$393 Find Cheap Flights from San Francisco to China

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 Francisco to China departing on 4/20. 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.
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1 adult, Economy, 0 bags

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Cheap Flights from San Francisco to China

Cheapest round-trip prices found by our users on KAYAK in the last 72 hours
Shanghai
Shanghai1 stop$715
Beijing
Beijing1 stop$767
Guangzhou
Guangzhou1 stop$803
Fuzhou
Fuzhou1 stop$741
Chengdu
Chengdu2 stops$752
Shenzhen
Shenzhen1 stop$721
Shenyang
Shenyang1 stop$706
Chongqing
Chongqing1 stop$802
Qingdao
Qingdao1 stop$776
Hangzhou
Hangzhou1 stop$773
Wuhan
Wuhan1 stop$723
Xi'an
Xi'an2 stops$802
Xiamen
Xiamen1 stop$723
Kunming
Kunming1 stop$708
Nanjing
Nanjing2 stops$813
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou1 stop$828
Changsha
Changsha1 stop$696
Dalian
Dalian2 stops$699
Tianjin
Tianjin1 stop$764
Harbin
Harbin1 stop$802
Shanghai
Shanghai1 stop$715
Beijing
Beijing1 stop$767
Guangzhou
Guangzhou1 stop$803
Fuzhou
Fuzhou1 stop$741
Chengdu
Chengdu2 stops$752
Shenzhen
Shenzhen1 stop$721
Shenyang
Shenyang1 stop$706
Chongqing
Chongqing1 stop$802
Qingdao
Qingdao1 stop$776
Hangzhou
Hangzhou1 stop$773
Wuhan
Wuhan1 stop$723
Xi'an
Xi'an2 stops$802
Xiamen
Xiamen1 stop$723
Kunming
Kunming1 stop$708
Nanjing
Nanjing2 stops$813
Zhengzhou
Zhengzhou1 stop$828
Changsha
Changsha1 stop$696
Dalian
Dalian2 stops$699
Tianjin
Tianjin1 stop$764
Harbin
Harbin1 stop$802

Book Cheap San Francisco to China Plane Tickets

 
Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from San Francisco to China that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices for you by selecting your travel dates on KAYAK.

Recent round-trip flight deals from San Francisco to China

Sun, Apr 5 - Tue, Apr 28
Korean Air Logo
12:40 pm - 8:55 am
SFO
-
SHE
29h 15m
1 stop
Korean Air Logo
10:15 am - 10:40 am
SHE
-
SFO
15h 25m
1 stop
$706Korean Air
Tue, Apr 21 - Wed, Jun 24
China Southern Logo
12:35 am - 12:55 am
SFO
-
SHE
33h 20m
1 stop
China Southern Logo
6:30 pm - 8:40 pm
SHE
-
SFO
41h 10m
2 stops
$712China Southern
Mon, Aug 17 - Mon, Sep 7
Asiana Airlines Logo
11:50 pm - 3:00 pm
SFO
-
PVG
24h 10m
1 stop
Asiana Airlines Logo
1:10 pm - 3:20 pm
PVG
-
SFO
17h 10m
1 stop
$715Asiana Airlines
Tue, Sep 1 - Tue, Sep 15
Asiana Airlines Logo
11:50 pm - 10:05 am
SFO
-
PVG
19h 15m
1 stop
Asiana Airlines Logo
4:20 pm - 3:20 pm
PVG
-
SFO
14h 00m
1 stop
$719Asiana Airlines
Tue, Apr 14 - Mon, Jun 1
China Southern Logo
12:35 am - 5:25 pm
SFO
-
SHE
25h 50m
1 stop
China Southern Logo
10:00 am - 8:40 pm
SHE
-
SFO
25h 40m
2 stops
$721China Southern
Mon, Apr 13 - Thu, May 21
China Eastern Logo
12:00 pm - 3:30 pm
SFO
-
WUH
36h 30m
1 stop
China Eastern Logo
7:25 am - 9:05 am
WUH
-
SFO
16h 40m
1 stop
$723China Eastern
Thu, Apr 23 - Thu, May 21
China Eastern Logo
12:00 pm - 12:25 pm
SFO
-
SZX
33h 25m
1 stop
China Eastern Logo
7:15 am - 9:05 am
SZX
-
SFO
16h 50m
1 stop
$725China Eastern
Thu, Apr 30 - Thu, May 21
ANA Logo
12:16 pm - 12:45 am
SFO
-
PVG
21h 29m
2 stops
ANA Logo
8:25 am - 4:35 pm
PVG
-
SFO
23h 10m
1 stop
$726ANA
Fri, Sep 11 - Fri, Sep 25
Philippine Airlines Logo
12:30 am - 11:55 am
SFO
-
PEK
20h 25m
1 stop
Philippine Airlines Logo
12:55 pm - 9:10 pm
PEK
-
SFO
23h 15m
1 stop
$774Philippine Airlines
Tue, Apr 7 - Wed, May 6
ANA Logo
12:25 pm - 1:05 pm
SFO
-
CAN
33h 40m
2 stops
ANA Logo
2:15 pm - 6:56 pm
CAN
-
SFO
19h 41m
2 stops
$806ANA
Booking Insights

