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Average Aircraft Maintenance Engineer Salary in China for 2026

An aircraft maintenance engineer in China earns about 330,700 CNY a year. That's 6% below the national average of 351,900 CNY.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in China sit around 174,000 CNY a year, while the very top stretches to 501,400 CNY. Everything on this page is in Chinese yuan (CNY, symbol ¥), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in China, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does an aircraft maintenance engineer make in China?

Average salary
330,700 CNY
27,558 CNY per month
Lowest reported
174,000 CNY
14,500 CNY per month
Highest reported
501,400 CNY
41,783 CNY per month

A typical aircraft maintenance engineer working in China brings home around 27,558 CNY a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 174,000 CNY, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 501,400 CNY for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior aircraft maintenance engineer working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How aircraft maintenance engineer pay ranges in China

A good way to think about salary in China is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all aircraft maintenance engineers in China earn less than 312,400 CNY a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 217,900 CNY (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 383,300 CNY (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of aircraft maintenance engineers sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 174,000 CNY. The highest stretch to 501,400 CNY, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

174,000
Low
312,400
Median
501,400
High
217,900
25th
383,300
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in CNY

Aircraft maintenance engineer pay by experience in China

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an aircraft maintenance engineer in China, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical aircraft maintenance engineer salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    201,100 CNY
  • 2-5 Years
    +23% from previous
    246,500 CNY
  • 5-10 Years
    +43% from previous
    352,000 CNY
  • 10-15 Years
    +16% from previous
    409,000 CNY
  • 15-20 Years
    +10% from previous
    451,000 CNY
  • 20+ Years
    +6% from previous
    478,100 CNY

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 43%. That is the point at which a aircraft maintenance engineer typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Aircraft maintenance engineer pay by education in China

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving aircraft maintenance engineer pay in China. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average aircraft maintenance engineer salary in China broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    227,600 CNY
  • Master's Degree
    +94% from previous
    442,200 CNY

Aircraft maintenance engineer gender pay gap in China

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and China is no exception. Male aircraft maintenance engineers in China earn an average of 341,900 CNY a year, while female aircraft maintenance engineers earn around 311,700 CNY. That works out to a 10% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer gender pay gap

9%

Men earn this much more than women on average in China.

Men 341,900 CNY
Women 311,700 CNY

Pay raises for an aircraft maintenance engineer in China

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in China sees a raise of about 12% every 15 months, which works out to roughly 10% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in China, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in China:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education
    2%

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Aircraft maintenance engineer bonus rates in China

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

53%

53% of aircraft maintenance engineers in China reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an aircraft maintenance engineer a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary. The remaining 47% of aircraft maintenance engineers reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in China

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Aircraft maintenance engineer: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in China is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in China on average.

