Zhangye Transportation - Get to & Around Zhangye

Zhangye is located in the northwest of Gansu Province. It is a historic and cultural city in China with an important position in the ancient Silk Road. Though not being a mega city, Zhangye can be reached by both flights and high speed trains. Here is some more specific information about Zhangye transportation and how to get to Zhangye from other cities like Beijing, Xian, and Xining.

Click to Jump to:

Get to Zhangye by Air	Get to Zhangye by Train
Get from Beijing to Zhangye	Get from Xian to Zhangye
Get from Xining to Zhangye	Get from Lanzhou to Zhangye
Get from Zhangye to Jiayuguan	Get from Zhangye to Dunhuang
Get to Zhangye by Bus	Get Around Zhangye

Get to Zhangye by Air

Zhangye Ganzhou Airport is the only airport in Zhangye. People can fly to Zhangye from Lanzhou (1h), Xian (2h), and Chengdu (3h with a stopover in Lanzhou). If you travel from somewhere else, you may need to take a transfer in these cities.

Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (IATA: YZY)

Zhangye Ganzhou Airport (张掖甘州机场) is about 25km to the southeast of Zhangye city. It is a small civil & military airport built in 2011, but it has all the necessary facilities. At present, Zhangye Ganzhou Airport only operates regular flights to Xian, Lanzhou, and Chengdu throughout the year, and seasonal flights to Beijing, Shanghai, Dunhuang, Hefei, and Urumqi. No international flights are available yet. As there are not many flights and the flight schedule is not fixed, people may need to check more specific flight information according to the date of your travel plan.

To Zhangye downtown: about 25km, 35min by car, CNY 70 by taxi

To Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park: about 63km, 80min by car, CNY 250 by taxi.

>>Know More about Zhangye Ganzhou Airport and Flights

Zhangye Ganzhou Airport

Get to Zhangye by Train

There are two main railway stations in Zhangye. One is Zhangye Railway Station for normal trains and the other is Zhangye West Railway Station for high-speed trains. It is convenient when flights are not available.

Zhangye Railway Station (张掖火车站)

Zhangye Railway Station is in Dongyuan Town, Ganzhou District, Zhangye City (张掖市甘州区东园镇). It was firstly built in 1955 to meet the basic transportation needs of the people coming and leaving Zhangye. It operates normal trains to major cities in western China some other big cities like Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Chengdu, and Dunhuang. It now mainly serves Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway.

To Zhangye downtown: about 8.5km, 15min by car.

To Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park: about 50km, 70min by car.

Zhangye Railway Station

Zhangye West Railway Station (张掖西站)

Zhangye West Railway Station is in Danxia Road, Ganzhou District, Zhangye City (张掖市甘州区丹霞路), only about 3km from downtown. All the high speed trains via Zhangye will stop at this railway station. It becomes convenient for tourists to travel between Zhangye and Jiayuguan, Dunhuang, Turpan, and Urumqi

To Zhangye downtown: about 3km, 10min by car.

To Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park: about 36km, 50min by car.

>>Know More about Zhangye Railway Stations

Zhangye West Railway Station

Zhangye Train Schedules:

Get from Beijing to Zhangye

Beijing and Zhangye are about 1740km. There is sometimes a daily flight from Beijing Capital International Airport to Zhangye. It will make a stop in Xian and the total duration is about 6 hours.

People can also take trains to make the transfer. All the 3 daily trains are normal trains and it will take from 18.5h to 28h. There is no direct high speed train between Beijing and Zhangye. You will need to transfer in Lanzhou and it will take at least 12h in total.

• Useful Links: Beijing to Zhangye Train Schedule | Zhangye to Beijing Train Schedule

Beijing Forbidden City

Get from Xian to Zhangye

Xian and Zhangye are about 1140km. Taking a flight is the most recommended travelling way. There is one daily direct flight between these two cities and it only needs about 2h. In off season, the plane ticket can be even cheaper than the train ticket.

As for trains, there are 3 daily high-speed trains (7.5h) and over 10 normal trains (13-15.5h). You can check the specific schedule in the links below and choose the one that fits you best.

• Useful Links: Xian to Zhangye Train Schedule | Zhangye to Xian Train Schedule

• Recommended Tours: 10 Days Classic Silk Road Tour from Xian

Xian Ancient City Wall

Get from Xining to Zhangye

Xining is the capital of adjacent Qinghai Province and only 340km from Zhangye. As an important traffic hub city on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, it has a complete transportation system and can transfer to other northwestern cities like Zhangye efficiently.

Although both cities have airports, there is no need to open an airline between them. Because there are 12 daily high speed trains from around 9:00 to 19:30. You will only need no more than 2 hours to get to the other city.

• Useful Links: Xining to Zhangye Train Schedule | Zhangye to Xining Train Schedule

Xining City

Get from Lanzhou to Zhangye

Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, and Zhangye are only 505km away with convenient transportation. Actually, many people will choose Lanzhou as a transfer city to Zhangye. You will need only 1 hour to fly to Zhangye from Lanzhou. But please be kindly noted that there is just one flight a day.

