face swelled up and became numb. My entire vacation was ruined it seems that some kind of chemical was sprayed into suitcase and ruined my clothes and got me sick. The staff at my hotel called the airline and spoke to someone and they told me to file a complaint and gave my a website to do so. I did not file a complaint I felt like it would have fell on death ears. I had to throw away my brand new vacation clothes and suitcase and I had the worst vacation ever due to this happening to me.

The staff was courteous and the flight was very smooth. It was so nice to see the captain greeting the passengers at the end of the flights.

The beefsteak on the lunch menu was excellent! I usually do not eat airplane food. I loved it.

Flight was too cold. I wore a regular cotton tee and it wasn’t enough. It was a night time flight so I would have thought a blanket would be provided to passengers. A 4 hour flight and no options for a meal? I flew Asiana the next day from Seoul to Manilla. Same duration, 4 hours. They give everyone a pillow and blanket and serve a meal. Why is United so cheap and holding back meals and amenities? Also, they promote too much gay stuff and DEI in their advertisements. Please be mindful of other beliefs and don’t shove your gay ideology down my throat.

Staff always with a smile and very helpful with my mom who has mobility issues.

It was amazing. I was not expecting the phenomenal customer service Asiana provides.

It was all perfect and very pleasant for such long flights

The seats felt very small. We were supplied with pillows and blankets, which was nice. Lots of noise from the bathroom, plus exterior noise. Made it hard to hear the entertainment system, even using my own noise-cancelling headphones. The food was really bad. I generally request a vegetarian meal and one was supplied, but the pasta was cold and hard and there was nothing pleasant about it. Two meals were served on this flight; one was a repeat of the meal I had had on the flight immediately preceding this one, which was bad enough I didn't even try it. Drinks were very limited. All I wanted was water, and on a 10.5 hour flight, I was given 3 cups of about 3 ounces each.

The only problem I had was not being able to download my boarding passes prior to arriving at the airport. Everything else was perfect.

They ran out of food and were offering random food to passengers.

The food and service was great. You have to pay a lot for in flight Internet though which is lame.

Flight was delayed at the last minute for six hours. Instead of delaying it to a normal hour, they moved it to 10 pm to essentially make it a redeye. There was no compensation or benefit offered for this inconvenience. Once on the plane, Inpaid for WiFi twice with both times it not working because of a “weak WiFi signal”, according to the flight attendants. They also chose the farther possible gates in both airports from the entrance/exit, even though they were one of the few active flights left so late in the evening. Overall it was pretty horrible.

I had high expectations but met with a below average experience. I hope the Airline will take a notice and improve.

Special request meals are really below average. Vegetarian options are very limited if you didn't prebook.

I've stomach problems after 2 hours of flight, Iris, the flight purser not only did her best to make me feel comfortable, she went above and beyond providing pain relievers medicines and ointment. She look and found a doctor passenger on the flight to provide advise. She even report on ground staffs about my condition and provide wheelchair upon arrival. Kudos to her and Cathay Pacific!

So so, crew was overly professional and lacks human touch. Equipment is very old, especially the HKG-PVG CX366 flight. That plane along with its decor must have twenty years of history, or at least I had that impression.

The flight was delayed for 30 mins. The overall experience was good.

Overall, it was ok. However, the food was very sub-par.

Wow very impressed by the quality and attentiveness of service of China Southern. Lived the blankets! Will definitely fly with them again. Despite language barriers, a few attendants know enough English to understand our rudimentary Mandarin and respond to basic questions. Although they don’t explain the beverage and meal service on the website or ticketing documents, they offered regular beverage cart and snacks during the beginning hours and end hours of the long, transoceanic flight. A full meal at the beginning and end of the flight as well, and a midflight small sandwich (dinner roll sized) but we weren’t hungry and didn’t try that one. The expectation is that every sleeps during the middle of the flight. We were on a “redeye” departure from LAX with a morning arrival in China, so I don’t know if this service pattern is the same for other flights. The domestic flight we took from Guangzhou to Harbin offered conventional refreshments and meals like a US flight service. Note that they didn’t offer diet sodas. If you like to stay hydrated, I recommend bringing plenty of your own. It is served in small cups like any other drink. You can ask for a bottle but they’re tiny - about 6 ounces.