KAYAK's insights & trends for San Francisco to China flights

Get data-powered insights and trends into flights from San Francisco to China to help you find the cheapest flights, the best time to fly and much more.

What is the cheapest San Francisco to China flight route?

Data is based on round-trip flight searches on KAYAK over the past month.

The cheapest ticket to China from San Francisco found in the last 72 hours was to Shanghai, at $675 round-trip. The most popular route is from San Francisco (SFO) to Shanghai Pu Dong Airport (PVG), and the cheapest round-trip airline ticket found on this route in the last 72 hours was $675.

What is the cheapest time of day to fly to China?

The average price for all round-trip flights from San Francisco to China depending on the time of departure, clicked by users on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

The cheapest time of day to fly to China is generally at night, when round-trip flights cost $766 on average. The most expensive time of day to fly to China is generally in the afternoon, which is peak travel time and where the average cost of a ticket is $1,353.

Can I save money by flying with a layover from San Francisco to China?

The average round-trip price for all non-stop flights, flights with one layover, and flights with two layovers for the route found by users searching on KAYAK in the last 2 weeks.

Yes, flying with a layover may cost you more time, but you can also save money on the route, with a 3 stops layover the cheapest option at $1,012 on average.

What is the cheapest month to fly from San Francisco to China?

To calculate monthly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each month over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to China, 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 San Francisco to China is January, when tickets cost $742 (return) on average. On the other hand, the most expensive months are June and July, when the average cost of round-trip tickets is $1,564 and $1,520 respectively.

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

To calculate weekly average prices, KAYAK takes all prices for each week before departure over the last year for round-trip flights from San Francisco to China, 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 San Francisco to China, you should book around 2 weeks before departure, which saves you about 5% compared to booking last minute. For the absolute cheapest price, our data suggests you should book 13 weeks before departure.

Good to know

Low seasonAugust
Cheapest flight$393
Best time to beat the crowds with an average 19% drop in price.
Most popular time to fly with an average 42% increase in price.
Flight from San Francisco to Wuhan

FAQs - booking China flights

  • What are the available amenities at Shanghai Pudong International Airport?

    Many amenities include Wi-Fi, a business center, left luggage offices, mother-and-baby rooms, an art gallery, a children's park, and a maritime exhibition. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about such facilities, especially after a long journey.

  • Are there direct flights from San Francisco to China?

    Most flights offer indirect services making one, two, or three stops along the way. Flights making one-stop are more expensive and take a shorter time to reach the final destination than those making two or three stops.

  • Which are the arrival airports in China?

    Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN), and Beijing Daxing International Airport (PKX) are the arrival stations in China. PVG is southeast of Shanghai city, CAN is in southern China, and PKX is south of Beijing City. All these airports are in some of the best cities in China.

  • Which airlines offer indirect flights from San Francisco to China?

    Philippine Airlines, EVA Air, Air Canada, China Airlines, ANA, Malaysia Airlines, and Etihad Airways offer indirect flight services. The planes make one, two, or three stops before reaching the final destination. Again, time duration and flight tickets vary among these flights.

  • Which is the cheapest route from San Francisco to China?

    Traveling from San Francisco to China via Shanghai Pu Dong is the cheapest route. However, the cheap flight ticket fluctuates from time to time. Therefore, you should check the price ticket before booking, especially if you have a tight budget. The flight can be one-way or round-trip.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from San Francisco 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 Francisco to China.

