Lanzhou Transportation

Situated in northwestern China, Lanzhou is the geographic center of the country. Though there are not many world famous scenic spots, most tourists choose the city as a stopover for its convenient transportation to the renowned tourist cities in western China.

 Lanzhou Zhongchuan Airport (ZGC) is located about 70 kilometers (43.5 miles) from the downtown area. More than 30 airlines fly to the outside world, with daily flights to and from Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xi'an. The direct daily flights to and from Lhasa now is available and the whole flight lasts only 3.5 hours. Flights to major cities like Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Kunming, Hangzhou, Taiyuan, Jinan, Changsha, Haikou, Wuhan, Wenzhou, Xiamen, Zhuhai, Shenyang and international and regional flights to Okinawa, Singapore, and Hong Kong are also available from Zhongchuan Airport.

It takes roughly an hour for the airport shuttle bus (at about CNY 30 per person) to arrive at Eastern Hotel (No. 555, Tianshui Lu) at downtown. A taxi will cost about CNY250 to CNY300.
Zhongchuan Airport Inquiring: 0931-8968160
Ticket Center Inquiry: 0931-8821964 (domestic) 0931-8828174 (international)
CAAC Ticket Center: No.258 Donggang Xi Lu

 The city has two stations, Lanzhou Railway Station and West Railway Station.

Lanzhou Railway Station is located in the south downtown. There are altogether 45 daily rail departures from the city, connecting it to other cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Qingdao, Jinan, Shijiazhuang, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Changsha, Wuhan, Chengdu, Xi'an, Xining, Urumqi and Hohhot. Express trains also run to Xining, Yumen, Zhangye, Pingliang and Golmud.

First Bridge over the Yellow River

There are many ticket offices in the city but we recommend you buy your tickets from the ticket center at the railway station or from the ticket offices in the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to avoid forged tickets.
Railway Station Inquiry: 0931-4922222

Located on Xijin West Road of Qilihe District, West Railway Station was put into use on December 26th, 2014 with the opening of the Lanzhou-Xinjiang High Speed Railway. It is the largest terminus along the Xi'an-Lanzhou High Speed Railway which was put into service since July 9th, 2017. It mainly operates high speed trains to/from Beijing, Xining, Zhangye, Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Yumen, Kumul, Turpan and Urumqi.

* Note: At both railway stations, there are direct bullet trains to Zhongchuan Airport. It takes 40-50min, and costs CNY18.5-21.5 for a second class seat and CNY22-26 for a first class seat.
  Major Rail Lines from Lanzhou to:Currently, more than 8,000 taxis operate in the city. It’s said that more taxis will be set in the near future to better serve the local citizens and tourists. You can see the taxi rate below:

Distance	Price
For the initial 3 kilometers (1.9 miles)	CNY10
For each additional kilometer (0.6 mile) farther than 3 kilometers (1.9 miles)	CNY1.4
For each additional kilometer (0.6 mile) farther than 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)	CNY2.1

Cross the Yellow River on a sheepskin raft

 Tips:
1. If a car waits on the way due to the traffic lights, traffic jam or other situations, it costs CNY1.4 for every 5 minutes’ waiting.
2. It costs CNY1.6 for each kilometer (0.6 mile) if a car runs between 23:00 and 05:00 the next day for night-driving allowance.

 As Lanzhou is the only provincial capital through which the Yellow River flows, rafts of both wood and sheepskin have been in use for a long time. The primitive sheepskin raft will give you a novel feeling of the Yellow River.