How to Get to & around Yunnan: by Flights, Trains & Buses

1. Kunming

Airport: Kunming Changshui International Airport (昆明长水国际机场)

Kunming (昆明) as the provincial capital of Yunnan is well connected by flights with major domestic cities and some famous foreign places. So you could feel free to take a plane from the places at below.

Also, there are daily flights to Yunnan from domestic cities like Guilin, Zhangjiajie, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Changsha, Nanjing, Lanzhou, Harbin, Yichang, Taiyuan, Sanya, etc. and international cities like Seoul (about 2 daily flights, about 5 hrs), Singapore (about 3 daily flights, 4 hrs), Bangkok (about 7 daily flights, about 2-3 hrs), Taipei (about 1 daily flight, about 3.5hrs), Kuala Lumpur (about 3 daily flights, 3.5-4 hrs), Phuket Island (about 2 daily flights, 2.5-3 hrs), etc. To know more flight information from your cities to Kunming, please contact us for details.

Transfer to Kunming Downtown: the Airport Shuttle Bus Line 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 that start every 20 minutes ~1 hour could take you to Kunming downtown area. Also, you can travel by metro line 6. If you go with a taxi, you will be in the downtown area in about 40 minutes ~ 1 hour. How to Get to City Center from Kunming Airport >>

Check more about How to Get to & around Kunming.

2. Lijiang

Airport: Lijiang Sanyi International Airport (丽江三义国际机场)

Lijiang (丽江), a really famous romantic old city in Yunnan. There are good reasons for its convenient access with other major cities in China by air.

Besides the above cities, you could also fly to Lijiang from Guilin (about 1 daily flight, about 1.5 hrs), Nanjing (over 3 daily flights, 2 hrs), Wuhan (over 2 daily flights, about 2.5 hrs), Changsha (about 4 daily flights, about 2.5 hrs), Zhengzhou (over 2 daily flights, about 2.5 hrs), and so forth. Besides, flights are also available between Lijiang and Taipei, etc.

Transfer to Lijiang Old Town: there are Airport Shuttle Buses that will take you to Liantian Hotel (蓝天宾馆) in Lijiang Downtown, from where you can get to Lijiang Old Town in about 10 minutes by taxi. Also, you could take a local taxi for about 40 minutes ~1 hour. Know more details of Lijiang Airport to Old Town >>

Check more about How to Get to & around Lijiang.

3. Dali

Airport: Huangcaoba Airport (大理荒草坝机场)

To benefiting your access to Dali Old Town and other highlights in this romantic city, flights have linked Dali (大理) with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu (about 5 daily flights), Xian (over 1 daily flight), Changsha (over 1 daily flight), Chongqing, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Lanzhou, etc.

Transfer to Dali Old Town: taking a local taxi is the best way, which costs about 1 hour to drive for about 30km.

Check more about How to Get to & around Dali.

4. Shangri-La

Airport: Diqing Shangri-La Airport (迪庆香格里拉机场)

To get to the fascinating Shangri-La (香格里拉) by air, you could leave from Chengdu (about 1.5 hrs), Chongqing (about 2 hrs), and Lhasa (about 1 hrs & 50 mins) that offer 1 daily flight there.

Transfer to downtown: from the airport, you could arrive at the downtown by taxi for less than half an hour. And if you transfer by bus, it would take about 1 hour and 20 minutes. So, consider your more time for break and sceneries, we advise you choose the taxi with speed.

Check more about How to Get to & around Shangri-La.

5. Xishuangbanna

Airport: Xishuangbanna Gasa International Airport (西双版纳嘎洒国际机场)

Xishuangbanna (西双版纳), the enthusiastic botanic garden in Yunnan, is linked by flights with Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xian, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, with daily flights but with a short stop by at another major city, like Kunming. However, there are also some direct flights from Chengdu, Chongqing (every day), Hangzhou, Changsha, Guiyang, etc.

Transfer to downtown: to get to the downtown area, you could take the local bus for about 50-70 minutes. Besides, local taxi needs only about 20 minutes to take you there.

Besides the above airports, you could also get to Yunnan by flying to the airport in Mangshi, Tengchong, Zhaotong, Puzhehei, Baoshan, Lincang, and Simao. To know more flight information from your cities to Yunnan, please contact us for details.

Kunming to Lijiang

Lijiang is about 517 km northwest of Kunming. Travelers can get to Lijiang from Kunming either by high speed train (about 3-3.5 hours) or by flight (about 1 hour). Taking a high speed train is more popular than taking a flight.