China Southern was not the problem. I booked my flight through Kayak and also received a booking reference and alert details regarding departure time and gate numbers… however Kayak NEVER actually booked my flight! We were stranded at the airport without a flight for a long awaited holiday!

The connection between LA and Atlanta was too much stress

Terrible boarding experience,,food is very poor that I I . Never going book this airline again.

The crew were kind, patient and responsive. The service was excellent, even though we travelled the cheapest economy class. We arrived at our destination 40 min early, which for a 15+ hour flight is a great bonus. The boarding seemed a bit "loose", but got us boarded on time, and the plane was off exactly @ 0:30 hrs.

The airport didn‘t give me the ticket. I called customer service to ask for a refund but they kept giving me a perfunctory response and refused to refund me.

The flight was delayed hours and most flights from CS are always delayed. Plane was efficient and got us home but not the best food and no entertainment system at all.

Not good - chair back could not move back for premium economy. Not worth the price

The back of the chair - premium economy could not move back - not worth the price

It was okay. Boarding the staff made you feel rushed like we were late or something

Boarded plane and then delayed 1.5 hours while on the plane

It was all good flight was on time, service was good I enjoyed a few movies and everything was smooth

Horrific. They missed my connecting flight to San Diego. I didn’t get there until Monday at 9am when I had a mandatory court settlement conference scheduled at 6am since we had parties on the east coast. This caused many issues. All because United apparently forgot to hold the doors open until my flight landed that only had a 10 minute delay. This was the last flight to Southern California. So I couldn’t even rent a car to finish the trip. United cannot be trusted when traveling on specific days and times since weather didn’t have anything to do with the delays.

My flight was delayed a very short period of time but they did not hold my connecting flight to San Diego, also through United. So they closed the doors before we got off our plane. They would only have to help the door open for another five to ten minutes. So I missed a court deadline for a manditory mediation settlement conference for my client. I had to get an associate to be there in person and be on the phone with him relaying what he needs to do the entire time. The court was very upset with me and so was my client. United cannot be trusted.

We were given vouchers we couldn’t use with a 5.5 hour delay

Really good 😊 the woman at the gate entrance was a little rude checking in our carry-on but i dont think she worked for the airline, she worked for the airport at sacramento, other than that amazing.

Boarding was mayhem. Late boarding by 15 minutes because of lack of staff (missing 1 flight attendant. We had to wait for an arrival of another plane before we could board). Flight was a little rough, but cannot blame on airlines.

Great experience…left a bit behind schedule but made up fir that in the air and landed 10 minutes early 😁

Airbus plane, nice and polite staff, entertainment even as it was a short flight.

United out of SFO is having issues with catering so none of our meals were loaded on the plane and no offer of compensation for our tickets purchased was offered.

Communication between the captain/crew and the passengers needs to be improved.

Food and service are good. Bathroom was lack of lotions and cleaning. That should be improved.

Food & service very good next I will pick up again

Chinese flight attendants didn't speak english well. They didn't care enough to remember that I (east asian who isn't Chinese) wasn't Chinese and spoke English. Announcement in english on board was poor and I find it very difficult to understand what was announced. Also, a cabin bag allows only 5kg!

Chinese flight attendants didn't speak english well. They didn't care enough to remember that I (east asian who isn't Chinese) wasn't Chinese and spoke English. Announcement in english on board was poor and I find it very difficult to understand what was announced.

Everything was not satisfactory - the flight was delayed, staffs were ok but they didn't speak English well. I am from east Asia (not Chinese) and they didn't care enough to remember that I wasn't Chinese but persistently spoke chinese to me. The flight announcement in english wasn't clear to understand.

I wish I had been able to choose a vegetarian meal. Crew friendly and helpful. Seat was ok. All quite efficient and pleasant. Would recommend for inner China travel for sure.

The flight is not bad, but the Business Lounge is not big enough for the quantity of people they accept and there is a limited options for food and beverages.

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 !

