China Eastern Airlines· Callsign CES5101 ·Daily

MU5101 SHA → PEK

The Shanghai-Beijing air shuttle is one of the busiest and most premium corridors in China.

Save Not currently flying

Status on this page means observed ADS-B activity inside available receiver coverage. Confirm official delay, cancellation, gate and booking status with China Eastern Airlines.

SHA
Shanghai
Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
08:00 CST (UTC+8)
2h 20m
1,076 km · 668 mi
Non-stop
PEK
Beijing
Beijing Capital International Airport
10:20 CST (UTC+8)
Typical schedule · next departure Thursday, July 30 · times shown in airport local time
Aircraft
Airbus A350-900
typical equipment
Distance
1,076 km
581 nautical miles
Heading
338°
tracks north
Clock change
0 h
same time zone
Block speed
461 km/h
gate to gate average
Range used
7%
of the type's book range
Length rank
#224
of 255 tracked routes

Follow MU5101 in real time

The aircraft appears below whenever it is airborne and inside receiver coverage. Its planned route is drawn between the two airports.

MU5101 is not transmitting right now. It may be between rotations, on the ground, or out of receiver range - Check back near 08:00 at SHA. The full map has the rest of the sky.

MU5101 at a glance

  • The trip: 1,076 km (668 miles) from Shanghai to Beijing, flying north.
  • How long: 2h 20m gate to gate. That is about 461 km/h on average, taxi time included.
  • The plane: usually an Airbus A350-900. This route uses about 7% of how far it can fly.
  • Your watch: no change, both cities share a clock.
  • Window seat tip: either side works on this heading.
  • When it goes: out of SHA in early morning, into PEK in mid-morning.

MU5101 route overview: SHA to PEK

MU5101 distance and great-circle path

MU5101 covers 1,076 km, or 668 miles. That makes it a short-haul flight, a single-aisle hop where turnaround time matters more than range. Of the 255 routes we track, it ranks 224 by distance.

The plane leaves Shanghai heading north. On the map above, the line looks curved. That is normal. The shortest path over a round planet never looks straight on a flat screen. Our guide explains how the SHA–PEK route appears on a tracker map.

Why MU5101 block time differs from cruise time

The schedule allows 2.3 hours from gate to gate. That works out to about 461 km/h. An Airbus A350-900 cruises faster than that. The gap is taxi time, climbing, descending and holding.

Winds aloft shift the real flight time by up to an hour in either direction. See what really moves flight times.

Can the Airbus A350-900 comfortably fly MU5101?

Not at all. At roughly 7% of its range, this is an easy trip for an Airbus A350-900. The airline picked it for cabin size, not distance. The full numbers are on our aircraft page for the Airbus A350-900.

What to know about MU5101

  • Time change: none. Both cities keep the same clock, so arrival time reads exactly as you expect.

MU5101 against the rest of the SHA-PEK pairing

We track 2 scheduled services between Shanghai and Beijing, all of them China Eastern Airlines. Among them, it is the last departure of the day on this route; it is given 5 minutes more block time than the quickest scheduled service; it is the only one flown with an Airbus A350-900.

Measured against MU5101, which pushes back at 08:00:

Block time is gate to gate, so it counts taxi at both ends. That is why two flights covering identical distance rarely share a scheduled duration.

MU5101 activity in the past 7 days

Our database contains 1 observation of MU5101 across 1 UTC date in this window, most recently 2026-07-29. Those records contain 1 distinct transponder address.

The median recorded visibility was 6 minutes. That is time inside receiver coverage, not airborne duration or an on-time-performance measurement.

Date (UTC)RouteFirst trackedLast trackedTracked for
2026-07-29 tracked in flight 01:57 UTC 02:03 UTC 0h 6m

“First/last tracked” are when MU5101 entered and left receiver coverage, in UTC.

Airports and aircraft on MU5101

Every scheduled service we follow is listed in the tracker directory, including China Eastern Airlines and other tracked flights grouped by airline.

SHA Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport Shanghai, China · live radar → PEK Beijing Capital International Airport Beijing, China · live radar → A359 Airbus A350-900 Typical equipment · specs →

Other tracked flights from Shanghai

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
MU9191Shanghai (SHA) → Beijing (PEK) COMAC C919MU9191 flight tracker →
CA1501Beijing (PEK) → Shanghai (SHA) Boeing 747-8ICA1501 flight tracker →

Guides relevant to MU5101

Chosen from this route's distance, timing, aircraft, airline and airports.

How airlines plan routes This short-haul sector shows how aircraft size and local demand shape a network. Boeing versus Airbus The typical aircraft is built by Airbus; these visual clues help identify it. Airline alliances explained China Eastern Airlines belongs to SkyTeam, which affects connections and codeshares.

Data sources and review

Reviewed 2026-07-29 by Flight-Tracker.net Editorial Team

The route and typical schedule are maintained reference data. Live ADS-B observations are evidence of receiver coverage, not proof of on-time performance. Always confirm the operating date and times with the airline.

Read our schedule and observation review process, or inspect the machine-readable reference dataset.

MU5101 frequently asked questions

How long is the MU5101 flight?

Shanghai to Beijing is 1,076 km (668 miles) in a straight line, scheduled at 2.3 hours gate to gate. Actual airborne time varies with winds, routing and holding.

What aircraft operates MU5101?

Typically an Airbus A350-900 (full specifications), using roughly 7% of that type's published range.

Does MU5101 fly every day?

The published pattern is daily, departing 08:00 local from SHA. Always confirm with the airline before travelling.

Who else flies Shanghai to Beijing?

We track 2 scheduled services on this pairing, all operated by China Eastern Airlines. The others are MU9191. Against them, MU5101 stands out because it is the last departure of the day on this route; it is given 5 minutes more block time than the quickest scheduled service; it is the only one flown with an Airbus A350-900.

Can I track MU5101 live?

Yes. Whenever MU5101 is airborne and in receiver coverage the map above follows it live, with altitude, ground speed and heading. Between rotations, the seven-day log above shows where it has been.

More China Eastern Airlines flights to watch

FlightRouteTypical aircraft
MU9191 Shanghai (SHA) → Beijing (PEK) COMAC C919 MU9191 flight tracker →
MU587 Shanghai (PVG) → New York (JFK) Boeing 777-300ER MU587 flight tracker →
MU551 Shanghai (PVG) → London (LHR) Airbus A350-900 MU551 flight tracker →
MU777 Shanghai (PVG) → Sydney (SYD) Airbus A350-900 MU777 flight tracker →