Located in
the very center of China and long a prime destination connecting the
east and west, Xi'an is today one of the best connected cities in
China in terms of travel. There are numerous national and
international flights in and out of the city airport and the rail and
bus services operating in the city are also good.
By
plane:
The city airport, Xiguan
is approximately 40 km northwest of Xi'an. Northwest Airways, China
United Airways and Dragon Air all operate out of the airport. There
are daily flights to and from Xi'an to Beijing,
Guangzhou,
Chengdu, Guilin
and Qingdao. There are a few flights a week to Lhasa and flights are
now running to Hong Kong, Macau and Japan.
China
Northwest Airways run a minibus service between the airport and their
Xi'an booking center downtown on Laudong Lu. The bus runs
every 50 minutes and costs RMB20. A taxi to the airport will cost
approximately RMB150.
By
train:
The train station in Xi'an is situated in the northeast of the town
and is just outside the city walls. This is a major stop for trains
heading either west or east and the line actually splits here. Some
trains head north to Beijing
and others east to Shanghai.
There are
direct trains from Xi'an to Beijing (16 hours), Shanghai, Guangzhou
(27 hours), Chengdu (17 hours), Hefei, Qingdao and Urumuqi. There is a
foreigners ticket office on the second level of the train station
which is open from 8.30 -11.30 and 2.30 -5.30. Make sure you bring
your passport with you as you need this document to register. You can
also buy hard seats at an office on Lianhua Lu and most of the major
hotels will book train tickets for you, although they will charge for
this service.
By
bus:
The main long distance bus station is opposite the railway station in
the northeast of the city. There are buses from here to Huashan
Mountain (12 hours), Zhengzhou (12 hours) and Yinchuan (15 hours).