If the flight doesn’t fit your schedule, you can also take a normal train to transfer between Lanzhou and Zhangye, which takes 5 ~ 6 hours.

• Useful Links: Lanzhou to Zhangye Train Schedule | Zhangye to Lanzhou Train Schedule

Lanzhou City

Get from Zhangye to Jiayuguan

Jiayuguan is most famous as the starting point of the Ming Dynasty Great Wall. It is 228km to the northwest of Zhangye. With such a short distance, you can get there by train or by car (2h40min) easily.

There are over 40 daily trains in operation. About 12 of them are D high speed trains and can take you there in 1.5 hours. The others are normal trains and will take 2-4.5 hours.

• Useful Links: Jiayuguan to Zhangye | Zhangye to Jiayuguan Train Schedule

Jiayuguan Pass

Get from Zhangye to Dunhuang

Dunhuang is another representative city of Gansu. It enjoys tremendous popularity in the world because of its grottoes and frescoes. Dunhuang is 596km to the northwest of Zhangye (Jiayuguan mentioned above is between Dunhuang and Zhangye).

There is no direct flight between Zhangye and Dunhuang. So we can only choose one of the five daily trains. The most recommended one is the 4.5-hour D-train. The others are all overnight trains and will take about 7 hours.

• Useful Links: Dunhuang to Zhangye | Zhangye to Dunhuang Train Schedule

• Recommended Tours: 4 Days Xian Terracotta Warrior Tour from Tianjin Cruise Port

Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes

Get to Zhangye by Long-distance Bus

Zhangye Bus Station (张掖汽车站) is located in NO. 381 Xihuan Road, Ganzhou District (甘州区西环路381号). It is about 2km from downtown. It has now over 200 buses running about 90 lines connecting cities in and out of Gansu Province. If you plan to go to somewhere near Zhangye such as Jiayuguan, Jiuquan, Xining, etc. Taking a bus is also an option apart from the trains.

Zhangye Bus Station

Getting Around Zhangye

Zhangye is not a big city, so there is no subway in Zhangye. The most common public transportation for independent travellers is bus or taxi.

The bus routes have covered around Zhangye city (including bus lines to train stations and airport) and the bus fare is usually no more than CNY 2 per person. As for taxi, if you pay according to the meter, it should be CNY 7 for the first 3km and CNY 1.4 for every extra kilometer (there may be slight difference due to the actual adjustment towards taxi charging standands). In either way, you can get around Zhangye quite conveniently.

Zhangye Taxi

How to Plan a Zhangye Tour

Generally speaking, 2-3 days will be sufficient to travel in Zhangye. For most people, Zhangye Danxia National Geological Park is what attracts them here. So it can be your first stop and you can appreciate both Linze Danxia Scenery and Binggou Danxia Scenery there. On the next day, you can take a visit to the temples in Zhangye such as Giant Buddha Temple and Matisi Temple. If you have another day, don't miss Pingshan Grand Canyon and Badan Jilin Desert.

Have already come to Zhangye, why not continue to know and see more of the beautiful Gansu and Silk Road? Only for another 2 hours, you can get to Jiayuguan to see the westernmost starting point of Great Wall of Ming Dynasty - Jiayuguan Pass. Keep travelling northwestwards and for about 3 hours and you will get to Dunhuang, home to Mogao Grottoes. If you have more days, you can extend your tour to Xinjiang, or travel to Beijing and Xian before going to Zhangye.

★ Top-Recommended Zhangye Tour

>>6 Days Hexi Corridor Discovery Tour(Zhangye/Jiayuguan/Dunhuang)

>>8 Days Gansu Highlights Tour

>>9 Days In-Depth Northwestern China Silk Road Tour

Zhangye Danxia Geopark

Travel Zhangye with China Discovery

Want to travel in and around Zhangye but don't know how to arrange your day by day itinerary? Travel Zhangye with us, and all of your problems will be solved. In every city, our professional local guide and driver will escort you from your hotel, train station, airport to all attractions with comfortable private car and let you catch the highlights of every site and city, so you can get really relaxed on the way and focus on what you are interested in. The tour can be tailor made according to your plan, time and interests and demands. If you are interested, please feel free to contact us and tell us your needs, and we will customize a memorable tour for you!

Useful Zhangye Travel Guide

Zhangye to More Silk Road Destinations

Recommended Zhangye Tours

Top 3 Zhangye tours chosen by most customers to explore Zhangye in the best way. Check the detailed itinerary, or tailor your own trip now with us.

6 Days Hexi Corridor Discovery Tour(Zhangye/Jiayuguan/Dunhuang)

Lanzhou - Zhangye - Jiayuguan - Dunhuang

8 Days Gansu Highlights Tour

Lanzhou / Xiahe / Zhangye / Jiayuguan / Dunhuang

8 Days Miraculous Land Tour from Dunhuang to Zhangye Xining

Dunhuang - Jiayuguan - Zhangye - Xining

Start planning your tailor-made holiday to China by contacting one of our specialists. Once inquired, you’ll get a response within 0.5~23.5 hours.

Customize a Trip