Public sector 362,200 CNY
Private sector 341,400 CNY

Aircraft maintenance engineer salary by city and region in China

Aircraft maintenance engineer pay is not even across China. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Shanghai (city)
  • Henan
  • Hebei
  • Shandong
  • Guangzhou
  • Guangdong
  • Anhui
  • Beijing (city)
  • Wuhan
  • Jinan
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
Shanghai (city)City396,300 CNY389,200 CNY204,700-610,100 CNY
HenanRegion394,800 CNY378,300 CNY204,000-602,700 CNY
HebeiRegion390,000 CNY407,100 CNY189,300-614,600 CNY
ShandongRegion389,200 CNY412,000 CNY183,600-614,600 CNY
GuangzhouCity389,200 CNY363,000 CNY207,800-590,200 CNY
GuangdongRegion386,400 CNY394,300 CNY190,500-603,400 CNY
AnhuiRegion382,600 CNY397,900 CNY185,100-602,700 CNY
Beijing (city)City381,800 CNY372,600 CNY194,600-588,500 CNY
WuhanCity378,800 CNY369,300 CNY191,600-582,700 CNY
JinanCity377,200 CNY382,600 CNY185,100-588,500 CNY
Chongqing (city)City376,800 CNY404,600 CNY172,400-596,800 CNY
JiangsuRegion375,200 CNY383,300 CNY183,700-582,700 CNY
SichuanRegion369,900 CNY345,700 CNY196,800-562,200 CNY
HunanRegion369,300 CNY394,800 CNY172,200-588,500 CNY
HubeiRegion367,200 CNY340,400 CNY197,600-556,000 CNY
ChengduCity367,200 CNY384,200 CNY176,800-576,500 CNY
ZhejiangRegion366,200 CNY335,800 CNY197,600-552,400 CNY
HarbinCity363,000 CNY371,100 CNY180,300-566,900 CNY
HangzhouCity361,600 CNY383,300 CNY169,000-566,900 CNY
Xi anCity361,600 CNY388,100 CNY164,200-573,500 CNY
YunnanRegion361,500 CNY349,300 CNY189,300-555,800 CNY
Tianjin (city)City357,300 CNY341,400 CNY187,500-545,300 CNY
ShantouCity349,300 CNY354,000 CNY172,200-544,800 CNY
FujianRegion349,300 CNY317,700 CNY187,300-524,700 CNY
GuangxiRegion348,300 CNY341,400 CNY180,300-535,900 CNY
ShenyangCity348,300 CNY377,200 CNY159,500-555,800 CNY
ShenzhenCity345,100 CNY325,800 CNY183,600-524,400 CNY
HeilongjiangRegion345,100 CNY345,100 CNY172,400-535,800 CNY
JiangxiRegion341,900 CNY335,800 CNY174,000-528,500 CNY
NanjingCity341,900 CNY341,900 CNY172,200-533,100 CNY
ShaanxiRegion340,400 CNY315,700 CNY185,100-514,800 CNY
QingdaoCity339,100 CNY365,400 CNY154,700-535,800 CNY
ChangchunCity335,100 CNY327,300 CNY172,200-514,800 CNY
LiaoningRegion332,500 CNY359,900 CNY152,000-528,500 CNY
Chongqing (region)Region330,700 CNY315,900 CNY172,200-504,300 CNY
Nei MonggolRegion327,800 CNY340,400 CNY158,700-516,100 CNY
FuzhouCity325,900 CNY314,500 CNY169,000-498,000 CNY
DongguanCity325,800 CNY330,700 CNY159,100-504,300 CNY
ShanxiRegion325,800 CNY315,900 CNY163,800-499,300 CNY
WenzhouCity325,600 CNY311,700 CNY169,000-498,500 CNY
SuzhouCity322,600 CNY296,000 CNY172,200-487,600 CNY
DalianCity320,500 CNY345,700 CNY148,300-510,200 CNY
KunmingCity320,500 CNY327,800 CNY158,700-502,200 CNY
Xinjiang UygurRegion319,600 CNY332,100 CNY152,300-504,400 CNY
GansuRegion315,900 CNY335,800 CNY150,000-500,100 CNY
FoshanCity315,900 CNY312,400 CNY161,300-489,600 CNY
Beijing (region)Region314,500 CNY314,500 CNY157,600-485,300 CNY
GuizhouRegion313,700 CNY296,000 CNY167,100-480,600 CNY
ChangshaCity309,800 CNY282,500 CNY168,100-464,900 CNY
Shanghai (region)Region308,900 CNY314,500 CNY151,800-478,000 CNY
JilinRegion308,300 CNY292,000 CNY163,800-471,700 CNY
WuxiCity308,300 CNY315,900 CNY152,000-483,800 CNY
NingxiaRegion301,600 CNY301,600 CNY152,100-467,700 CNY
QuanzhouCity297,000 CNY322,600 CNY139,100-478,100 CNY
ZhengzhouCity297,000 CNY294,700 CNY152,000-459,300 CNY
Xizang [Tibet]Region296,000 CNY296,000 CNY148,300-459,300 CNY
QinghaiRegion296,000 CNY282,500 CNY152,300-454,300 CNY
Tianjin (region)Region288,100 CNY308,300 CNY130,400-454,900 CNY
XiamenCity283,700 CNY283,700 CNY143,200-442,300 CNY
HainanRegion282,300 CNY307,400 CNY128,500-451,000 CNY

Aircraft Maintenance Engineer in China: FAQs

  • How much does an aircraft maintenance engineer make per month in China?

    An aircraft maintenance engineer in China earns about 27,558 CNY a month before tax, based on an annual average of 330,700 CNY.

  • What's the salary range for an aircraft maintenance engineer in China?

    Entry-level aircraft maintenance engineers in China start near 174,000 CNY. Top-end pay reaches around 501,400 CNY. The middle 50% of earners sit between 217,900 and 383,300 CNY.

  • Is the median aircraft maintenance engineer salary in China higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 312,400 CNY, lower than the average of 330,700 CNY. Half of aircraft maintenance engineers in China earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for aircraft maintenance engineers in China?

    Men working as an aircraft maintenance engineer in China earn around 10% more than women on average (341,900 vs 311,700 CNY a year).

  • Do aircraft maintenance engineers in China get bonuses?

    About 53% of aircraft maintenance engineers in China reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5% of base salary.

  • Do aircraft maintenance engineers earn more in the public or private sector in China?

    In China, the public sector pays an aircraft maintenance engineer about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do aircraft maintenance engineers in China get a pay raise?

    An aircraft maintenance engineer in China sees a raise of around 12% every 15 months, equivalent to roughly 10% a year.