Atlas of China
Xi'an to Chongqing 西安 – 重庆
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 5½ hours against about 4 hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥312 against about ¥400.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainXi'an North 西安北 → Chongqing North 重庆北 | 5 h 12 minD1979, fastest | 5½ hours | ¥312standard class | 2507:17–23:06 |
| FlightXi'an Xianyang (XIY) → Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG) | 1 h 30 minin the air | 4 hours | about ¥400varies by day | 307:40–19:20 |
By train
25 direct high-speed trains a day run from Xi'an North to Chongqing North, between 07:17 and 23:06. The fastest, D1979, takes 5 h 12 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥312. Coming back, 27 trains a day, the fastest 5 h 1 min (D968, 06:41 to 22:09).
Xi'an: Trains to Shiyan and on to Wuhan via the new line use Xi'an East, opened in June 2026. Chongqing: Chongqing North is the busiest station; many trains to Guizhou, Yunnan and Yibin use Chongqing West, and Chongqing East opened in 2025.
By air
3 nonstop flights a day from Xi'an Xianyang (XIY) to Chongqing Jiangbei (CKG), 1 h 30 min in the air, 07:40 to 19:20, with China Eastern Airlines and Capital Airlines. 3 fly back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4 hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥400.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Xi'an and on to Chongqing, so the trip can be broken there.
- Dazhou 达州 370 km from Xi'an · 5 h 45 min there, 2 h 26 min on
At the other end
Featured places around Chongqing.
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Hongyadong & Chongqing Night Views 洪崖洞
A cliffside stack of stilt houses glowing gold over the river every night
Around Xi'an: Terracotta Army, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Huaqing Palace, Xi'an City Wall, Han Yangling Mausoleum.
On the map
Open either city on the illustrated map, or put both in a trip and let the planner lay out the days and the legs between them, with the same tables these numbers come from.
Book
About Xi'an · About Chongqing · Where Xi'an reaches in a day · Where Chongqing reaches in a day · All routes
Trains are every direct train on 2026-10-28 or 2026-11-11 in the 12306 timetable, with standard-class fares; one weekday, so weekend and holiday services differ, and the fastest train may not run every day. Flights are the airlines' schedules for 2026-10-28, plus routes Wikipedia lists for small airports. Drives are routed on OpenStreetMap roads (extract of 2026-10-21) where the pair was routed, else estimated from the distance. Door-to-door times add about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time to a flight. How to book is in the guide to trains and 12306; the rail times are open data on the data page.