Review: Changsha Airport Lounges

This looks similar to the HGH lounge up on a mezzanine that we visited when flying KLM late last year, and the 1950s overstuffed chairs remind me of the lounges we visited in HAN and SGN.

Definitely not a trip highlight.

Meat floss?

I traveled extensively in China over the period roughly 1981-1985 and what you need to understand is this look, velvet chairs with doilies, was considered the height of luxury by the Chinese. Look at news photos of the leadership and this is what you see them sitting on. It's what you saw in the "luxury" hotels and the first class waiting room. That it persists today even though we find it horribly outdated should be surprising. But lets not be too critical because Americans are no different given our association of the Edwardian look with luxury and sophistication. They both derive from a shared view of European and in particular French and English culture as a beacon for what is to be strived for.

Maybe to Chinese eyes leather chairs and dark wood bookcases look horribly outdated.

On a general basis I second @steve above but also have got to add two things
The look of the lounge is based pretty much on the economy of about 7-10 years ago when the airport must have renovated. It would certainly look different if it was built 2-3 years ago. The economy has boomed and all sorts of things changed, including style.
Another thing is that the access can be bought for roughly 30-50 yuan, which is 5-7 dollars. What's worse, ctrip and other Chinese travel sites bundle airfare with "club access" for ~60% of that, which means for $3 you get the access. That would explain why it's very over crowded.
The only good thing about the lounge access I can think of is that they have a separate lux vehicle to get you to the airplane (if the plane is not parked at the gate, of course....), which gives you priority boarding onto the plane. This comes extremely handy in winter when you have to board onto a sold out plane on the open ground of the airport

Yum.. "DRIED MEAT FLOSS"

Yeah - - meat floss?!

LOL Dried Meat Floss!!!
here is a collection of hilarious translations!!
http://www.boredpanda.com/funny-chinese-translation-fails/

@Lucky:
Do they really keep the mugs/cups/teapots (intended to be used for hot beverages, I suppose) in a fridge? Or is that just some kind of cabinet?

i have flown on international route only from T2 in Beijing. I second that they also do not have any priority line for passengers with priority (either business, first or else) for passport control. Its the same for x-ray and hand luggage search (only occasionaly i have seen priority lane on complete left for first class passangers on certain airline).

I have visited there the lounge for Skyteam travellers (also Hainan). And have to admit that it is not bad, at least food is ok and there is an OK selection of drinks. And yes, you get a special paper to entry. However, loud speaking people on the phone are everywhere in China.

Meat Floss is a horrible translation. It is basically Finely shredded Pork Jerky. Like all Jerky products, it is very dry, therefore preserves well. The taste is a bit savory and a bit sweet, a little bit like a very light teriyaki flavor.

"It’s interesting that Hainan has two perforated “stubs” on their boarding passes"

Small note: several airports in China use standard airport card stock to print the boarding passes for some or all airlines. Since your boarding pass had the name of the Changsha airport written on top rather than "Hainan Airlines," the double stubs could be a feature of Changsha Airport boarding passes rather than Hainan Airlines boarding passes.

Still cool though!

Even if it's not a very good lounge or one that a lot of readers will visit, it would probably be good to redact the WiFi password 🙂

reminds me of the lounge i was in when i flew domestic F from Shanghai hongqiao to pek ~10 years ago. I've never been a fan of any of the lounges i've been in the mainland since then.

Yes, pork floss is delicious! Look for it in your local Chinatown bakery.

Pork floss isn't a mistranslation, just a name for a type of product that is made from pork and has a similar texture and appearance with cotton candy, which in better varieties of English is usually called candy floss. Not to my taste, but trying it won't kill you.

As for the lounge, it reminds me of the China Southern lounge in Harbin airport. Same design, lace covered chairs and range of food and drinks (although the Harbin lounge did have beer, at least!). Like others have said, those types of chairs with lace are fairly common in offices, meeting rooms, hotels, et al. At least they are comfy and the broad, square armrests do make a good place to safely put one's phone or tablet on.

@Frank: It's not a fridge, it's a sterilising machine which dries and um, sterilises, dishes after they have been washed. They are used in kitchens both domestic and commercial all over China in large part because the tap water is not safe to drink.

It looks better than Xiamen Airline first class lounge at Xiamen Airport! I did Beijing- Xiamen- Sydney flights recently! Well the lounge is terrible! I think the regional Chinese Airports have long way to go!

The lounges in most Chinese smaller airports look like the one you were at. I flew out of Wuhan a couple of months back and there is only one lounge to serve all international departures. Mind you, AF flies 3x a week non-stop to Wuhan from Paris. Lots of French businesses in Wuhan.

@ seanpodge:
Thanks for the explanation, makes much more sense than my first impression.

Seems nicer and better maintained than the United Clubs in DEN that I just visited on a short layover today... Challenge anyone to locate a single seat/couch/chair in either of the United Clubs in DEN without a single tear, stain, or suspicious sticky items on them. On the plus side, the espresso and cappuccino machines aren't bad.

Lol Changsha Airport is a joke on international flights. I would not have any expectation on their lounge given the fact that they only have several international flights with mostly narrow-body aircraft. Only exception would prolly be HU's LAX flight and CZ's FRA flight, which originates in Guangzhou.