Book cheap flights from China to California

Recent round-trip flight deals

 
These are the cheapest round-trip flights to California found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
12/19Fri
1 stopSichuan Airlines
19h 00mPVG-LAX
1/16Fri
2 stopsSichuan Airlines
25h 45mLAX-PVG
$601
10/14Tue
1 stopSichuan Airlines
20h 35mPVG-LAX
11/7Fri
2 stopsSichuan Airlines
25h 45mLAX-PVG
$608
12/14Sun
1 stopAsiana Airlines
14h 15mPVG-LAX
4/23Thu
1 stopAsiana Airlines
21h 45mLAX-PVG
$716
10/14Tue
1 stopAsiana Airlines
14h 25mPVG-LAX
11/7Fri
1 stopAsiana Airlines
19h 45mLAX-PVG
$717
8/23Sat
1 stopChina Southern
36h 50mSHA-LAX
9/7Sun
1 stopChina Southern
20h 30mLAX-SHA
$736
9/15Mon
1 stopChina Southern
19h 10mPKX-LAX
9/22Mon
1 stopChina Southern
28h 25mLAX-PKX
$741
7/22Tue
2 stopsAir China
24h 55mSHA-LAX
8/12Tue
2 stopsAir China
32h 55mLAX-SHA
$872
10/13Mon
2 stopsAir China
28h 30mPVG-LAX
11/6Thu
1 stopAir China
34h 20mLAX-PVG
$887
10/7Tue
2 stopsUnited Airlines
34h 04mPVG-LAX
10/9Thu
1 stopUnited Airlines
20h 45mLAX-PVG
$895
10/4Sat
2 stopsUnited Airlines
42h 25mPVG-LAX
10/5Sun
1 stopUnited Airlines
30h 25mLAX-PVG
$896

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Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best deals for one-way flights to California found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
12/17Wed
1 stopVietnam Airlines
41h 35mPVG-SFO
$389
11/13Thu
1 stopVietnam Airlines
24h 30mPKX-SFO
$393
10/25Sat
1 stopAsiana Airlines
30h 00mPEK-LAX
$412
10/23Thu
1 stopAsiana Airlines
14h 25mPVG-LAX
$423
10/29Wed
1 stopAir China
36h 30mSHA-LAX
$445
10/20Mon
1 stopAir China
17h 40mSHA-LAX
$447
10/11Sat
1 stopChina Southern
28h 05mPVG-LAX
$450
8/27Wed
1 stopChina Southern
25h 10mPKX-LAX
$481
9/10Wed
nonstopUnited Airlines
11h 40mPEK-SFO
$571
9/8Mon
2 stopsUnited Airlines
38h 51mPEK-SFO
$577

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Last minute flights to California

Last minute flight, train and bus deals

 
These last-minute flight deals are the cheapest flights found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours for flights to California that are departing in the next 10 days.
7/4Fri
multi-stopCathay Pacific
21h 15mPEK-SFO
7/14Mon
multi-stopCathay Pacific
20h 20mSFO-PEK
$764
7/5Sat
multi-stopCathay Pacific
18h 15mPEK-SFO
7/20Sun
multi-stopCathay Pacific
24h 20mSFO-PEK
$815
7/8Tue
multi-stopAir China
26h 50mPVG-LAX
7/15Tue
multi-stopAir China
24h 55mLAX-PVG
$871
7/8Tue
multi-stopAir China
24h 55mSHA-LAX
7/15Tue
multi-stopAir China
30h 35mLAX-SHA
$871
7/8Tue
multi-stopChina Southern
29h 05mPVG-SFO
12/25Thu
multi-stopChina Southern
18h 25mSFO-PVG
$1,217
7/8Tue
multi-stopChina Southern
19h 50mSHA-SFO
12/25Thu
multi-stopChina Southern
22h 35mSFO-SHA
$1,218
7/4Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
15h 55mPEK-SFO
7/14Mon
nonstopUnited Airlines
13h 45mSFO-PEK
$1,243
7/4Fri
multi-stopUnited Airlines
15h 55mPEK-SFO
7/16Wed
multi-stopUnited Airlines
40h 30mSFO-PEK
$1,249
7/8Tue
multi-stopAsiana Airlines
14h 35mPVG-SFO
12/26Fri
multi-stopAsiana Airlines
18h 35mSFO-PVG
$1,289
7/7Mon
multi-stopAsiana Airlines
17h 50mPVG-SFO
12/26Fri
multi-stopAsiana Airlines
23h 30mSFO-PVG
$1,425

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Everything you need to know for your flight to California

Cabin class types available on flights to California

Cabin classes available on flights to California. Prices are the lowest found on KAYAK over the last 7 days. Price and availability is not guaranteed.

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