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

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight from San Francisco to China 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 Francisco 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 from San Francisco to China 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 San Francisco 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 from San Francisco to China up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

Top tips for finding cheap flights to China

  • San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has a play spot for kids to have fun before the departure. This airport also offers wheelchair services to help travelers with disabilities to get in and off planes. You can also take a shower and continue with your journey feeling fresh and relaxed. Upon arriving at the airport in China, you can go to the love channel to access a baby stroller if you have a toddler or a wheelchair if needed.
  • Flights departing from San Francisco also serve other cities in China, including Anshan, Beijing, Changsha, Chengdu, Fuzhou, Jieyang, Nanning, Yanji, Yiwu, Dali, Hohhot, Hefei, and Shanghai.
  • There are many cities offering airport services. However, flight ticket varies depending on the airport the plane arrives at. Thus, you should check this advantage before booking a flight. Again, you should check whether the flight offers direct or indirect services to various airports in different cities.
  • If you are touring China, you need a tourist visa. The passport remains valid for six months before it expires. Just make sure you renew it early enough if you want to stay there longer.
  • In China, it’s mandatory to have car seats for children. Therefore, most rental car companies in China have car seats installed to avoid violating the law. If you have a child, you should ensure to rent a vehicle that has a car seat for children for your child's safety. Risking by choosing a car without a car seat may land you with problems with the law.

Reviews of the top 5 airlines serving from San Francisco to China

 
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from San Francisco 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.
8.1
Asiana AirlinesOverall score based on 506 reviews
8.0Comfort
8.5Crew
8.0Food
7.6Entertainment
8.3Boarding
Airline reviews

Food could be better it was okay. Entertainment seems dated it was something but in this day and age could be a lot better.

8.0 ExcellentAnonymous, Mar 2026
ICN - SEA
Read more Asiana Airlines reviews

Food could be better it was okay. Entertainment seems dated it was something but in this day and age could be a lot better.

I’d have rated Asiana good except an unfortunate incident in which I felt one of your employee didn’t really help us. During the first leg of the trip, the flight from LAX to ICN, I left my backpack on the plane. When I realized, I reported to one of your employee who promised me that it’d be taken care of, that my backpack will be there at HCM city. When we arrived there, HCM people had no idea and my backpack was still at Incheon airport who denied any knowledge whatsoever. I was left in the cold and felt helpless. I was very disappointed. I’d like someone to look into this and let me know.

It was my first time flying Asiana but i was very pleased with how professional and understanding the flight crew is with little kids. One flight attendant held my 3 year old daughter’s hand guiding her to the exit after landing while i had my hands full with luggage and my infant. She was very helpful.

Better screens, it would have been nice to have more comfortable seats.

2nd major delay due to maintenance issues. 1st delay missed my connecting flight.

It was great, but my bag was not loaded onto the connecting flight. I'm currently getting it resolved. If this isn't a problem, everything else was excellent.

Very clean ,flight attendants very professional,nice , Boarding was very easy

My luggage didn’t arrive with my flight. Flight was delayed by nearly 2 hours while we sat on the plane and I almost missed my connecting flight and subsequently missed the last train from the airport so it took me another 2 hours to get to my destination after arriving, Crew skipped me several times when offering beverages, and I couldn’t get their attention at times because they wouldn’t even make eye contact with me. They didn’t give me a form for disembarking so I had to go to the back of the line after waiting an eternity for immigration. Paid for on flight wi- fi that didn’t work for most of the flight.

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

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.

when i ask for help all the crew members had a look like why are you calling me? very terse and rude.

Good service and food. However, we paid over $400 for aisle seats for my disabled husband and me, and we were given window and middle seats. This was dangerous for our health condition on such a long flight. We needed to stand up and walk around frequently, but we were stuck in our seats. Please give us a refund of our seat payment since you chose not to honor our request.

Selected ovo lacto meal because I’m ok with milk products but not any meat. It was terrible. We had the same selection back in October when we had traveled and it was pretty good at that time. It was gross this time.

Very bad Instead 22 hour it take me more that 35 hour to arrive from Los Angeles to Phuket and they changed my flight in Hong Kong to Shanghai china and in order to get my bag I was forced to vet china visa entrry

There could have been more options on the entertainment section Nothing was available for non English speaking passengers

great experience. better than all other airlines flying this route.

I didn't have much experience with Cathay Pacific airlines because of delay and missed connections, the bulk of the trip was on Japan Airlines.

Flight delayed first from bad weather, then after boarding there was a problem with the plane. We had to get off and onto another plane...connections were missed and the trip took an additional 10 hours!! Pre-paid seatting was not honored due ro last minute carrier changes. Most of the trip was on Japan Airline.

