Located in the very center of China and long a prime destination connecting the east and west, Xi'an is today one of the best connected cities in China in terms of travel. There are numerous national and international flights in and out of the city airport and the rail and bus services operating in the city are also good.

By plane:

The city airport, Xiguan is approximately 40 km northwest of Xi'an. Northwest Airways, China United Airways and Dragon Air all operate out of the airport. There are daily flights to and from Xi'an to Beijing, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Guilin and Qingdao. There are a few flights a week to Lhasa and flights are now running to Hong Kong, Macau and Japan.

China Northwest Airways run a minibus service between the airport and their Xi'an booking center downtown on Laudong Lu. The bus runs every 50 minutes and costs RMB20. A taxi to the airport will cost approximately RMB150.

By train:

The train station in Xi'an is situated in the northeast of the town and is just outside the city walls. This is a major stop for trains heading either west or east and the line actually splits here. Some trains head north to Beijing and others east to Shanghai.

There are direct trains from Xi'an to Beijing (16 hours), Shanghai, Guangzhou (27 hours), Chengdu (17 hours), Hefei, Qingdao and Urumuqi. There is a foreigners ticket office on the second level of the train station which is open from 8.30 -11.30 and 2.30 -5.30. Make sure you bring your passport with you as you need this document to register. You can also buy hard seats at an office on Lianhua Lu and most of the major hotels will book train tickets for you, although they will charge for this service.

By bus:

The main long distance bus station is opposite the railway station in the northeast of the city. There are buses from here to Huashan Mountain (12 hours), Zhengzhou (12 hours) and Yinchuan (15 hours).