Lanzhou Transportation

Lanzhou, capital of Gansu Province, boasts a fairly advanced transportation network and is generally thought of as one of the most important railway and air traffic centers in west China. The city is an important transit point for travelers going northwest to Xinjiang, east to Ningxia, south to Sichuan and north to Inner Mongolia.

Train

Lanzhou is the intersecting point of four major railway lines: the Lanzhou-Lianyungang line, the Lanzhou- Urumqi line, the Lanzhou-Xining line and the Lanzhou-Baotou line. There are daily trains passing the city both ways to Urumqi (35 hours), to Beijing (28 hours) via Hohhot (18 hours), to Golmud (20 hours) via Xining (4 hours), to Shanghai (24 hours) via Xi'an (17 hours) and Zhengzhou (12 hours). There are also daily special express trains to Zhangye (12 hours) and Jiayuguan (15 hours). The main railway station is at the foot of Gaolan Mountain in the southern part of town. Tickets can be bought at the station.

Air

There are air routes to Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Urumqi, Hong Kong as well as cities within the province, such as Dunhuang, Jiuquan, Tianshui, and Qingyang. The Lanzhou airport (Zhongchuan Airport) is 70km north, or about an hour, from the town. Airport shuttle buses (RMB20-RMB25) leave from the CAAC office on Donggang xilu three hours before scheduled flights.

Bus

If you are planning on heading south to Xiahe, the bus is your only option. The Western Bus Station (Qiche xizhan) has buses to Yongjing (near the Bingling Temple Caves), Linxia (4 hours), Xiahe (three direct buses daily at 7:30am, 8:30am and 2:00pm, RMB30), Hezuo (7 hours), Zhangye (about 15 hours) and Dunhuang (about 27 hours. The Eastern Bus Station on Pingliang lu handles east-bound departures--one nightly sleeper to Xi'an, Yinchuan and Tianshui.

Taxi

City transport is relatively convenient, and taxis run day and night.