Atlas of China
Xi'an to Wuhan 西安 – 武汉
Door to door, the high-speed train comes out ahead: about 3 hours against about 4½ hours by flight, counting about 20 minutes to board a train and 2½ hours of airport time for a flight. Fares run ¥428 against about ¥420. The stations are in or near the city centres, which is what tips it.
| Way | Time | Door to door | Fare | A day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-speed trainXi'an East 西安东 → Hankou 汉口 | 2 h 41 minG412, fastest | 3 hours | ¥428standard class | 3907:11–23:44 |
| FlightXi'an Xianyang (XIY) → Wuhan Tianhe (WUH) | 1 h 45 minin the air | 4½ hours | about ¥420varies by day | 118:55 |
By train
39 direct high-speed trains a day run from Xi'an East to Hankou, between 07:11 and 23:44. The fastest, G412, takes 2 h 41 min, and a standard-class seat is ¥428. Coming back, 39 trains a day, the fastest 2 h 42 min (G411, 06:10 to 23:36).
Xi'an: Trains to Shiyan and on to Wuhan via the new line use Xi'an East, opened in June 2026. Wuhan: Hankou and Wuchang stations also have high-speed trains.
By air
One nonstop flight a day from Xi'an Xianyang (XIY) to Wuhan Tianhe (WUH), 1 h 45 min in the air, at 18:55, with China Southern Airlines. One flies back. Door to door, with the airports at each end, count about 4½ hours; fares vary by day and are typically about ¥420.
Stops on the way
Cities between the two with direct trains from Xi'an and on to Wuhan, so the trip can be broken there.
At the other end
Featured places around Wuhan.
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Yellow Crane Tower 黄鹤楼
A tower rebuilt many times over, made immortal by a single Tang poem
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Hubei Provincial Museum 湖北省博物馆
Marquis Yi's ancient bronze bells, played live, and the sword of King Goujian
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 Wuhan · Where Xi'an reaches in a day · Where Wuhan 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.