By High Speed Train

There are about 6 daily bullet trains from Kunming Railway Station / Kunming South Railway Station to Lijiang Railway Station. The whole train ride takes about 3~3.5 hours. If you want a budget option, you can choose the overnight normal train, which will take you to Lijiang in about 9 hours.

Check Real-time Kunming to Lijiang Train Schedules >>

Check Real-time Lijiang to Kunming Train Schedules >>

>> 5 Days Kunming Lijiang High Speed Train Tour (Kunming / Lijiang)

By Flight

There are also 5 around daily flights available, which depart from Kunming Changshui Airport to Lijiang Sanyi Airport in about 1 hour. However, since the airports are relatively farther from the city downtown areas than the railway stations, travelers prefer the high speed trains more.

>> 5 Days Kunming Lijiang Minority Tour (by Flight) (Kunming / Lijiang)

Kunming to Lijiang via Dali

Since Dali is settled just in between Lijiang and Kunming. You can also travel from Kunming to Dali first, and then make a transfer to Lijiang. Frequent high speed trains have already linked Dali and Kunming. From Dali, you can catch a car (about 2.5-3 hours) or a train (1.5~2 hours) to Lijiang. And once you are in Dali, you can have a 2~3 days tour there before heading to Lijiang!

Check More about Kunming to Lijiang >>

Kunming to Shangri-La Transportation

By Air

From Kunming to Shangri-La (autonomous prefecture center of Diqing), there are usually about over 5 daily flights, and that takes about 75-85 minutes.

By Bus

There are about 6 daily coaches from Kunming West Bus Terminal (昆明西部客运站) to Shangri-La Bus Terminal (香格里拉客运站). The whole distance needs about 9.5-15.5 hours according to different routes and bus types. And the cost is about 210-250 RMB/person.

By Car

If you are planning to arrive there by car, it will take about 8.5 hours with about 620km long distance.

So far there is no train available between Kunming and Shangri-La, and we will update the information according to the news.

By High Speed Train

There are about 3 daily bullet trains from Kunming Railway Station to Shangri-La Railway Station. The whole train ride takes about 4.5~5 hours.

>> Check More about Transportation between Kunming and Shangri-La.

Lijiang to Dali Transportation

By Train

In 2024, from Lijiang to Dali, there are are several high speed trains (C/Y train) at present and about 4 daily C trains available between Lijiang Railway Station and Dali Railway Station. You could choose one from about 09:00-22:00 and arrive in Dali for about 1 to 2.5 hours. And the tickets cost about 34.0-105.5 RMB/person.

Check Real-time Lijiang to Dali Train Schedules >>

Check Real-time Dali to Lijiang Train Schedules >>

By Bus

To take a coach from Lijiang to Dali, you will have a lot of shift choices. From the early morning at about 07:00 to the late afternoon at about 17:00, the coaches start about every 30 minutes and arrive within about 3-3.5 hours to the bus terminals in the downtown area and the old town scenic spot. And among them, there are over 5 daily coaches departing from Lijiang Bus Terminal (丽江客运站) directly to Dali Old Town (大理古镇).

By Car

If you go from Lijiang to Dali by car, it will take you about 3 hours with a driving distance of about 170-210km. To drive to Dali Old Town, another 30 minutes is needed.

>> Check More about Transportation between Lijiang and Dali

Kunming to Xishuangbanna

Xishuangbanna on the southwest border of Yunnan, Laos and Myanmar is about 320 km from Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province. The best way to get there is catching a flight from Kunming. Kunming Chsngshui International Airport operates many flights to Xishuangbanna every day. The flight ride needs only about 1 hour or so. There are also long-distance coaches running between the two cities. However, the coach journey is too time-consumption when compared with the flight. The coach ride needs about 8.5 hours.

Check more about How to Get from Kunming to Xishuangbanna (Jinghong).

>> 5 Days Kunming Xishuangbanna Contrast Scenery & Culture Tour

Kunming/Lijiang To Lugu Lake Transportation

From Kunming

From Kunming to Lugu Lake (泸沽湖), you could take a direct flight in the morning to Ninglang Luguhu Airport (宁蒗泸沽湖机场) for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Usually, there are 1-2 daily flights available, so you could check the flight information in advance for your trip.

From Lijiang

There are usually 3 daily coaches from Lijiang Bus Terminal (丽江客运站) to Luguhu Bus Terminal (泸沽湖客运站), which needs about 5 hours and 65-80 RMB/person for arrival. Also, you could start from Lijiang downtown to Lugu Lake scenic area by car for about 4.5 hours, and the driving distance is about 200 m.

(PS: There are also some flights from Chengdu to Lijiang Sanyi Airport, which takes about 1.5 hours.)

>> 2 Days Magic Lugu Lake Tour with Mosuo Ethnic Culture