Redefining Lanzhou

AIR TRAIN BUS

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Zhongchuan Airport

Lanzhou has direct flights to most cities. If not direct, then there is usually a stop in Xi'an involved. The airport is around 70km north of the city.

Chinese name: 兰州中川机场 (Lánzhōu Zhōngchuān Jīchăng)
Taxi: approx Y140 (discuss with driver)

Airport Bus: 1 hour, Y30
Departs from outside the airport arrivals (map), and takes you into the city centre. Rule of thumb: if there's an arrival, there's a bus into the city. Unfortunately, there is still no direct airport bus to Anning District (12 km to the west of the city centre, taxi Y30 from the airport bus drop off). It's worth considering a shared taxi from the airport (45 mins), if that's where you need to get to. 

Arrives into the city at the Lanzhou Eastern Hotel (Lanzhou Dongfang Dajiudian 兰州东方大酒店), on Tiānshuì Lù (天水路), opposite the main gate of Lanzhou University. Map. Occasionally, it stops 200m before, at Lánzhōu Fàndiàn hotel (兰州饭店), on the crossroad of Dōnggāng Xīlù (东岗西路) and Tiānshuì Lù (天水路).

Departs the city on the hour every hour from the China Eastern Airlines main ticket office (东方航空售票处, Dōngfāng Hángkōng Shòupiàochù) on Dōnggāng Xīlù (东岗西路). Shared taxis also depart from here (Y50 per person). Map. 

The map shows the route, including both departure and drop-off points in the city.

Flight info: 9588

Lanzhou Railway Station

Located: south end of Tiānshuì Lù (天水路), in the east of the city. Map. 
Chinese name: 兰州站 (Lánzhōu Chēzhàn)
Buses: #1, 6, 10, 31, 34, 16, 101, 102, 110, 114, 127, 137
The most useful of these is likely to be #1, which heads north up Tiānshuì Lù (past Lanzhou University), then west through the city, passing the Square (东方红广场, Dōngfāng Hóng Guăngchăng), Nánguān Shízī (南关什字), Xīguān Shízī (西关什字), and Xīzhàn (西站)
Tickets: There is a ticket office near Xīguān Shízī. Walk south to the end of Zhongshan Lu. The office is over the road, to your left (on Báiyín Lù, 白银路). Open everyday 9:00-16:00.
Timetables: here (English) or here (Chinese). You can also try Google Maps for train times ('Get Directions'>'Public Transit').

Download timetables for Lanzhou-Jiayuguan-Dunhuang-Urumqi routes here:

lanzhou_trains_hexi_corridor.pdf
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East Bus Station

This is Lanzhou's biggest bus station, with departures to all provinces in China.

Located: Píngliáng Lù (平凉路), near the railway station. Map. 
Chinese: 兰州汽车东站 (Lánzhōu Qìchē Dōngzhàn)
Ticket info: (0931) 8428411
Buses: #6, 75, 141
Destinations within Gansu include:
Tiānshuì 天水
Wŭwēi 武威
Zhāngyē 张掖
Dùnhuáng 敦煌

Others:
Xī'ān 西安 （Shaanxi)
Xīníng 西宁 (Qinghai)
Chéngdū 成都 (Sichuan)

South Bus Station

This replaced the West Bus Station for departures to southern areas of Gansu (甘南 Gānnán and 陇南 Lŏngnán)

Located: Lán Gōng Píng Lù (兰工坪路). Map. 
Chinese: 兰州汽车南站 (Lánzhōu Qìchē Nánzhàn)
Ticket info: (0931) 2914066  2914266
Buses: #111, 129
Destinations include:
Línxià 临夏
Hézuò 合作
Xiàhé 夏河
Măqū 玛曲
Wŭdū 武都

West Station

It seems to be getting gradually phased out, but still useful on occasions.

Located: Xiăo Xī Hú (小西湖). Map. 
Chinese: 兰州汽车西站 (Lánzhōu Qìchē Xīzhàn)
Ticket info: 0931- 2334575 2333285
Buses: #1, 103
Destinations include:
Xīníng 西宁 (Qinghai)
Liújiāxiá 刘家峡 (for Bĭnglíng Sì, 炳灵寺)

Warning: Although there are several buses to Liujiaxia, the staff only sell tickets for the midday bus (still the case as of August 2009). They cite an outdated rule requiring foreigners to have local travel insurance on buses except the midday one. When the rule was in effect a few years ago, it covered all destinations in Gansu, and insurance was sold at the station. If you want to leave earlier, try flagging a bus down after it leaves the station. It heads north out of the back gate, then west along the riverside Nán Bīnhé Lù (南滨河路). There is one bus an hour.

Tianshui Lu Bus Station

Located: Tiānshuì Lù (天水路), 200m north of the train station on the east side of the road. Map. 
Chinese: 天水路车站 (Tiānshuĭ Lù Chēzhàn)
Destinations within Gansu include:
Yúzhōng 榆中 (for Xinglong Mountain)