The crew, pilots and flight attendants were all amazing. What could be better is reinforcing that seats cannot be reclined at departure and landing. I had a person seated in front of me who had her seat all the way inclined, including during take-off - after the crew asked her to seat upright. Cathay Pacific should reinforce this safety request and perhaps penalize those who don't follow it. I felt very unsafe with this person limiting my space and perhaps putting my life in danger in the "unlikely" case of an emergency.

The bed was alright in business class. Food variety and quality were not up to the mark compared to the business class airfare.

Poor seats. Not helpful crew. The food was awful.overall very very bad experience. Traveled with the family of 5

did not get a notification about seat selection ahead of time. We didn't end up sitting together.

I was denied boarding at the Brisbane airport and it seems like I won’t get any refunds from the airline

In my return flight they couldn’t identify my ticket or boarding pass, I had to go to 3 different counters until I was able to get my boarding pass. The food was on, it was the bear minimum. They didn’t even recognise that I was a Muslim and can’t eat meat, chicken or pork. In one of the trays I believe they served me pork. The staff were very pleasant, but they need to be aware of their surroundings more carefully, one of them stuck her lower belly right into my face! I was shocked and very uncomfortable.

Overall I had good experience with China Southern airline. Nothing to claim. I hoped they could improve the meal quality that is.

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.

On time. Friendly and helpful flight attendants. The plane was clean. Having a wine available would have been nice.

Your staff was exceptional. Could teach the other airlines-rules on etiquette, and service. Excellent landings on flights, carried out by your pilots. Only complaint is long delay on return flight in Beijing, onto Vancouver.

Worst than I expected, crew was not attentive, meal was as disgusting , they didn’t even drink selections as they would to other passengers. I felt discriminated

cannot get seat information for LAX to IAH when check in in XI,AN

UA is ok. But check in was a very bad experience

I hate that you cannot check in online and when you are at the airport, there aren't any aisle seats left. Also, they could work a little on subtitles for their movies (not everyone is a native English speaker).

Nothing to complain of, the only reason I am not giving better marks is that I am used to flying with ANA and they are the top.

It's terrible that we can't do online check in because we didn't buy the tickets directly from Air china. It was not explained until I contacted Chatdeal and we could not sit together.

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.

The flight was delayed by 2 hours, although to their credit they delayed my connecting flight so people could reach it. Also their site is a nightmare to navigate on a phone. Everything else was good.

The ticket was last minute buy so no concerns about the pricing this time, but the crew in general could have been more accommodating, helpful.

CTU-KMG-CNX with 1.5 hr connection at KMG. Doable but just barely bc immigration exit from China is at the last flight leg, here: KMG to CNX. We hauled out of the domestic terminal to reenter at the international departures (luggage checked thru to CNX thankfully). Immigration had only two agents, even though KMG gets a HUGE number of foreigners. It took forever for such a shot line. Then security also took a while, so I just just made the connection. Recommend if you exit China with domestic international transfer, plan for 2+ hrs to avoid a heart attack. Airline personnel don’t suffer if you miss the flight, you do. Plan accordingly.

China Eastern as a member of Sky Alliance airlines should have the same standards overall of their partners, Besides the seats comforts everything else is bellow the standard for a business class travelers. A BIG ISSUE FOR NON-CHINESE PASSENGERS IS THE ABILITY TO CHECK IN ONLINE, by making so difficult or almost impossible there is no chance to get a seat assignment ahead of time then go to the airport and get what is left. THIS IS NOT a SKY TEAM modality.

China Eastern as a member of Sky Alliance airlines should have the same standards overall of their partners, Besides the seats comforts everything else is bellow the standard for a business class travelers.

2 parts to the journey. First leg covered in a newer plane with decent staff + POOR FOOD QUALITY but the second half didn’t leave a positive impression at all as the plane itself was an older built and the crew didn’t serve properly. Language is an issue with China Eastern flights as always, but unmotivated crew just makes it even bad.

Small plane with only two lavatories at the back. You must have a good plan to use it before or after the meal, if you make a bad decision, you will end up with standing in front of the toilet for a while till the food carts empty. The good thing is even there’s a slightly delayed, the plane is still arriving on time which is superb!!

The only personel that smiled at all were the flights attendants. Desk agents, lounge people none of them had a smile or even a hello. They were like dealing with dead fish. Again flight attendants were good. All other personnel looked like they didn’t want to be there or help.

good flight. food is only so so. I actually did not eat the snack. it does not look too good on the passenger next to me.

Food no variations only beef of chicken no veggie meals

Everything you need to know for your flight from San Francisco to China

Information on your arrival and departure airports