By Air
Taiyuan Wusu
Airport (TYN) is located in the south suburb of Taiyuan, about
18 kilometers (11.2 miles) from the downtown area. Direct flights
are available from Taiyuan to some major cities including Beijing,
Tianjin, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guilin, Nanjing, Shenyang and Xian.
There is no airport shuttle bus between the airport and downtown
Taiyuan. The best way is to take a taxi, taking about 30 minutes
to reach the center of the city. The taxi fare varies between
about CNY 25-60. A Bus, No. 201 is an alternative that takes you
to the railway station from the airport and costs only CNY 2.
Taiyuan has opened to five international air lines since July,
2005 with flights connecting Taiyuan with Frankfurt, Paris, London,
New York and San Francisco with all of these flights making a
stopover in Beijing.
Flights linking Taiyuan with Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Pulau
Pinang now are available. Passengers of these three international
lines are transferred abroad in Guangzhou
Airport.
The Taiyuan Wusu Airport has been under an expansion program
since March, 2006 and is due to be finished at the end of 2007.
The new airport will become an international airport and will
serve the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 as a supplementary airport
to Beijing Capital International Airport.
By train
Taiyuan is the starting point of Taiyuan-Jiaozhou line and the
terminus of the Beijing-Taiyuan and Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan lines.
Trains from here link large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai,
Tianjin, Guangzhou, Xian, Chengdu and Baotou.
Taiyuan Railway Station is located to the east of Yingze Avenue
and you can get there via bus No. 1, 5 and 21. The ticket office
is situated at the south of railway station.
By Road
The expressway from Taiyuan to Jiuguan is the first expressway
built in Shanxi Province and connects Yuci City, Shouyang County,
Yangquan City and Pingding County. From here, you can reach Beijing
from Taiyuan within five hours. The whole journey will cost about
CNY 120 with the bus terminating at Beijing Lize Qiao Coach Station.
The bus station is at the Taiyuan Long-Distance Bus Station,
east of Yingze Dajie.
There is also an expressway operating between Taiyuan and Yuanping
with this route offering convenient links to Wutai Mountain from
Taiyuan. The long-distance bus station at the Yingze Dajie provides
tourist buses from Taiyuan to Wutai Mountain with the bus fare
being about CNY 43. There are also buses to Overhanging Temple
in Hunyuan County and the Yingxian County Wooden Pagoda is also
available from here. Outside the Dianli Dasha there are buses
heading for Datong City directly, taking about five hours at a
cost of CNY 70. Furthermore, expressways linking Taiyuan and Gujiao
and Wenshui are also available.
There are coaches heading for Datong from Taiyuan Railway Station
at a cost of about CNY 72. You can take the coach to Pingyao from
Jiannan Coach Station, and from Taiyuan Coach Terminal to Datong
City of Shanxi. Please be careful not confuse one with the other
when taking the coach.
Taiyuan is near to Pingyao Ancient City and you can take a coach
from the Coach Station on the Yingze Dajie (Yingze Avenue). The
whole journey takes about two hours with a fare of CNY 20.
You can get to Wutai Mountain by coach from the Taiyuan Long-Distance
Bus Station. There are coaches running to Wutai Mountain every
30 minutes from the station. The whole journey takes between four
and five hours with the price of about CNY 45.