Gansu is a province with a long history, numerous historical relics, and excellent natural scenery. Transportation is very convenient despite the large distances by air or by railway or by road when traveling in most parts of Gansu. In this article, we introduce how to get to and around Gansu.
Getting to Gansu by Air
There are about 10 airports in Gansu. The most useful airports for travelers include Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport, Dunhuang Mogao International Airport, and Zhangye Ganzhou Airport.
Lanzhou is the main transportation hub in Gansu Province. If you are planning a trip to Gansu, we recommend flying to Lanzhou first and then starting your Gansu trip there.
Flying to Lanzhou
- Airport: Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport
- Chinese: 兰州中川国际机场
- Airport code: LHW
- Location: 70 kilometers from the downtown area, about 1¼ hours' drive
Lanzhou Zhongchuan International Airport is most frequently used for flights to Gansu. It has 212 air routes.
Over 100 cities have flights to Lanzhou including Beijing (2½ hours), Shanghai (3½ hours), Hangzhou (3 hours), Guangzhou or Shenzhen (3 hours), Urumqi (3 hours), Xiamen, Wuhan, Nanjing, Xi'an, Chengdu (2½ hours), and Guilin.
Flying to Dunhuang
The Mogao Caves in Dunhuang- Airport: Dunhuang Mogao International Airport
- Chinese: 敦煌莫高国际机场
- Airport code: DNH
- Location: 21 kilometers from the Mogao Caves, about 25 minutes' drive
Dunhuang Mogao International Airport has 19 air routes. 15 cities have flights to Dunhuang including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi'an, Xining, Lanzhou, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Urumqi.
- Beijing to Dunhuang: 3½ hours
- Shanghai to Dunhuang: 6 hours (transit in Lanzhou)
- Xi'an to Dunhuang: 2½ hours
- Hangzhou to Dunhuang: 7 hours (transit in Lanzhou)
- Urumqi to Dunhuang: 6 hours (transit in Lanzhou)
- Xining to Dunhuang: 1½ hours
- Lanzhou to Dunhuang: 2 hours
Flying to Zhangye
Beautiful Danxia landform in a sunny day- Airport: Zhangye Ganzhou Airport
- Chinese: 张掖甘州机场
- Airport code: YZY
- Location: 62 kilometers from Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park, about 1 hour's drive
Beijing, Shanghai, Lanzhou, Guangzhou, and Xi'an have flights to Zhangye.
- Beijing to Zhangye: 3 hours
- Xi'an to Zhangye: 2 hours
- Shanghai to Zhangye: 3½ hours
- Lanzhou to Zhangye: 1 hour
- Guangzhou to Zhangye: 5 hours (transit in Lanzhou)
Getting to Gansu by Train
Gansu is an important railway corridor connecting east China and west China. So, the railway service is very advanced in most parts of Gansu.
Trains to Lanzhou
Lanzhou West Railway Station is the major high-speed railway station. It is located 6 kilometers (4 miles or about 20 minutes' drive) from downtown Lanzhou.
Bullet trains from Beijing (7–9 hours), Shanghai (10½–14 hours), Hangzhou (11½ hours), Guangzhou (10½-11½ hours), Xi'an (2½-3½ hours), Chengdu (7 hours), and many other cities stop there. You could change in Lanzhou for bullet trains to other Gansu cities.
To Dunhuang
Dunhuang has a railway station — Dunhuang Railway Station, 19 kilometers from the Mogao Caves, or about 25 minutes' drive.
Xining has bullet trains to Dunhuang taking about 6 hours, and Lanzhou's daily bullet train takes 8 hours.
Other cities like Beijing, Hohhot, Xi'an, and Yinchuan just have normal overnight trains to Dunhuang.
To Zhangye
Zhangye has 7 railway stations. The major stations include Zhangye Railway Station and Zhangye West Railway Station.
Xining, Xi'an and Urumqi have bullet trains to Zhangye West Railway Station, taking about 2, 7½, and 7½ hours respectively.
Other cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Wuhan just have normal overnight trains to Zhangye, traveling about 19–30 hours.
How to Get around Gansu
Traveling by train and road are the main ways to get around Gansu.
High-speed trains travel between major tourist cities such as Lanzhou, Dunhuang, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, and Tianshui. Here we list the times to get between these cities by bullet train for reference:
- Lanzhou ⇌ Zhangye: 4–4½ hours
- Lanzhou ⇌ Dunhuang: 8½ hours
- Lanzhou ⇌ Jiayuguan: 5½–6 hours
- Lanzhou ⇌ Tianshui: 1½ hours
- Zhangye ⇌ Dunhuang: 4–4½ hours
- Zhangye ⇌ Jiayuguan: 1½ hours
- Zhangye ⇌ Tianshui: 5½–6 hours
- Dunhuang ⇌ Jiayuguan: 2½ hours
If you want to visit the Tibetan autonomous prefecture of Gannan, where you can experience Tibetan culture and enjoy plateau scenery, hiring a private car is the best choice, because there is no railway in Gannan.
A private car with driver may be more convenient than rail travel between closer cities, e.g. Zhangye–Jiayuguan.
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